Discouraged!

[pivotfreaker]

I started doing massage in my home town about 6 months ago.  But sofar have only had 4 clients!  They have all come to me via word of mouth and they have all put my name out there to people.  But nothing seems to be happening.  I keep putting my flyers and business cards up on local bulletin boards.  And they keep disappearing (some just being ripped down by the next day so I know someone is taking them down).  I talk to people I know and tell them what I am doing now.  I always have business cards on me.  I put an ad in the paper and got no responses!  I contacted the biggest employer in town (which is the county court house) about doing a secretaries day promo and was told that I couldn’t solicit them.  But then was given a list of names and P.O. Box of the dept heads with a wink from the H.R. mar. I promptly turned around and mailed them the promo, and again got no response.  These are just a few things I have tried along with doing mini-massage parties (15min massage for $10) with no response.  I KNOW I DONT SMELL!!!! lolI keep hearing that people can’t afford it but I only charge $20 for a half an hour which is normal for this area, and I do out calls with no added travel fee which makes me cheaper then everyone else!  I can’t afford to drop my prices any more.  As I said in my into letter I live in a town with 1, 900 people it in and I am the only massage therapist.  There are 16 other massage therapists in this county that I know about.  And the median income for my town is $40, 000/year.  So how can my price be "to expensive"? I would be happy to make that a year.  Last night I talked to another massage therapist one of my mothers employee’s daughters.  She said she charges 30$ per treatment.  That she only does business by word of mouth and that she never advertised. To be honest with you I felt that she was just looking at me as competition and didn’t want to help me or give me any info.  Which is okay but I also live about 30min from her and have no plan to encroach on her territory.  The state I live in is not a licensed state and there was a problem with oriental massage parlors about 5 years ago.  I also live 5 mi from a town who does not allow massage therapists to operate inside their city limits unless they are working at the hospital.  The hospitalhas 2 massage therapists who are also physical therapists (which is what the mainly do).  I am new at this and I have no business background.  Do any of you have any suggestions for me??? Thank you! Morgan

 

[Buddhist Objectivist]

Discouraged!

Can you contact local media to do a story on the legitimacy of alternative health care, or maybe a series on back pain, etc? Do you guys have a local radio station? Do they ever do 'chat radio?' Offer your time & services to the DJ & try to get the word out about what you do, AND what massage can really do for people suffering needlessly?Morgan, I don't know what area you live in, but is commuting to a different area a possibility? Even a couple of days a week?Ask those 4 people to help you build your business by referring friends & family to you. (you really have to ASK sometimes)Good luck to you. I hope prosperity & affluence are on the horizon for you!Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[D Aravah - JBC]

It is easy for me to say don't get discouraged.....but don't.Read these boards for great ideas and incorporate them into your marketing plan.  You NEED a marketing plan....and you need to work at it.Some things I do...and mind you, I did not make rent a few times....because I slacked a bit....Direct mail{get addresses from the areas you WANT as clients}Doorhang-check with local laws....whatever you do DO NOT put things in a mailbox or on a car windshield....secure your ad with a rubber band or a doorhanging bag((dont leave a mess)).A promo item(if you can afford it) with your name and info on it.{I bought pens when the bedget allowed, and I have magnet/calendars}The weather is nice now so find the local bike tours, runs, flea markets, spaghetti dinners etc and get seen.Someone here mentioned to cut your advertisement in half( you get twice as much per page)....I got four on a page during a winter special.Now all of this only works when you have a buffer.  I saved a long time before I went fullblast....and I am also workiing 4 days a week at y "day job".I hope any of this helps you.If you have Publisher and would like a few of my old advertisements I will gladly email them to you.RObyn

 

[ghyukilofr]

Jill/Sagetherapist, as usual, is full of good suggestions. Morgan, I don't feel that the amount you are charging is the issue. I think it's people's mindset. *shrug*  What area of the country do you live in? Where do you practice out of? What kind of massage do you do?  What do your current clients have in common? How did they end up coming to you? What made them choose to try a massage with you?I know how slow it can be to build a practice when you're just out of school, even though that was several years ago for me.  I live in a small city in Wisconsin of less than 9,500. Median Household Income: $ 36,132 (Median age is 40.7, and 44% of them are single households, 55% married households, 66% have children, etc.)  I'm currently working out of a health food store who has a 15 minute radio spot about different health topics on one of the local radio stations... and while the current scheduled topics are on cancer... they do want me to come in and talk about massage with them in the future. If it brings in any business I'll let you know. LOLIn addition... have you asked any of your clients which groups they belong to? Do any of them belong to the local chamber of commerce or Jaycees?  Some kind of ladies club perhaps?  Can you do some type of "presentation" to those groups about the benefits of MT?  Have you supplied your current clients with materials with which to refer others?  Are their benefits for them doing so?Is there some event or function in town that you could get involved with and support? What about trying those fishbowl drawings some have had success with on the boards here? Did any of these ideas give you some hope or direction?

 

[Possibly Right]

Wow....1,900 population, eh? That is a VERY small town. Unfortunately, along with small towns come small minds (or old fashioned) ideas. It make take you a good while to get the good word out about the many health benefits of massage.Definitely scroll down and check out the different thread topics in this particular category to find out just how many ways there are to market massage therapy. I wish you tons of luck and best wishes to get your business up and running...but most of all, I wish you boatloads of patience to perservere.  Be well,Jen

 

[Diana S]

Discouraged!

Hi.

Looks like you are in a very small town indeed.

My suggestion, work in your town 1 day a week and in another town the rest of the time for what could be a number of years, until your practice grows.  

By your profile, you are in Centreville, Michigan and are 25 y.o.  So, hopefully, it's not like you don't have some time on your hands to grow a practice, and you are young enough to do a bit of driving to a larger city.

I did a mapquest and it looks like Kalamazoo is about 32 miles from you.  That should be considered a good driving distance.  So, I am thinking, though I am not from there, maybe consider... Westwood, Kalamazoo, Poreforum.xxxe, Three Rivers, Sturgis, Dowagiac, Goshen, Syracuse, Kendallville, Angola, Coldwater, Marshall or Battle Creek as som viable options.  

You could take out a pen and paper and do the pros and cons of each city.  You are from there, so you'll be the best person for this.

As for getting more clients, it does sound like you are working at it.  That's good.  Keep it up.  In your case, it may be worth it to do a lot of free-bies, though I am usually not real hip on this.  But, in a small town, where we all know word of mouth travels, this may be the best marketing ploy you could choose.  Possibly just let those hands do the talking.

Good luck.  Hope I helped some!  

 

[Leigh]

Thank you everyone for your encouragement!I sent out a letter to all the local chiropractors and will do the same to the town doctor.  I have gotten a space at the town festival this year.  It took a lot of convincing but the coordinator is going to let me do an informative booth.  Any ideas how to do that other then just handing out brochures.  I’m also working on trying to get the library to let me do a talk on Stress and Stress Reduction techniques.  They already said no to me doing one on just massage so this is my new way of trying to package it.  I figured that massage is a stress reduction technique so I can add that in along with the others I can talk about (aromatherapy, meditation/visualization, deep breathing, etc.)Im still trying to write a brosure.  I feel like mine stinks! And no matter how I try I cant seem to get it right!My Gram said that if I buy a couple of t-shirts she has fabric paint that we could use to make up a couple and that way I could have something like that to wear.Im going to go back and re-read the other posts agian but if you have any suggestions please send them my way!Thank you all so much.  Sometimes I feel like this is the only place I can turn to see a fridndly face when it comes to massage therapy and my dreams.Morgan

 

[b*tch]

Discouraged!

Hi.

Im still trying to write a brosure.  I feel like mine stinks! And no matter how I try I cant seem to get it right!

A good way to get some ideas for your brochure is to look at everyone's websites.  Here is the link:

Post Your Website Here
http://www.massageplanet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=926

As for t-shirts.  I tink this is a company someone mentioned in the past, where you can buy a few at a time.  
http://www.massageplanetepress.com/megamassage/82116

Hope it helps!  Keep your chin up.  You'll make your town a massage haven in a few years at the rate you are going!  

 

[Karma of the Poodle]

Can you do chair massage at the Town Festival?   That way people get both the written information and direct experience.

 

[little B]

Thank you for the links Tex!   Yes, MTN I had wanted to do some minimal massage work there.  But the cordator told me that I couldn't.  Im going to offer to give her a free treatment so try to convince her to let me do it.  Unfortunently I dont have a chair so all I have is my table.

 

[Cody]

The AMTA website has posters available, 10 for $8.00 or so.  They say, "Ask your Doctor about Massage Therapy" , these might be helpful or you can just print out a copy and use a sheet protector and display it at your function.  The website is http://www.amtamassage.org. I recently participated in two health fairs both targeting people 45 and older.  One was for the Red Hat Ladies.  I felt the chair would be intimidating to this group of people not to mention the ladies would be wearing big hats and probably would not want their faces in the cradle.  I had them sit in a regular chair and did some very easy massage strokes to their shoulders and back for about 1 to 2 minutes each. ( I had them sign a release of course. )  The people seemed to love it and were lined up at times to receive their complimentary "massage". So, I hope this gives you some ideas for things to help you.  You could also instruct couples on hand to elbow massage and foot to knee massage.  I wish you much success and acceptance in your town!LeContefairy

 

[SystemFailure]

Discouraged!

Since you don't have a massage chair, this link may be helpful for you regarding how you want to set your table up at a "fair".

Hope it helps!  

http://www.massageresource.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000005

I also recall a thread where someone mentioned putting the table legs into "coffee cans" so that your legs don't get ruined.  Can't seem to figure out where I read that at though, or I'd post that link too.

 

[Cliff]

I just joined to chamber of commerce in my town and it has helped tremendouly to network with other local buisnesses, plus, being a member of the chamber shows people you are a prfessional and there to help people, not make them "happy"  Do you have a listing in the phone book?  on the internet?  These are all good mediums.  Also, talk to your local paper, tell them you are a new MT and just want to get the word out about your practice, alot of times you can get a free interview!!!  

 

[Artsytnt]

Discouraged!

The BEST marketing advice I got was to choose a target market and then speak to THEIR concerns-not OURS. that means, if you work really well with low back pain, then that would be your market. YOu get people's attention on a flier or ad by asking a question that get's their attention, such as, "is low back pain keeping you from playing the sports you love?" or something like that. It is very specific but MUCH more effective than a blanket approach that you are appealing to everyone. people want to know one thing: will you help them feel better. THey really don't care about all the things you've studied, they just want to know if you'll help THEM. So speak directly to that-it will help a lot. In a small town, you may want to pick a large market, since there aren't a lot of folks to choose from, like moms. Mom's have a lot of stress and stress related health problems. Speak to that-that's what I do. ANd guess what? MOm's have husbands, mothers, fathers and friends they can refer to you! do a search for Amy Roberts-she's a massage therapist in austrailia. Shes' got an e-book you can download which is REALLY good with marketing ideas. I learned from her material that I was doing pretty much everything wrong. The biggest advice was to clarify your target market, because then you can really speak DIRECTLY to those people and get their attention. Check her out!

 

[i wish i was a baller. <3]

Just a thought but could you some how ste up a massage day for the school teachers in your area mabey go through the local ptsaand call it some thing like teacher apreaceation massage dayI know I didn't spell that right  hopefully you get it any way or just something with the ptsa as a fund raiserI know it's a small town but i bet all the people you need to tuch base with are some involved with the local schoolsgood luck hope this helps

 

[prinsezz2000]

Discouraged!

Something else:

vorehealer posted something a while back in Employers Seeking Practitioners, looking for Independent Contracting in Kalamazoo, MI.

 

[Pompal 09.]

It does sound like you are working against some mindset issues.  I'm guessing that your town is primarily rural?  And if there was a problem with ambiguous types of massage going on in nearby towns I'm guessing that the townsfolk are lumping you in with those that give happy endings.  Let me guess, people are also calling you a 'masseuse'.   If what I'm guessing to be true is, then chances are you are probably running up against a religious/cultural  bias against what people think massage therapy is.   Please correct me if I'm wrong. From a marketing point of view, I would start at where the misconception starts.  Are there any ladies gardening groups/ or similar?  Rotary clubs? What about athletic clubs? Church organizations?  Again, chamber of commerce? Country clubs?   Groups are always looking for someone to give a talk at their meetings and luncheons.   Consider it part of your job to re-educate your public.  Teach them what massage therapy is and isn't.  Admit that yes, history has given massage a bad rap.  I would start with the training that you went through to get your license.  I would also emphasize the medical aspect.  For the religious groups, maybe give a talk drawing a parallel between the laying on of hands, annointing with oil, etc. and massage therapy.   I would also pull lots and lots and lots of research that has been done about the effects of massage therapy.   And invite, audience participation, q&a, do a chair massage demonstration, heck you could even do a fully clothed table massage.   It could also be that  some people think that they have to get completely naked.   If you are having problems writing your own brochure, buy them.  There are a lot out there that a slick and very professional for not that much money.  You can get a stamp or print clear labels with your name, location and phone number to stick on the back.   http://www.info4people.com has a nice sampler pack of brochures plus a catalog.  I think they charge $10.98 for 50 brochures.   It would probably be well worth the money just to save yourself the time and frustration.    If you are trying to present a professional image, use professional products (brochures, etc.), dress professionally as well. That would mean looking the part.  Decide on a uniform for yourself (polo, and khakis, scrubs, or whatever) and wear it when you work, whether it's a speaking engagement or working with a client.   Massagewarehouse.com has some really great looking polos.   I realize you are discouraged and it would be easy to get that way. But don't give up.  Of the 4 clients that you have, let them know that you are having a hard time getting new clients.  Maybe they could give some insight into why?  Also you might print up some coupons.  Give them to your current clients to give to their friends.  When say 5 referrals come in, the referring client gets $ off.   I would definitely NOT lower your prices.  Maybe the problem is the opposite.  Maybe you aren't charging enough?  You would have to be the judge of that.  I wish you well.  I too am starting out my business.  But I am in an area that is familiar with massage so it's not quite so hard.  My problem is just doing the work and marketing to get the clients.

 

[Teddy Hart & Jack Evans]

Hands On, you might want to go check out Galen's marketing website.  It's very good.http://www.massage-marketing-tips.com/index.html

 

[M C]

I'm in the same stituation. Small town small minds. (Not all, but most). What I've found most effective is EDUCATING the masses. I too have done the newspaper ads and different things with not really any response. Word of mouth has been the best advertising for me. I work out of my home and some will not come in just because someone will see their car in my drive-way and they think they will never hear the end of it. I have been here a year now and I keeping getting new people while keeping my regulars. For the most part I am very happy with how my business is growing. So, what I'm trying to say is just hang in there. Once the word gets out you'll need a massage.  ;D

 

[Smoke]

I wanted to thank everyone for the new suggestions and continuing support.  A couple of weeks ago I started working out of a salon in town.  The owner is a client of mine and from here I have gotten 3 new clients in the past week.  She believes that I have a lot of talant and can bennifit the people in our community.  Because she has a small salon I am only there 2 days a week (not much privicy or quiet when she is there the other 3.  All she is asking is $25.00 a day wich works out to be $200.00 a month.  I am very excited and cant waite to see where this goes!  I know its still baby steps but it has taken a load off of my mind.  On top of that the salon is right across the street from the cort house which is the group of people I want to be catoring to!!!  ;D