Q&A from the ABMP BizFit Webinar Final · practice, and one spa/franchise work arena. It seems that spas & franchisees seem to want 100% loyalty, but I want to expand by working for

Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, © 2008

Questions, Answers, and Comments

from the ABMP BizFit Webinar

“Lock in Your Business for 2009”

Presenters:

Les Sweeney, NCTM, ABMP President;

Anne Williams, ABMP Director of Education Questions are organized by topic area of the webinar. Approaching Medical Professionals

1. How do I work with physicians? Creating a working relationship with physicians is essentially the same as establishing a relationship with any other medical professional—the onus is on you to demonstrate your competency and knowledge. Some medical professionals are very open to massage; others aren’t. A detailed resume that shows your training and experience, including practice setting and types of clients seen, should be the first order of business. Identify a target list of physicians, either by proximity to your location, or by medical discipline, or by personal connection. Then contact them to share your resume and ask for a brief conversation. Then you can detail your skills in person and offer a complimentary massage. From there, it will be up to the doctor to determine whether or not you would be a good fit to work with them. But just like any job hunt, don’t sit around and wait for the phone to ring. Follow up in 10 days or so and find out if there is anything the doctor needs and whether you can set up that appointment.

2. What about ethics? I have been experiencing health care providers who want exclusive referrals in exchange for their referrals- this has been something I have been uncomfortable with. Your thoughts?

Arranging an exclusive referral relationship is not an unethical practice, but it clearly has to be something to which both parties agree. If you aren’t keen on the idea, you should explain why to the provider. If they disagree with you, then you need to determine how important this potential relationship is to you. My guess is that you may decide those referrals aren’t worth making a decision you can’t comfortably defend.

3. Are there materials for healthcare introductions such as form letters? Is ABMP going to offer help in building professional referral systems?


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ABMP does not currently have a letter for this purpose, but it is an excellent idea. We will likely have a dedicated webinar on this subject (networking with health professionals) in early 2009. Multiple Income Streams

4. Can you go over Multiple Income Streams in more detail? Multiple income streams in bodywork can really be described in three primary categories: Settings, Locations, and Audiences. Locations are simply different areas where you might practice massage and bodywork—for example, Monday and Wednesday at your own office, and Tuesday and Saturday at a professional clinic. You are simply performing in more than one location. Settings are different venues and environments that are unique. Examples of this might be having an office with a table practice, but also having a corporate on-site chair practice, and working for an athletic team. You are doing different types of massage and bodywork in each setting. Audiences mean different groups that you are serving. For example, you might have an office for your table work, but also see a geriatric audience at a senior center, as well as teach an infant massage class, or work with pregnant moms.

5. I like your idea for multiple income streams with multiple locations - one private practice, and one spa/franchise work arena. It seems that spas & franchisees seem to want 100% loyalty, but I want to expand by working for solid hours to supplement in those environments without a table rental. Notwithstanding they already know I would NEVER steal clients, how can I deal with the franchise/spa owner's objection to me having a private practice?

There are a couple of ways to address this—I’ll call them the high road and the low road. The high road would be to ask for a heart-to-heart with the owner and explain your plans for your massage career, and how that more than 50% of massage therapists practice in one or more locations, and that your request is not that atypical. Getting a better understanding may help assuage the owners’ concerns. The low road might be to say, “I never signed an agreement that stated I won’t perform massage outside this clinic, and I need $XXX per week from my practice. I can’t get that number here so I am planning on supplementing it elsewhere. I will not in any way compromise this clinic’s business.” It’s not quite the “low” road, but it’s a little more tough talk. And depending on the owner, it may cost you your clinic job. But some owners might appreciate your candor, and help you get to where you want to go.


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“Let’s Make a Deal”

6. What’s the difference between a Massage Club and a Massage Contract? Anne referred to a “massage club” as a characterization of franchise massage clinics, i.e. Massage Envy and Elements, among others. These clinics offer many conveniences for their clients (extended hours, multiple locations), but one primary element of their success has been their subscription model. This means they offer a potential client an introductory price (initially it was $39, not $49 or $59 depending on location), and then their pitch is to get the client to sign up for a one-year membership that costs $49/month and includes one massage per month. The benefit here is that the clinic gets paid up front (depending on their billing policy) and lines up some business in advance. This could work for any therapist. A massage contract (or as we put it, “Let’s Make a Deal”) was essentially a massage club for a specific client, rather than an entire practice-wide pricing model. The massage contract would essentially be: “You, Super Client, agree to buy 50 massages in 2009 from me, Massage Therapist, and can only use one per week, and 40 of them have to be used by you. I, massage therapist, agree to charge you, Super Client, $45 per massage for 50 massages in 2009.”

7. Just want to chime in on my opinion re: his idea for VIP clients - make a deal. My fear is if the word gets out that I make deals, then I'll always make less than I'm worth.

That’s a totally understandable feeling. But I think you can manage this in a way that doesn’t take away your pricing leverage. Nearly all customers understand volume pricing—that’s why Costco and Sam’s Club are very popular (“I don’t need this much popcorn, but it’s such a deal”). If I was faced with this by a semi-regular client, here’s what I would say: I don’t advertise a weekly rate, but if you are interested in coming weekly, I’d be happy to work with you and will offer the same rate as Fred gets. Please understand that Fred purchases 50 massages a year from me. I will honor that rate for any client who does that.

8. I notice that some of my clients that I have known for 6 months or so (and had a weekly massage), lately are not coming as often as they did, now they are still coming but once a month or twice. Should I bring up the Let’s Make a Deal as an option if their reason is the economy situation? Or just leave it like that and book new people?

This may seem like an over-simplification of the situation, but I would never just let any client I valued stop coming without some degree of follow-up. The big issue here is the economy—if they are reducing their massage investment because of finances, you probably won’t get them to buy into a 50-week massage program. And you probably can’t offer them enough of a deal; then it won’t work for you. You might want to consider other options to help fight off the economy bug—adding time to a regular massage (“ massage costs the same, but just got longer”), or creating a family pass


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(instead of $55 massages, sell them in blocks of 2 for $100). I would not encourage you to make an across-the-board pricing reduction; you’ll have a hard time getting that back. Comment: "Free" massages have their place on occasion, but they need to be controlled. If the population continually sees "free" or "reduced", the perceived value may go down in general, and this concerns me. Agreed. Your objective should not be to undercut yourself by any stretch; your objective should be to meet your income goals in a manner that you are comfortable with, physically, ethically and spiritually. But recognize that the economic world is built on transactions—sellers and buyers exchanging goods and services for fair value. Part of that at times will mean you are making a deal. Invariably, the reason we hear from massage therapists about why they are considering leaving the field is lack of revenue, and that is most directly controlled by lack of frequency. Pricing matters, but doing the work will make or break you. No clients = no career.

9. What do you do about family members that want weekly massage and only want to pay $35 for the massage?

As they saying goes, “you can’t choose your family.” True, but you can choose your clients (or choose not to have them as clients). There are several alternatives:

a) Tell them no. Run the risk of losing them as a client (and losing a Christmas present). Let them know that you have determined what you need as a therapist and you can’t go below that. If they don’t want to pay more, find a client who will.

b) Live with it. They’re family; they already annoy you. Just add one more thing to the pile. And besides, you love them.

c) Make them earn it. Give them the massage for $35 (or even cheaper) but ask them for something in return—marketing help, laundry service, babysitting. Make a deal!

10. When you are making a deal for price with clients, how low do you go w/ price?

How do you prevent discounting yourself out of business (my business worth) while pulling in new customers?

As low as you can go while meeting your financial goals. You should know where you are for the month, quarter, year. Based on your budget, you should know what the lowest you can charge is. On the “Let’s Make a Deal” Plan, you still want to make money. Providing 50 massages for a net income of $0 is not a good use of your time. Think of it this way: what is your regular price? $60? How much of that is spent on marketing? A couple bucks? Your telephone? A little more? You still have those expenses, but your deal has gained you 50 massages for the year. Each massage you add doesn’t increase your phone bill, or marketing expense. So some of your regular expenses may not be incurred for each massage.


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Bottom line: As a client, I would want a price of $40-45 for 50x a year. If you got 20 clients like that, would that amount be good enough for you? That’s one way to figure out your deal number.

11. What’s the best way to introduce higher rates? Very carefully! The best way is to explain why the cost increase is necessary. Explain the benefits your clients receive, what you have done to increase their value, and how you intend to continue providing an excellent value for your clients. Be sure what your competitors are charging as well. Compare yourself to entities that help your story (example – individual practitioner compared to day spa). “Corporate Cool”

12. With the corporate plan, do you sell them gift certificates to be used whenever, or are you selling specific spots- for example 11am once a week?

I would try very hard to sell them a season ticket for massage, and lock them in to a time and day. I think from a timing perspective that would be better. Obviously, you could sell gift certificates as well, but my idea was to lock in a massage in one of your time slots.

13. Can you suggest some key points I should include in a letter introducing myself to local businesses?

Sure – your experience, your training, some testimonials if possible, and most importantly how it will benefit them (the company, employees), along with the value (“all for less than a ticket to a Bronco game”).

14. What about working with the military, say like the USO? Why not! It could be a great experience, and we all know how much our men and women in service need our support. I am not sure how the finances would work — I don’t know if engaging in a contract with the military would be challenging or not. Comment: With "Corporate Cool," my concern is that the individual chosen each week might not find the scheduled time convenient. Not to sound crass, but that’s their problem. If you structure it so a) you are paid in advance for the session and b) there is a system to identify the client to you (the client calls you 48 hours in advance), then the rest is the client’s responsibility. One thing you would want to stipulate is there are no rain checks. Back to my sports analogy—if the boss gives me tickets to the ball game, and I forget, the baseball team doesn’t owe me tickets for another game.

15. Do you have a sample contract for "Corporate Cool" and for health care professional referrals?


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No — not yet. But we will get on that right away!

16. Who would you approach in the larger companies for the Corporate Cool idea? Human Resources? CEO? Owners? How do you best approach a major corporation about offering a deal/contract massage program? They can be very difficult to communicate with on this topic.

It depends on the size. I would first sort through my social circle and see if any of my friends or acquaintances might benefit from this and have a company that fits. And for those, I would obviously start with my contact. For large companies (100+ employees), I would seek out the human resources department. For smaller companies, I would try for the CEO/owner; you may get sent off to someone else, but why not make your pitch to the decision-maker. And perhaps offer a free massage to him/her as your sales pitch? But let’s remember—this is sales. You’re going to hear No more than you’ll hear Yes. But a good idea will find a home. General Questions/Comments

17. In your experience, aside from word of mouth and your examples this evening what is the best form of written advertising i.e. phone book etc.?

This is my opinion and mine only, so take it with a grain of salt. But there aren’t too many places I would advertise—the Yellow Pages least of all. I understand that there are areas where it might make more sense, but my general impression is that the cost is too high and there are too many negatives. If I had to place an ad, it would be where my target clients are. I know that sounds a little obvious, but think about who your clients are—are you content with them? Are you really just looking for more of them? If so, what do they read? Do they have kids? What is it they have in common besides you? A business card ad in a PTA newsletter can be as effective as any yellow page ad. You don’t need to overdo it—you are looking for 20-25 sessions per week. Incremental efforts can get you there. Comment: I've had success giving an extra 15 minutes for free rather than cutting my price. Amen to that! A great way to stand out from the crowd. Instead of a 50-minute massage like at the spa, give a 70-minute massage. And a nice value-add that doesn’t take money out of your pocket.

18. Do you regularly change the articles available for the client newsletter? I just started using it and have no idea how often it changes. Thanks.


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We don’t typically change the articles, but we do add to them. You shouldn’t run into an article shortage whatsoever.

19. Our facility is unique in that all the therapists are independent contractors whose daily license fee (rent) pays for the use of the space (therapy room, lobby, showers, laundry, etc.) plus the services of a part-time receptionist. Website advertising is also included. Additional advertising is done individually or by majority vote such as Google Adwords, etc. which recently was declined. How do I convince the therapists that additional advertising costs despite the economy situation will benefit them?

I’d like to understand more about the practice, but a widely regarded view is that smart companies invest in an economic downturn; it affords an opportunity to take market share. While the effort may not be limited to advertising per se, your therapists should seriously consider a business-development effort. That doesn’t necessarily mean buying ads—it could mean an aggressive referral program, the corporate plan discussed at the webinar, or some sort of other collective effort. The reality of the economic situation is that profitability will likely suffer for many, many businesses; it might just take more to keep business from suffering. The good news is you have the potential of the whole group to tap into.

20. Is there a way to help with fear of going out and presenting yourself? Practice might not make “perfect,” but it can make permanent. There are lots of resources available to help with public speaking and interaction, from books to classes (think of your local community college or free university) to Toastmasters or other business organizations (Rotary, Sertoma, Chamber of Commerce). But a lot of it comes from your comfort level. Recognize that it is a skill that some have naturally and others have to work to master—just like massage, or tennis, or guitar. But regardless of your natural predisposition, you should practice your pitch. Present yourself to your dog, cat, bird, spouse, mirror, friends, in the car, wherever you have time to refine your proposition. And remember, like mentioned previously, this is sales—like a baseball hitter, you are expected to fail most of the time. The great ones fail less. People will be disinterested, impolite, or unable to be convinced. That’s natural—keep swinging.

21. I work as an Independent Contractor out of a Physical Therapy Clinic. I was doing great before this financial crisis started. Business has dropped off so much that I'm seriously freaking out and I applied for a Bank Teller position that would be full time. Am I overreacting?

Well, the easy answer would be, “yes.” But that would be inconsiderate of your circumstance. I want you to succeed in your practice, but you want to make sure you have food on the table. You need to feel you are maintaining your standard of living. Here’s the benefit of your massage practice—you can ramp up or down as it makes sense. Let’s play out a scenario: Your business does drop off considerably, and you are not sure what portion of your income will no longer be present. It might make sense for you from a short- to mid-term timeline (6 mos. to 3 years) to take a job that makes your income more consistent. But that does not need to mean massage disappears; rather, you might plan on a target practice of 5-10 client hours per week. The net result might mean a greater total income, and you still get to keep your hand in


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massage. Depending on how your practice goes, you may be ready to ramp back up sooner than expected. If not, you balance your income.

22. How do we get guys that would like a massage to get over themselves or whatever seems to be the hurdle to call and make an appointment?

I am biased, because I am a guy who loves massage and is a massage therapist. But this is a real challenge to build your practice. First, let’s recognize that massage is utilized by females more than males. So, males represent more opportunity, but have more resistance to it (based on our consumer survey of 2007; an updated survey will be conducted in the next few weeks). But most of your female clients have spouses, and brothers, and uncles. Think about what appeals to men; they want utility, convenience, and results. Most men do not want an escape; they want a tune-up. Tailor your message to men to focus on how they will feel afterward, and how it will benefit them in their life. Most men aren’t spa people. They know it feels great, but don’t likely talk about that as much. Sell them massage as an investment in their performance. Most of us guys think we are better athletes than we really are; help them understand what massage can do for them to keep their finely-tuned (!) machines running. And do it with a straight face!!

23. You mentioned educating clients on the benefits of massage and taking care of themselves. I continually have problems with my clients not being compliant with the ways I tell them to continue to take care of themselves between massages. I feel like when they come back for their massage they are frustrated and I am frustrated because they are not any better.

Ah ha — these people don’t take care of themselves as well as they should. Sounds like most of us typical Americans! We don’t eat as well, we don’t exercise enough, we don’t stretch or practice stress reduction, and we are frustrated that we are getting older, slower, fatter and stiffer! Okay, maybe that’s just me. But there are a lot of massage clients that face this, too. I once went to a therapist for a while but stopped going because she was too preachy; I knew what she was telling me was right, but I didn’t pay $55 an hour to hear that. So you do have to walk a line between being politely encouraging and too holier-than-thou (especially if you don’t “walk the walk”). My suggestion would be to gently educate clients about what might be causing the issues they face, but soften it by telling them that we all experience those things. But also use the analogy of diet—“garbage in, garbage out.”

24. I am an independent contractor working for a spa (there are really only 2 of us, with a few other LMTs on and out). Our biz is not the greatest, and I am at a loss as how to handle marketing myself while staying in integrity to who I am working with. I disagree greatly with much of her advertising and am embarrassed to hand out her brochures and the cards she insists I use. Any recommendations?

Sounds like it’s time for a heart-to-heart. First, perhaps you need to sort out whether this “marriage” with this other LMT is salvageable, and worth saving. If you think it can be, then you need to sit down with her and explain how her style is not yours. That doesn’t mean your relationship is over; you might play that off as a strength in your approach (think Fire & Ice, Yin and Yang). If you are truly a partnership (and she is not in a position of authority over you), you have every right to express how you would like to market your practice and the spa.


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25. How do we balance marketing with massage. There's not a lot of time to do both.

This is not meant to sound trite, but you don’t have a choice. Like the Henry Ford quote, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” If you don’t have time to market your practice, well, you won’t have a practice. I don’t think effectively marketing your practice is a huge time-sucker; we’re talking about basic fundamentals like follow-up calls, thank you’s, newsletters, sending an e-mail. You don’t have to be the next Nike or Apple; sophistication is not a prerequisite to developing a practice.

26. At times I have a lot of cancellations- what can I do to help this decrease. The good news: You are not alone! But we need to work on getting you out of this game. I checked with my favorite therapists and essentially this is a plan you need to follow: communicate clearly to all clients what your policy is—post it on your website, your information pieces (brochures, newsletters), back of your business card. And most importantly: STICK TO IT. If you don’t enforce it, you don’t have a policy. One therapist suggested a cancellation fee (less than the fee for massage), perhaps $20. And perhaps give a regular client a warning before enforcing it. If the client complains and resists, then perhaps you don’t need them as a client. Most “good” clients will feel bad and understand that your time is valuable, too.

27. Give some suggestions on how to ask a client to book another appointment without being pushy?

Easy answer! Check out the BizFit section at ABMP.com and watch our video tip on this very subject.

28. I consistently ask a client for when they want to book their next session after they've received one, but I cannot seem to remember to ask for referrals too. Is there a better way or time to ask for referrals? Such as follow up with an email the next day?

Do I need to come out there and tie a string around your finger? I think you can request

referrals after a session, but I would also conduct a specific campaign to generate referrals. You could put together a flyer or a punch card or anything like that and hand them out after sessions, or e-mail them, or send them via snail mail. The follow-up email would be a good option as well. But I would think about it more globally—not just as an effort after the massage but an across-the-practice effort.

29. I get a lot of people who ask me if I take insurance...I let them know that I cannot personally bill your insurance company, however, they can submit their receipts to get reimbursed accordingly...Is there any other option I can offer them? Is there any network I should be associated with?

Another good question that can be addressed by visiting ABMP.com. We have recently augmented our material on billing third-party insurance. Christy Cael on our staff has done so as an LMT in Washington state, and has written up some useful guidelines. Log in to the


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members’ section and look under Business Management and you’ll find the Massage Insurance Billing Resource.

30. I am trying to get more clients (home visits mainly), yet not a lot is happening. Being a male therapist is a little challenging, how can I do better?

31. I'm an out call therapist only and don't have a physical space. Even though some of

the information works for me it was tailored to therapist with physical locations. What do you suggest to someone like me and how do I tailor make my approach.

Question 30 ties into Question 22 a bit re: gender, but the bottom line is for you is to follow the path of least resistance. Do you have clients now? Let’s get them to help you grow. If you have a handful of positive home visit clients, talk to them about growing your business. If they are investing in a home-based massage, they likely have friends who can afford to do the same. Outcall therapists have some advantages: no rent to pay, and you can appeal to people getting a massage in the comfort of their own home. Play up the conveniences of home—easier for clients to fit in their schedules, high degree of comfort, save on gas, you come to them. You can still develop a referral plan, a Let’s Make a Deal Plan, a corporate plan—you’ll just deliver to them! Thanks much for your participation in our webinar—more to come!

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Q&A from the ABMP BizFit Webinar Final · practice, and one spa/franchise work arena. It seems that spas & franchisees seem to want 100% loyalty, but I want to expand by working for