Am I introverted? OMG, put a laptop with a WIFI connection in my massage room and you won’t see me for a month.
Basically, that’s how I ran my massage business when I first started.
I’d sit in my office at The Edge (a local fitness center) writing on my laptop with my door half-open.
Only customers who really wanted to see me would put up with the irritated looks that I’d give them after they’d knock on the door and interrupt my stream of consciousness (haha).
Talk about a doomed-to-fail marketing strategy: Be semi-visible (and give nasty looks) to potential customers who randomly walked by.
Eventually, I learned that to make it as a MT I needed to get out there and engage people.
Engage? You mean like BS-ing and small talk and pretending to care about conversations I don’t care about?
Well, if you’re as introverted as I am, that’s how it’s going to feel at first.
But like most anything else, once you start getting your reps in with something you don’t like doing, you’ll eventually get better at it—even with starting conversations.
I don’t know, Mark, my massage room is pretty comfortable.
I get it. But is “being comfortable” paying the bills?
Didn’t think so.
It’s time to get out of the massage room and engage people.
Not just anybody though.
You want to talk to:
- Potential clients
- Referral sources (healthcare professionals and business owners who will refer clients to you)
Okay, deep breaths my fellow introverts.
At first, we can engage people on our own introverted terms.
You’re comfortable doing massage, right?
So, let’s engage people by doing demo massages.
This article should get you on your way with that: How to Sell (a Lot of) Massages with Your Hands.
You just skipped right over that article, didn’t you?
Hey, no judgement here. I 100% know that being stuck in the massage room is some serious stuff.
But I’ve got more ammo to get you out.
Guess what else happens when you poke your head outside your massage door and squint into the fluorescent light?
You expand your therapeutic value which means you are even a bigger help to your clients.
For example, by interacting with physical therapists on a regular basis I’ve learned that physical therapy has become more user-friendly than it was 5 years ago.
Some PT places even offer free consults.
So for my clients with soft-tissues-issues-beyond-massage-help I now have another referral option besides orthopedists.
I’m not done.
When you engage other health professionals you find your place in the bigger picture.
What bigger picture?
The client’s health picture.
Interact with PTs, personal trainers, yoga instructors, Pilates teachers and chiropractors and you start to see how what you do can compliment or supplement what other health practitioners do.
Stay in your room and you tend to think massage is the be-all-end-all.
Getting out of your Massage Room is Good for Business
Getting out of your room is not only good for your clients, it’s also good for business.
Once you understand how your piece fits in, your piece is easier to talk about (sell).
I’m not going to lie to you, coming out of your massage room is gonna suck at first.
You’ll whine, whimper and find yourself back inside your room all warm and cozy just hoping someone knocks on your door.
When that happens think 1. more money, 2. better value, and 3. big picture.
Need More Help?
If you’re just starting your business, this free course will get your business off the ground: Jumpstart.
If you have an a massage business that just pays the bill, this program will take your massage income to the next level: Accelerator.
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