Building practice issues, reduced fees, etc

[renclrk]

I sure am having an "interesting" time building my private practice. I've been trying "Give to Get"... I have coupons for free 1/2 hour massages, or upgrade to a full hour for $25 raffled off at charity events and such... and it's not going very far. One weekend I have 40 raffled, 20 each at two different events. I got two calls, one booked. The $25 is seeming more and more ridiculous, even though that's the most I would get at a spa job (that won't be forthcoming, although that's a different thread). My normal rate is $75, and that's competitive here in SF. Range is $60-90.Here is text from the craigslist ad I run:

Introductory first time client offer: free 30 minute trial session, or upgrade to a full hour for only $25. Some folks have asked why I offer such a low intro price. It's because I want folks who need the work to be able to try it without fear of making "the wrong decision". By removing cost as a barrier to just trying it out, we get to see if we're a good fit to work together. I'm confident that if it is a good fit, you'll come back and continue working with me.

I added that last paragraph only recently... for two reasons... 1) I wanted to give people a reason for the low price other than "must not be good quality" and 2) I wanted folks to KNOW that they're getting this good price in order to see if they want to work with me further. Because I'm NOT confident that folks will come back and work with me, not from my experiences with the old ad without that paragraph. I've realized that most people who go to craigslist do so to find a deal. And when they ask what my regular rates are, $75 is a big jump from $25.So far I have a 20% rebook rate. Perhaps that's high and it's just the low numbers that make it seem awful (20% of 15 is 3 )Maybe this change in the ad will make that rebook rate go up.Even so, I know I need to do other kinds of marketing. Don't need to tell me that I'm just interested to get feedback/insight on what I've said so far.

 

[ChloeBoo]

Building practice issues, reduced fees, etc

i am of the mind that you get what you pay for. and although i understand what you're trying to do in that ad~ i don't believe that candidates in your market are taking you seriously because of the major price difference in your ad verses the going rate in your area. $25 vs. $75 for an hour is huge in a major city.

 

[stefan_ptg]

Ego, how did your raffle work?  Did the potential client get a winning ticket and had to call you to schedule?  Or did you obtain their contact info as part of the raffle, for you to contact them?  If it was the latter (and I hope it was), you should call them and let them know they won - ALL of them.  A free half hour massage.   That way, you'll get all of them on your table and possibly upgrade, sell gcs, etc.  That's the whole philosophy of Give to Get.  Let us know.  Thanks, Joe E.

 

[Happy-2]

Building practice issues, reduced fees, etc

Hey Joe...I gave 20 coupons each to two different events. So that's 40 people who got the offer in their hands. That was just one weekend, a couple other raffles have gone on.There's one raffle where I'm getting the contact info, should be soon now that August is over. I like that idea, btw.So yeah, I'm thinking it needs to be $45 to upgrade to the full hour. But then, I might not pursue this strategy very much longer. There are SO many other things for me to put my efforts into, like leading classes/workshops, niche targeting, forming alliances with other professionals, etc.Those just all seem more long term, and I feel like I "need" clients NOW That is to say, I'm about to say yes to a retail job at J. Crew for at least a month. I'm training for a chair massage startup that launches in October, so that might provide employment soon. I feel like I'd just like some financial breathing room to work on the above strategies!

 

[Brainiest]

great idea joe  ego~ keep trying. hang in there  ;D

 

[Jazmyne]

Hi ego,I would tweak my next focus from the experience of this one. Try to avoid giving anyone stacks of 'give-to-get' coupons, but still use the strategy. Go to a couple of places that might let you put a raffle box up (maybe in exchange for a half hour massage??). Make every entry a winner, as Joe said, but just as important:  get complete contact/advertising info from each entry. When I did this, I personally called every entry & left a message or spoke with them regarding their entry. Although its daunting, after a couple of calls, it became very easy & informal. "Hi this is Jill with Gilbert Bodyworks. I'm calling for Preston. He entered a raffle at Tea Ball & I wanted to help set his appointment for his winning massage treatment." Soon, I started thinking it would be fine with me if they wanted to 'gift' their free massage to someone else, etc. It just got easier. Later the addresses or email addresses will be good contacts for later postcard mailings, etc.This way, every one who drops a card or fills out a form a) might be a potential client, b) might tell a friend, etc, etcGood luck to you!Jill/sagetherapist