Frustrations

[Pompal 09.]

Hi All,
I am trying to build my practice and would love to hear about any of your experiences with problem clients/landlords etc. so I can maybe avoid some of them.
Also, what has made the biggest difference in building your business? Ads or referrals or what!
Many thanks for your help in this

 

[sweetjone]

Hi! Welcome to MassagePlanet!

I haven't had an major frustrations, but building the business has been steady but SLOW work. I've found that the main thing people are looking for is longevity. MT's have come and gone in this town for a long time. The fact that I am still here after two years seems to have made me very welcome among the downtown merchants, and my clientele has increased more quickly, in the past couple of months. Just not being a "fly by night" business has boosted my image.

So my advice is - be in it for the long haul. Pace yourself - don't go into huge debt unless you already have the income required to make the payments. I've seen several MT's take huge loans out, rent really nice offices, then use up the loan just in paying the rent until the lease expires. Know what your budget can handle and work within your means. I do put money right back into the business, it is critical to do so, but other than paying for school, I haven't gone into debt for my business. The business has to support me - I am not working to support the business. Celebrate progress, and then do the next thing. Enjoy your work. If you love what you do, it shows.

 

[Wiz]

Hi, and welcome to the board!

Many neat little helpful hints can be found on the Tips for New & Not so New MTs at the top of this section.

I'll add my own experience, though, and the advice/tidbits I've received from others.

As far as dealing with landlords, I wish I knew what to say, but I don't because I work out of my home.

As for dealing with problem clients... Clients are usually AWESOME. But, a few do present problems. Searching the archives you're bound to find plenty of stories. Some of these situations are avoidable and provide valuable learning experiences. Others are not so avoidable (but can still be good to learn from).

I've had a few problem clients in my past. Some have exposed themselves, made conversation that pushed the envelope, displayed sexual reactions that were beyond anything most would consider "normal", blown off appointments, etc. This happens. I had one lady early on who basically tried to run my practice. When she found out I bartered, she practically disregarded my bartering page and almost tried to push me into trading massage for stuff from her Southern Living at Home catalog (which she was a consultant for)--nothing we needed. This same lady also would schedule a certain amount of time (say an hour) and then back down to a half-hour at the last minute. My very first client ever knew about my introductory package (3 1-hr massages for $150) and talked me into 5 for $200. I put up some resistance at first, I didn't cave right away, but I didn't hold as firm as I should have. I had others who gave less than my required notice and whatever. With most "problem" clients, it comes down to BOUNDARIES. If you have a proper framework in place, some policies laid out for yourself (no one else ever has to see them) and you stick to them, even under pressure or in a difficult situation, you'll be much better off. Sometimes clients start small, tending to push the envelope a little here and there, just to see what they can get away with. It becomes your job to identify this behavior as best you can and nip it in the bud so that these clients DON'T become problem clients. Many times, that's all it takes and then they either behave themselves or they fade away to go bother someone else. So what I did was I printed a small "internal" policy manual that only I'm privy to. What's the point, you ask? Well, it really helped me when I had my policies all thought out and written down. It gave me added confidence just to have that stuff in writing. Some may see that as overkill, and many won't find that necessary, and that's cool--but I found that it worked well for me, since I've had chronic trouble in the past (and sometimes present) standing up for myself. It comes down to how far you will and will not go and at what point do you put your foot down about something.

About practice building. It takes time. This means a couple things. First, it requires a certain amount of time out of your schedule to really make this work. Some ppl do massage therapy PT while working a FT corporate job. This may work for some, but it doesn't build a big practice. You've got to take the plunge into massage therapy to get anywhere, IMO. It also takes time, as in at least a year or two, for a practice to build. There are some ppl on here who became therapists around the same time I did and who have much busier practices, and I'm sure the environment/demand/etc vary from area to area. I live in an area that is saturated. We're also not cheap. Nor do we pay for advertising or actively market ourselves. Perhaps that's why we're growing slowly lol. But, we do have our handful of monthly regulars and a few sporadic drop-ins (not walk-ins...drop-ins meaning they schedule an appt either for that day or the next day but don't have a standing arrangement) that fill our schedule. And, they're starting to refer. I've found that the referring game takes time.

What I've heard does NOT work: any of the big media...TV, large newspaper, radio, etc. Even sometimes small newspapers or coupon books don't work well, either. I have a friend who gave away a lot of free chair massage and had ppl sign in for a drawing for a free hour on the table. That's all well and good, but free chair massage and drawings RARELY translate to paying table clients. She said that's how she built her business, but then, she has attracted a different clientele with a different mindset, and frankly, I prefer dealing with mine! (Plus, I wonder just how much work she had to give away to build up a practice like that and attract those kinds of ppl?) Usually, giving away time/work does attract ppl who will sustain your business and feed your family. Though tempting to lower prices and flood your books, beware of the bargain hunter trap.

We built our own site, we're in the middle of giving it a nice facelift and thorough optimization now, and we've submitted a few free listings and published a few free ads. THIS has worked. We offer bonuses for referrals and for those who reschedule another appt within 4 wks, right after they come out and are sipping on their water. This has been a GREAT success. Again, slow--but, steady and reliable.

Well, I've just about written a book. I'm sure someone is better at posting other links

Let us know how you turn out and good luck with your practice!
See you around the boards,
~Jyoti

 

[Da Man]

My biggest advice about dealing with "problem clients" is to try never to think of people in those terms. Is a person we've invited into a business relationship really a "problem?" Usually they're just a person who is trying to figure out how this relationship is going to work. In the case of the bartering lady above, in *her* mind she was probably just eagerly offering up her very best. Clients who miss or cancel appointments, in their minds, often are saving money or attending to less "frivolous" obligations than a massage treat. Even those who behave sexually are usually, *in their minds,* trying to figure out if this behavior is really allowed or even proving to themselves that they are too "manly" to just enjoy the yin situation of receiving massage without a sexual response. Sometimes clients are trying to control us, but rarely. Mostly they are just trying, like all of us, to make sense of their lives and to feel safe in every situation they find themselves in.

Which is exactly why it's so good to write an internal policy manual. It really helps you clarify where you are willing/able to go to form these client relationships. Some things will be obvious -- they are spelled out in professional codes of ethics -- like never date a client and never advertise services you really don't offer. Most things will be much less obvious at first, like -- If I *do* barter, what am I willing to trade, and how do I keep some clients on a strictly money basis? If a client requests something I haven't ever thought about ("Would you just put a couple stones on my back, so I can see how it feels?") -- how do I gracefully gather my thoughts and decide what to do? When a client reveals a potential contraindication on the table, how can I still deliver massage (or am I a cancel-the-appointment person)?


It is not always easy to think this way. But by putting most of the focus on myself, thinking just about what I am able and available to do and how to communicate that gracefully and nonjudgementally to the people on my table, I find that people stop being "problem clients" and just turn into people I have a relationship with.

This is not to say that all these relationships will be easy, either! Sometimes even when I'm very clear about what *I* want and can/will do, the person I'm relating with still wants things to go differently and will root enthusiastically for their own point of view! (Such as the catalog lady above, or those who really want us to work outside our training because they feel comfortable with us, etc.) I just find it's easier to be firm *and* kind in these situations if I think of them like this. Usually they don't think they're being manipulative (just like we don't, right?) -- often they have decided they like us, and want to win us over, to feel we're on their side. We just have to show them that we are, by practicing with integrity and adhering to whatever our internal policy book says.

(None of this is meant to correct or judge anyone who uses the term "problem client." I just mean to say that *I* can't use that term any more and keep my sanity!)