Massage Practitioners, How do I market?

[Country Girl]

I am licensed in Ohio, which is quit strict...750 hours, state boards which is under the control of the Ohio Medical Board, they have controlled massage since 1916. Ohio does not reciprocate with any other state and does not recognize National Certification. The appication just to take the state board is extensive, you have to list your address and employer since the age of 18, etc. you get the idea.

But yet if you call yourself a massage practitioner, you have to do NOTHING, just put up your sign. They can not advertize as a massage therapist, but lets face it does the general public know the difference? We have invested 2 years of study, many thousands of dollars for all the education and training.

As you can tell it ticks me off. We have practitioners in the area that charge as low as $20.00 per hour.

I am asking do other states have the same regulations?
How do you deal with the practitioners?
Can you offer suggestions on how I can deal with this?
How do I respond to phone calls, saying I can get a massage for $20.00 why are you charging so much? I know your answer, explain all of your training, etc. but be honest, would you not try the cheaper price.

Thank you for letting me vent and I look forward to some enlightning response.

 

[Skittles]

Massage Practitioners, How do I market?

How do I respond to phone calls, saying I can get a massage for $20.00 why are you charging so much? I know your answer, explain all of your training, etc. but be honest, would you not try the cheaper price.

I don't know about the other questions, but here, even though there is no tiered licensure, and you can't practice any type of massage without a license, some people still charge far less for massage. When somebody calls me and says "$65!, I can get a massage over (somewhere else) for $35! Why $65?" I just say: "Why? Because I'm very good." That's all, I don't have to explain, or talk them into it, they'll either work with me or not.

I used to bargain hunt, my first few massages were at the cheapest place I could find. Now, I look for the person who is going to do a great job.

Be honest, do you really want a practice full of bargain hunters? Or would you rather have the people you can get at your price- the people who recognize that you have additional skills that can help them?

Likely, the $20 "practitioners" aren't up to snuff, and have to discount heavily to get work. If they were highly skilled, (even without the certificate, there are some very gifted massage practitioners out there,) they could/would be charging more money.

 

[Pompal 09.]

In Ontario I am a registered Massage therapist, and the term massage therapist, massage therapy is copyrighted. We have people who can't pass the certification exams, or can't be bothered to take them, or take a weekend course and put up signs, calling themselves bodyworkers. We also have orthotherapists, who are a totally different breed, and again aren't regulated here, and often advertise they do massage therapy, not always though

There isn't a whole lot you can do. However, if someone is saying the do massage therapy, and they aren't registered, we can report them to our regulatory college, who can then investigate, and shut them down with steep fines, and prosecution under federal laws. If they walk the line carefullly, there is nothing that can be done, but one step over, and someone sees it, there can be repurcussions.

If you are concerned about it in your area, see if your board will do something in terms of title protection. THat will only work though if A)there is title protections and B) the practitioners are using said title.

As far as explaining why you charge so much, I like Breathe's suggestion, probably the simplest, and easiest . I explain to people how long my training was, what I do, and I know what to look for in terms of contraindications and safety. Can they say the same about someone else without the same level of training and certification? I often believe you get what you pay for.

I also ask, if said massage person is flying under the raidar, doing things that are ethically questionable, do you want to put yourself in a vulnerable position with that person?

 

[Sandralynn]

In Texas, you must be licensed by the state in order to provide massage services for any form of compensation. (I have no problem with that, except the part of the law that says students cannot even receive tips during their required unpaid 50-hr internship!)

Licensure is relatively easy. You go to a state-approved school for the basic 300-hour program, which includes 250 classroom hours and 50 hours of internship (at the school's clinic), and then you take your state board exams, a written (150 questions) and a practical (6-minute demo of the basic Swedish strokes and 2 joint mobilizations). It takes 6-8 months usually. You can then call yourself a massage therapist and charge for your services. Licenses are renewed every 2 years for around $118 and you must take 12 state-approved CEU credits during those 2 years.

To be eligible to get into school and get a license, you have to have a high school diploma or GED, a clean record, and no sexual offenses of any kind. You also can't have any prior suspended or revoked licenses. That's it, as far as I know

As far as marketing, it's not hard. If you use any name besides your own name, you must file a D/B/A with the county you practice in (cost: $10, good for 10 years, and you really only need one, even if you practice in multiple counties) and then you can market under your assumed name. You need not form a corporation and register your name federally or anything. The only thing you can't do is have a sign that says "massage therapist" without your license #. You can either use your real name or your D/B/A, or you can say "massage therapy/massage therapist" and then your license number. Quirky, but simple

We have a lot of ppl practicing under the radar in our state. I personally know several people who practiced massage therapy as a business before getting registered. I went to school with one who never paid off his tuition entirely, but did finish his requirements and so he had all the experience and information he needed from school. Since he didn't pay off his tuition he can't get his license, but that isn't stopping him from practicing. Nice guy, but dumb move. We also have our share of providers of "other" services, and some in-between (i.e. "sensual", draping optional, nude, etc, but that adamantly refuse to cross the line and be escorts or prostitutes).

I've heard of some offering cheaper massage, but not much at all. In fact, even the schools are charging more than $30 for students and $39 is the absolute lowest I've seen for an hour session in a long time, and that's the discount massage places of the world. Private practitioners are all over the map, ranging from $60-90/hr typically, but never below $50.

Dealing with the other practitioners? You can report them, if you like. I've just left our wrong-doers alone. I realize I'll never stop the Problems, and all I can do is refuse to take appts from clients seeking those services. And beyond the programs/specials we already have set up, I will not offer any additional discounts, no matter how someone might object. We're worth what we're worth and we get what we're worth and so should everyone else

Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[SUGAR CANE]

I agree with Breathe, do you want a clientbase of discount hunters?

It's a challenge when you've got no clients to know you're missing out because you don't charge $20, but if you do charge $20 you won't be able to make a living doing this. (I wonder how many of those $20 per hour are full time - I bet for most of them it's just a hobby business, extra pocket money)

If people know there are $20 practitioner out there and they are ringing you up asking if you are $20, it usually means they've paid $20 in the past, they are not happy and looking for another practitioner, otherwise they would still be going to the $20 practitioner! If the $20 practitioner was doing a great job, they wouldn't be looking for someone else. Ask if they have tried the $20 practitioner and if they were happy, why look for someone else?

If you have no clients, you are time rich at the moment. Give people free upgrades on time - you have the time to spare, don't give them discounts on the price. Have an opening special 75min for the price of 60min or whatever.

 

[bryanhughjr]

Here is an old thread with a few replies that may be of help:

What to say in ADS?