I posted this response to a question on the Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals group on LinkedIn.com. I thought I'd repost it here since there are some good, quick tips for building your client base.
The Original Question:
Hello, I am a massage therapist in training. I will be completing my studies in
October 2009. Is there any advice that can be given or suggestions as to how to
start building a clientle. -Nicole Morris
My Response:
Nicole, There's a lot of great information here (referring to other posts)! You need to find your balance between different methods of building your business. I'm always for spending as little as possible to the best effect, so let's look at a few to get you started. Others have mentioned networking here. Networking is in my experience by far the most effective, but it takes time to build it up. There are however some things you can do to speed the process.
- Be ready to talk to everybody about it. And even more importantly, you have to know what you want to say. Make sure you know your market and what it is that they are looking to get out of what you do. Then you can craft what you say to appeal to them. Get your message as clear and concise as possible, then be ready to say it whenever anybody asks what you do.
- Recruit your network. You're a member of Linked In here, so you know the power of networking. Use the network you already have of friends and family. I have my students write a letter to them explaining what they've been doing and what they do (back to #1). By telling them in your words, they are more likely to use your language in describing your work to their friends and family - which appeals you your target market more. And then be sure to ask them directly for their help - "please help me build my practice by telling all of your friends and family about my work" - or more directly - "invite your friends and family...". That way they know what you'd like them to do.
- Partner-up. That doesn't necessarily mean a business partner, but build a network of people to refer to you. In my work it used to be networking with concierges in hotels, who in turn referred clients to me. Think about how you can create win-win-win situations for you, your referral network, and your clients.
- The right kinds of incentives. Don't assume that everybody wants to have a free massage or a discounted rate as a reward or incentive. Sure they can be the cheapest, but they aren't always the most effective. Ask them what they want and give it to them - then they'll give you what you want.
- Track it. Make sure you keep tabs on where your business is coming from. Track the top 20% of referrers in your network and make sure you keep them happy and referring as they'll probably send 80% of your referrals by themselves. Hope that helps. I write on these and other topics frequently on my blog ( http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emassage-continuum%2Eblogspot%2Ecom&urlhash=OjAp&_t=tracking_disc ) if you'd like to read more.
Additional Comments:
I can add to this that as she is a student, she should start building her client base now. Word of mouth takes a while to build and the sooner she starts, the better. She should begin letting her potential clients know where she is with her business development and can start working on these clients (maybe with student rates even). Many students who choose not to charge while they are in school still make quite a bit in tips. One word of caution though, make sure you build in the expectation up front that rates go to your normal professional rates after you graduate. If you don't build this in from the get-go you may run into problems later in transitioning these clients to paying (or paying more).
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