How fast should my clientele grow?

[ninjaxcupcakes]

How fast should my clientele grow?

I worked in a hair salon doing massage for a while and it's a hard place to build a reliable massage clientele. Not impossible, but much harder. Doing free chair massage is ok but I've never found that giving away massage translates into paying customers on the table. I don't give away massage. I may *donate* time to a worthwhile group (ie, giving 30 minute gift certs to a local organization I feel strongly about supporting) but in my experience, people will line up at an event for free chairs but they don't value something they get for free. A decent number of the people that have won a donated gc I donated have come back for paid sessions, once I was able to get them in the shop, on a nice warm table with candles and music and really do a massage.

None of us do insurance billing or prescriptions and I don't ever care to. In almost 6 years, I've only had a couple of people even ask about it. I think that most people who are looking for insurance massage are not likely to go to a spa or salon, they're going to look at a DC or PT office. And those are going to be limited time clients, because insurance isn't going to cover their once a month massage forever. I have people that have been coming to me every 3 or 4 weeks since I started and they pay out of pocket. I have a few clients who wanted weekly massage so I offer them a contract that they pay $200 upfront and get weekly 1 hour sessions for 4 weeks. So they're paying $50 instead of $65 per session but they have to pay it all at once. They jumped at the offer. That's a nice chunk every time they renew their contract. This time of year, we all also offer 4 1-hour sessions for $200, and give them gift certificates to bring in whenever. It's a Christmas time only special. Some people buy for themselves, some people buy to give to 4 different people, some buy for spouses.

We've started doing FB specials on slow days which have had a great response. One day it was 'Bring a non-perishable food item in for a local food bank and get $10 off your appointment today". We've thrown it out there "This afternoon only, get a 30 minute massage or facial for $25 if you mention FB!!" One day we did half off any full priced service. Some are new people and some are old, reliable clients but it fills up an empty afternoon that otherwise may have remained empty. Pretty much, it's just non-stop self marketing and PR. Do you do hot stone or anything else? The more you can offer, the better.

 

[Spooky1]

How fast should my clientele grow?

I am taking everyones advise. I have found a mentor about 30 miles from me. We are just playing email eforum.xxx now trying to set up a meeting and/or phone conversation. She is so busy that she is closed to new business. I do understand that a more clinical setting is where I need to be for the kind of work I want to do. However, I needed a place to start. I work for a commission split rather than a space rental. That way I can build a little without having to worry about losing money. The only clinics in town that would consider renting or commissioning a space are in chiro offices. I have spoken to sports medicine docs, PT clinics, and MDs, but none of them has shown the least bit of interest. I have worked in chiro offices, and I only end up with insurance patients that will not pay out of pocket. Once I have enough regular clientele to cover overhead in a new place, I will start to look into opening my own place. Thats not something that I ever wanted to do, but it would seem to be the logical next step at that point.

 

[gultin]

How fast should my clientele grow?

only clinics in town that would consider renting or commissioning a space are in chiro offices. I have spoken to sports medicine docs, PT clinics, and MDs, but none of them has shown the least bit of interest.

Consider plaing an ad for what you want in our For Rent and/or In Search Of & Want to Buy sections.

You never know who may have something to offer.