Major marketing coup Part 2

[KuroKitty]

What a Friday. Since I had just volunteered my services on Wed., and limited time, Friday was my day to put everything together. First I needed a sign. I just happened to get a call from my marketing lady who is retooling all my business cards, G.C., etc. I told her not to make fun of my sign which I had purchased markers and stick on letter and heavy duty poster board. She gave me a great idea of buying finger paint and making footprints all over the board. She also suggested hand prints, which each child that comes to the shelter house puts on the wall. The sign, which read "free foot massage" turned out great. And I had a blast putting my foot into paint and making art.
The event its self was a rollercoaster. The men took off walking about 5:30 p.m. and returned around 6:15. I got my first person within five minutes. I thought "Here I go, just as I imagined it. packed all night long."
Boy was I wrong. After that first client ,it dried up like the desert. For the next hour I didnt work on one person. But I keep a smile on my face and realized I was twenty feet from the wine line and with the wait, people would stand and look at my banner that I had hanging from my table with my advertising on it. So I had 200 plus people who now knew who I was. Perfect. Sidenote: I had a banner made with business name and info (6 by 2 1/2 feet) after I sat at an event in the cold drizze and no one had a clue who or what I was. I recommend everyone have one made up.
i had clients coming up to me and say they where trying to get people over to me. I just told them not to worry, I had great exposere, great music (acoustic band) and people were in their eating and drinking fazes, that my turn would come. Then a funny thing happened. The band annouced that there was no wait to get massages and people should take advaneforum.xxxe of it. They bantered on seforum.xxxe back and forth how they wished they could get on my table.
The flood gates just opened. The chairperson for the event came over and I worked on his sprained ankle from volleyball a week ago, wifes of the walkers, and the chairmans 11 year old daughter had her feet worked on, who then gradded all the rest of her family members to get worked on. I had the band keep checking on me to make sure I was staying busy and even when I went to check on a silent auction display one of my clients had made, I was grabbed on the dance floor by a lady who had heard I had "majic hands", and back to work I went. The word had spread. I kept busy until after 9:00 p.m.
After the event, I went up and thasnked the band and told the three members I would work on them for five minutes. The keyboardist was a old gift cert. client who we have a mutual freind with, He mentioned he was basck running and needed to get back in. The next guy, the guitarist, does ironmans and whenever heis training says to get a massage, he just has his girlfriend rub his shoulders :. My next new client.
I got invited then to a local establishment for eats and drinks and talked with other people from the YWCA. I got home, exhausted around eleven. With my tip jar, I raised 85 dollars for the Y.
Several things I learned from this event. You have to put yourself into the community. I could not have paid for this type of advertising. Secondly, I never got down on myself, even when things were bleak. I kept that smile on my face and always appeared to be jovial. You have to think outside the box and try different events. Some will work, some won't and that's O.K. I would give my evening a rating of an A minis. I feel men were still very stand offish with a manworking on them, especailly in that setting. I will return next year and understand the ups and downs and know things will tunr out just fine.

 

[Sally]

That sounds great!!!! I'm glad you did that, and had the huge banner and ended up working your fingers to the bones! : I can't wait to hear how many new clients, gift certificates, etc. come of this.

That particular reason for a charity event is pretty dear to my heart, too - so thank you for helping give battered women a chance at a new start in life. Life is good, and they and their children need to know that.

 

[Msean]

So glad to hear it was a good experience for you johnnymac!

 

[matt limuel o]

That sounds so great! Thank you for doing the writeup.

You have to put yourself into the community.

Absolutely! Those of us in private practice are literally asking our community to support us... I think it's easier if we also support them!

 

[Pompal 09.]

I LOVE that you remained positive throughout the entire event and never let negativity get into your head. This is why everything turned out so great for you in the end.

Congratulations and keep up the great work. You will have a very successful career!!! t023