Selling yourself and pre-booking

[Jujus L]

I am very confident that I am good at my services, I just suck at urging the client to come back and prebook, or to get them to buy products. I'm not very great at thinking on my feet, but I think if I were given key phrases and ideas I should be able to increase my business if I could prepare and practice for these things, I just need to know the right way to go about it!

Yes, I can state that my clients have knots that need to be worked out, and how much I would love to see them again. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Mitch]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

regarding rebooking .... I implemented a rebooking discount. So after the massage, when handling payment, asking how was the massage, etc, I say, "I just wanted to let you know about my rebooking discounting. If you schedule your next appointment while you're here today, I will take $5 off the price of your next session." Probably 90-95% of my clients rebook. Some of them rebook for 2-3 months out, but that's okay with me. A person who has an appointment on the books will call and RESCHEDULE if they need to, but many people leave, honestly INTENDING to schedule again in the future (I've done it myself!) and just never do. But if it's ON THE CALENDAR, a person will follow up on it (and I do reminder text/calls too, btw).

It's a very low-pressure way to talk about rebooking. It often generates the "how often should I/anybody come for massage" conversation, so I can let them know about things I found while working on them, and make a recommendation on when they should return.

Now, obviously, when I set my prices, I factor in the fact that 95% of my clients will be paying at the 'rebook' rate.

Another thing that I do is send out a welcome letter about a week or so after their first visit, and I send my referral cards for them to give to others they want to recommend me to (another way to make massage more affordable for them).

Hope you find this helpful!

 

[Jaimy]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

I like your ideas, Ding.

It works a lot for me to simply ask people if they want to re-book. Most do, some say they'll call back later. Out of those who "need to check their schedule", a lot of them forget so I like to make a phone call to them after a few days to see how they're doing. People seem very pleased that I remember their specific complaints and care enough to check on their progress. A lot of people will reschedule during that phone call because they want their neck addressed again or now that their neck feels better, their low back needs some extra work or something like that.

 

[I love my love]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

I let people know what I "found" tight spots knots ect... Then I recommend when I think they should come back, and say "would you like to set up a time to do that now?" I would say about 75% of people do rebook the other 25% say they will call, and some do. I also discuss different options such as weekly or monthly sessions, 30 min. or 1 hour.

 

[b2fnow]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

Hope you find this helpful!

Hi Ding! Welcome back! You've been missed.

I actually wrote this a few weeks ago, regarding booking:



snail,

I suggest trying out this following question which can be moderately effective without being pushy. “So, would you like to re-schedule or just give me a call?”

Once you’ve become comfortable with this line of conversation, you can always work your way into a variety of other booking strategies.

I think the important thing to remember is that re-booking the client helps their work to be more effective, and is also a part of producing the business that keeps your doors open.

When you think in terms along those lines, it becomes easier to re-book.

Another thought is to offer to get them on a schedule: once a week, once every few weeks, once a month, once a quarter.

 

[Latin Guru(Retired)]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

With the exception of a "student/military rate" I really HATE giving discounts for appointments. I don't usually call it a student discount either...it's rate. The reason is because people want what they can't have...and if they can have you at a discount, they will go to someone more expensive when they can afford to pay more...because they must be better, right? there are OF COURSE exceptions to any marketing tact, and I use them too...but I tend to add value instead of discounting...for example: Buy a series of five and receive and additional massage ($75 value) at no charge. Is this a discount? Of course it is...but psychologically it's a different type of sale and tends to get clients longer and more loyal.

 

[geyamala ?????? ??? ????]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

For new clients, we offer $10 off their next appointment if they schedule it before they leave, provided it is within 30 days. If they can't make that appointment immediately, we give them $5 off if they rebook and come back within 30 days. It seems to work well for us.

We don't offer any other rebooking discounts. Our experience shows that clients come to expect those discounts EVERY time they rebook, so you either keep giving them deals or lose their business. That's a lose-lose deal unless you never really planned to receive you full, regular rate for the services you provide. t017

Instead of discounting, we have been focusing on improving the quality of the client experience. Some MTs have this nailed down and are constantly rebooked with raving fans. Others are less frequently requested and therefore have less consistent incomes. The most heavily requested MTs also (usually) get the best tips.

Being highly skilled at massage therapy is simply not enough. You must also develop a rapport with your clients so that they (more-or-less) like you and strongly trust you. This means developing a broad range of people skills and some good, consistent service-oriented habits. Kelly and I have did a workshop on this stuff for our employees last fall, and since then our monthly request rates (and rebooks) have been climbing.

A few simple habits that work for me:

• Always be in professionally appropriate attire while at work, well-groomed and very clean without noticeable scents.
  Keep non-professional conversations and activities in the break room or laundry room, where clients won't see or hear them. Be mindful of volume when talking in the break room, which is near the rest rooms.
  Be proactively friendly and welcoming to clients, even if they are coming to see another MT.
  Read each client's chart info prior to each appointment and have some idea of what questions I may wish to ask during the intake.
  During the intake, always do a few basic things: confirm the scheduled duration of the session, learn why the client came for this session, assess and discuss their situation and what we'll do during the session, and set boundaries and expectations regarding behavior, pressure, communication, draping, etc.
  If it's the first time I'm seeing a client, I do a more thorough intake and assessment. If I've seen them before, I adjust the thoroughness appropriately depending on the situation.
  Do the best darn work I can.
  Afterward, discuss the session and reassess the client, set expectations for the next 1-2 days, educate the client about their body and what they should do from here - come again (when/how often), see someone else (refer appropriately), stretch/exercise (sometimes referring to PT or trainer), etc.

Anyone can do these things if they bother to learn how and practice until it all comes naturally. Many of my skills were honed in prior careers, scholastic experiences, and extracurricular fun activities - particularly those that forced me to go outside my comfort zone in order to succeed. For example, learning to do cold calls (both on the phone and in person) was a VERY unpleasant experience for me (on several occasion), but I learned a LOT about quickly drawing a stranger into discussion and connecting with them on a more fundamental level, and I learned how to take rejection as a professional, which has been invaluable in many ways.

 

[ninapecora98461]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

Great list, Jason! Thanks for sharing it!

Just wanted to respond to something you said.

We don't offer any other rebooking discounts. Our experience shows that clients come to expect those discounts EVERY time they rebook, so you either keep giving them deals or lose their business. That's a lose-lose deal unless you never really planned to receive you full, regular rate for the services you provide. t017

I do set my prices so that my 'rebooking rate' ($5 less than my 'regular' rate) is satisfactory to me. I feel it's a worthy trade-off to have my schedule filled weeks in advance and 'give up' $5/session. Some therapists are comfortable waiting for the last-minute call-ins to fill their book, but that makes me too nervous. I like looking ahead and seeing that my book is filled with regular clients. I suppose you could argue that they 'should' be returning simply because they see the benefit in the work, and that's very true. I guess another way to look at it would be that occasional clients pay an 'upcharge' (or whatever you want to call it) because they choose not to be a regular client??

 

[fishmoo]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

I've had some success with "maintenance packages". Right now my rates for private regular clients are $60 for Relaxation and $75 for therapeutic work. If they sign up for the package, they will be paying $10 less for 2/month and $5 less for 1/month. The package has to be scheduled 2 sessions ahead and I call them 3 days before to confirm/remind the appointment.

My problem is the clients that aren't in the plan that decide to schedule and appointment and I call 3 days before, they say "yeah, sure" and then they call me the day of the session to tell me not to come cuz they got something else to do.

I've since started requesting that the session be paid in full at the time of booking for those clients. (Transferable within 15 days, or between clients)

If someone complains that it's not fair (which I get every now and then) I tell them that I had set aside that time, and refused all other bookings, especially for them and that my policy clearly states that there is a 48hr. cancellation notice.

 

[Kimmy996]

Selling yourself and pre-booking

Great list, Jason! Thanks for sharing it!

Just wanted to respond to something you said.

We don't offer any other rebooking discounts. Our experience shows that clients come to expect those discounts EVERY time they rebook, so you either keep giving them deals or lose their business. That's a lose-lose deal unless you never really planned to receive you full, regular rate for the services you provide. t017

I do set my prices so that my 'rebooking rate' ($5 less than my 'regular' rate) is satisfactory to me. I feel it's a worthy trade-off to have my schedule filled weeks in advance and 'give up' $5/session. Some therapists are comfortable waiting for the last-minute call-ins to fill their book, but that makes me too nervous. I like looking ahead and seeing that my book is filled with regular clients. I suppose you could argue that they 'should' be returning simply because they see the benefit in the work, and that's very true. I guess another way to look at it would be that occasional clients pay an 'upcharge' (or whatever you want to call it) because they choose not to be a regular client??

For us, that policy would create unwanted problems. For you, it's a benefit. Sounds like your current practices fit your business model!