BUSINESS RE-SET: Upgrade Your Offerings|

Business and Marketing for Massage and Bodywork Therapists

Episode 37.

MINDY TOTTEN:

Hey, Hey there. Welcome back to the Do It With Intention podcast. I'm your host Mindy Totten,

For the past couple of weeks, we have been talking about why right now is the perfect time for a business reset. You'll be opening your doors again, likely in the next few weeks or months. So now you have the opportunity to hit the reset button on the business side of your practice.

[00:02:02] Two episodes ago. We talked about resetting your finances, using the Profit First framework from Mike Michalowicz, and last episode I gave you some ideas for creating your ideal schedule, one that has strong boundaries, which will not only fill your life with more ease, but will also likely allow you to do better work so that your clients will see better results.

[00:02:22] If you'd like, you can go back and listen to those episodes. We'll link to them in today's show notes at MindyTotten.com/podcasts/episode37. Today, I want to share a couple of action steps that you can take to round out your business reset and upgrade your offerings. I know that if you're listening to do it with intention that you are a big hearted therapist with excellent hands on skills and how do I know that?

[00:02:50] Well, glad you asked it because that is exactly the type of practitioner who is drawn to my work and it's exactly where I was about a decade ago when I was trying to figure all this stuff. Business stuff out on my own. So you've got these excellent skills. I know that you do, and you do exemplary bodywork, but are your services up to your potential or are you just kind of winging it, hoping that your work will speak for itself and that people will somehow sort of magically just keep coming in to see you?

[00:03:20] That used to be me. I was so afraid of seeming pushy or salesy that I often actually made it difficult for people. Who wanted to work with me. I remember one time I had this person come in for her first appointment. It went really, really well. She responded well to the work. I felt like craniosacral therapy could be very helpful for what she was struggling with and afterwards, you know, we talked about the session a little bit.

[00:03:46] She paid me and then I was. Basically just showing her the door, because I was too nervous. I was too unsure of myself to say, you know, do you want to book another appointment? I didn't want to seem pushy or anything, so I'm leading her to the door and she shyly kind of turns around and says, Mindy, would it be okay if I made another appointment with you?

[00:04:10] And it just completely, I was gobsmacked. It completely hit me upside the head. I was like, of course you can make another appointment. Me. And she said, well, I wasn't sure, because I didn't know if he didn't want to work with me again, or, and that example really helped me to see that it was so, so important that I got this business side of the practice down, that I invited people to work with me.

[00:04:35] And what I think of now is if someone. Wants to work with me again. Have I made it easy for them to do that? So that's something for you to think about too. If it sounds like you what I'm telling you, all my stories, if some of those stories sound like you, then it could be time for you to have a business reset around your services.

[00:04:58] And I'm going to give you two things today that you can begin to implement when you reopen your doors. First of all, it's time for you to start offering your clients a program. This can also be called a treatment plan or another type of program, but it's basically just a guideline or a roadmap of what they can expect from your work together.

[00:05:19] It answers things like. How often you suggest they come in for work and how long you think it will take for them to see the results they're looking for. This is a perfect opportunity for you to be a true pro and CEO and use your professional knowledge and your wisdom to make professional recommendations for your work together.

[00:05:40] Remember, you're not trying to force your clients into something they feel uncomfortable with. You're simply sharing your professional opinion about their treatment. So when your clients come back into your office, you could say something like, you know, it's, it's so great to see you again. And I'm curious to see how your system has been responding to the break and bodywork.

[00:06:00] If you're interested. After the session, I'll share with you my observations and some ideas for moving forward. How does that sound. And they will be thrilled to know that you have their best interests at heart, offering them a plan that they can follow in the weeks and months ahead. And here's a pro tip for you in this treatment plan or a treatment program.

[00:06:19] Be sure to include a reevaluation date. That way you and your client both know that you'll be looking carefully at how the treatment is going and you can make changes as needed. You could say something like, I suggest coming in twice a week for the next three weeks so that we can get to some of those underlying issues of these migraines you've been having.

[00:06:39] Then mid June we'll reevaluate and we'll see if we need to make any changes. Does that sound good to you? And the person will say yes, and then you can go ahead and get those sessions scheduled into your appointment book. The second thing I suggest doing during your business reset to upgrade your services is to get your initial session spot on.

[00:07:00] We talk about this a lot inside the bodywork project, and I even recorded an entire podcast episode about this that we'll link to in the show notes. The truth is, you may not be getting too many new clients in the first few weeks after you reopen your practice doors. It just might not be happening right now.

[00:07:16] Nobody, nobody knows. So it's imperative. That you take excellent care of your current clients and that you take the time that you have right now to shore up your process around your first appointment. Make sure that you've got a smooth, easy process in place from the time the client makes first contact with you until you see her in your office.

[00:07:37] That's what goes on before the appointment. Then be a professional by having strong boundaries. Begin and end on time, give outstanding bodywork and offer a plan like we were just talking about. Finally, you AC initial session by inviting the client to book her next appointment and then follow up in writing with your observations and your recommendations for going forward.

[00:08:01] If you don't have each of these things in place right now, this business reset is the perfect time to do it. So there you have it. Two ways for you to upgrade your services now for both your current clients and the new clients that you're going to be seen as you head back to the office. I am thinking of each one of you.

[00:08:20] I am wishing you safety, grace, and smart decision making. You can do this and you can do it with intention.

[00:08:33] Thanks for coming on this journey with me today. I know what it takes. To find time to fit something like a podcast into your busy day, and I so, so appreciate that you tuned in and listened to all the way to the end. We've got all the links from today's episode in the show notes that you can find over at Mindy totten.com/podcast that's Mindy Totten, T O T T E n.com/podcast if you really enjoyed today's conversation, I'd love for you to take a quick moment to leave a review on Apple podcasts.

[00:09:04] And make sure that you subscribe so that you can download each episode as soon as it comes out. That'll help us get this podcast in front of more massage and body workers like you so that we can all work together to make the world a touch kinder. Okay. That's it for today. It's my pleasure and my privilege to be with you on this journey.

[00:09:24] I'll see you next week, same place, same time until then, get out there and do it with intention.