The Massage Marketing Connection

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Announcement: We are having a free teleclass on Wednesday, May 4th, 1:00pm MT, 3:00pm ET. Our intention with this teleclass, Stepping Into Your Greatness, is to not only discuss marketing techniques, but to take an in-depth look at why some of our businesses are struggling. Everyone that registers for the teleconference will receive a complementary, 15 minute business coaching session with Kelly Robbins! Register for the complementary teleconference and receive your free 15 minute coaching session here.

If you’ve been having trouble reaching your goals and creating the business and life you desire, odds are you can find several self-sabotaging behaviors ruining your success. Self-sabotage, by definition, is thoughts, feelings and actions that block your success by working against your own self-interests. Only a crazy person would consciously sabotage their own success, right? The thing is you are probably not sabotaging yourself consciously. All of this is happening underneath your radar in your subconscious. In order to stop these unwanted acts the first thing we need to work through is recognizing those self-sabotaging behaviors.

How can you recognize something you are not conscious of? You must first acknowledge that you have self-sabotaging behaviors, recognize which behaviors they are and then have the strength and stamina to look at them and work through them. This is how a strong person and a successful business are built.

Let’s take a look at the seven most common self-sabotaging behaviors massage therapists exhibit when struggling with their business.

1.    Feeling you have no value. This feeling often comes from low self-esteem and comparing yourself to others. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others – oftentimes the grass is greener on the other side. Our insecurities tell us that others are doing “it” better because “it’s” different than what we are doing. Remember that each of us is created with something different and special to give the world. We are here to serve others. Each of our talents will connect with different people in different ways and you have to trust and know that. Healing can be a very personal event – you will connect with some people on a deep level and not at all with others. Don’t look at what others are doing, do your own thing. March to the beat of your own drum. That’s how you become a success!

2.    Focusing on what is not working or not right. This is a common problem for not only massage therapists and other business owners, but also people that are generally unhappy with their life. What can you do to change things around? Start by writing down what IS working and what IS going right in your life and business right now. Then make a conscious decision that every time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought you switch it with a “what’s going right” thought. Pay particular attention to what you are thinking the 10 minutes before you fall asleep and the 10 minutes when you first wake up. This time frame sets the tone for your entire day. Come up with 3 or 4 positive statements you repeat to yourself daily or write down 30 statements – one for each day of the month.

3.   Procrastinating. A big one for many healers and marketers, procrastination is the number one reason people don’t move forward. They are stuck in a place they don’t want to be and procrastinate when it comes to tasks to work their way out. Stopping procrastinating is not just about discipline. It’s also about understanding why you are procrastinating. If there is a specific part of your business, such as marketing, that you keep putting off but know you need to do, look at why you don’t want to do it. Does hearing “no thanks” make you feel less worthy? Do you feel insecure about marketing because you are not clear on best practices? Are you afraid to be seen and play big because some people won’t like you? Here are a few exercises to work through procrastination behaviors:

• Try doing the task you are avoiding first thing in the morning.
• Take baby steps – make your first steps easy, such as writing one blog post a month and working your way up to one a week.
• Form your own mastermind or support group. Having others that you can either do the projects with or hold each other accountable can be helpful.

It’s important to recognize where you are stopping!! If you look I bet you’ll find you are stopping at the same places every time you come to them.

4.    Not doing anything because you are stuck in fear. This self-sabotaging behavior can be hard to recognize and even more challenging to work through. First, closely examine what it is you are afraid of. If you look closely you’ll probably find your fears are based on things that haven’t even happened yet. The truth is you can’t control the future or what might happen. This is wasted time and energy worrying about what “might” or “could” happen rather than focusing on the conditions right this very second in time. Oftentimes fear leaves us paralyzed and we take no action because of what might occur. Put your focus on the NOW –Eckert Tolle has written some phenomenal books about being present in the NOW.

5.    Having no purpose. Feeling lost or purposeless is not a healthy way to start a profitable business. Know that everyone has a purpose in this lifetime. Everyone – Especially you. The key is to bring to your consciousness what that purpose is. A life without purpose is often a life without passion and that lack of passion will come through loud and clear to your clients and prospects. People are attracted to passionate people. If you feel unsure of your purpose know that you have one, you just may not be aware of it. Journaling, meditation, and giving/serving others are an effortless way to discover your purpose and how healthcare fits into that. Sometimes bringing spirituality to your life can also help you have a feeling of purpose. If we don’t see our lives and business as having a higher purpose we tend to self-sabotage. Feeling as if we have no purpose is the root cause of the self-sabotaging behavior.

6.    Getting distracted or losing focus. First things first with this one. Check your diet – are you drinking too much caffeine in the mornings and losing focus in the afternoons? Not eating enough or eating poorly? Not getting enough sleep? Need to break up your day and workout or take a lunch break half-way through? These are the physical areas to examine when you realize you are getting distracted easily. My Starbucks addiction affected my work a few years ago and I had to wean myself off coffee for a year. If it’s not physical then take a look at a few other things…Look at how you are feeeeling as you are having trouble focusing. Is there a specific incident, say an argument with your child or spouse that has you distracted? Is fear taking over? Lack of discipline? Sometimes there are days you just have to plow through your work and not get much done. We all have those days. There is a difference when this happens on a frequent or daily basis or occasionally. It’s when you see a consistent pattern that you need to start looking at a deeper reason for the lack of momentum.

7.    Not finishing what you start. Another very common self-sabotaging technique is starting things (such as marketing!) and not finishing them. Look at what you are telling yourself or even other people about why you aren’t finishing – these are your excuses. Again look for patterns. Even important items such as kids, fights with your spouse or dramas that occur in your life are self-sabotaging behaviors which YOU create that detract from your goal. You are the creator of your world and what you manifest. You must own that.

Changing destructive patterns of self-sabotaging behaviors requires you to get curious about why you do (or don’t do) certain tasks. Particularly note how you are feeling when these tasks come up and look inward, dig deep into why. Awareness of your actions and then WHY you are doing them is how you stop the repetitive self-sabotaging behaviors that are preventing your businesses natural success and growth.

Growth is a natural state — everything in nature is either growing or dying. If you’re not growing you have to examine why.

If you don’t recognize your own self-sabotaging behaviors or can’t seem to work past them, a business coach can help. Contact us at 303-460-0285 or Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com to explore how we can help today!

About the author

Founder of A Marketing Connection and The Copywriting Institute, Kelly Robbins, MA, is a marketing coaching, award winning author, copywriter and intuitive consultant. Kelly is a blogger for both Chiropractic Economics and Massage Magazine and is the author of Marketing 101: Why Successful Alternative Healthcare Practitioners Specialize as well as co-author of The Practice Evolution Success Kit. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, “5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits” at www.AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

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As a massage therapist we are forced to make decisions every day. Really, as human beings we make decisions every day. Ranging from what to make for dinner, to who you should hire to fill a new position, the consequences of our decisions can be long lasting. Making decisions feels very permanent with far reaching effects which causes us to over-think, rather than make the right decision.

This is why many people hesitate and second guess themselves when the time comes to make a decision. When it comes to making the decision they start to think about how they will implement their decision and what could happen if they make a particular decision.

Before they decide, they run through their head how they will implement their decision, what it’s going to cost them, what will happen if they fail….all the reasons they shouldn’t make a decision.

I would like to suggest a different process to use when making a decision. I was taught this technique from David Neagle and it works very well.  

First make the decision. Put the “how am I going to make this happen” aside. Don’t think about what others are going to say or think – put your energy into making the right decision for you. If you need $20,000 to invest in your business, but you have terrible credit and nothing in your accounts receivables, you may start thinking about why you can’t get $20,000.

What I am asking you to do, before you think about how or why, is to make the decision to move your business forward. Make the decision that you are going to manifest $20,000. Just make the decision you are going to do it and nothing else.

Once you’ve made the decision (whatever it is) write it down on a piece of paper. Draw a line down the center of the paper. On the left column write down these words “Why I can’t”. On the right column write down “How I can”. Cross off “Why I can’t” with a big X. You are done with that column. Why I can’t is no longer an option for you. You’ve made the decision to manifest $20,000. The Universe will bring it to you once you make the decision.

Now write down every single thing you can think of for “How I can”. EVERYTHING; even if it seems crazy and impossible. Once you’ve written everything down, methodically exhaust every item on the list. Somewhere on that list is the solution to making your decision a reality.

It may be that one of the items you wrote down leads you to something else, which makes your decision a reality. The answer is somewhere on that list.

The key is to make the decision without thinking about the how. The universe will make the how happen. Your job is to go through that list tirelessly until you find what you are looking for. In this case it’s raise $20,000.

Here’s an example:

Decision:    raise    $20,000  

      Why I can’t      How I can

                                    Loan from bank
                                    Money from mom
                                    Sell 30 ebooks
                                    Gain 25 new clients
                                    Ask friends
                                    Have a sale
                                    Partner with Marathon
                                    Etc.

Try it. See if it works for you.

About the author

Founder of A Marketing Connection and The Copywriting Institute, Kelly Robbins, MA, is an award winning author, copywriter and healthcare marketing coach/consultant. Kelly is a blogger for both ChiroEco and MassageMagazine and is the author of Marketing 101: Why Successful Alternative Healthcare Practitioners Specialize as well as co-author of The Practice Evolution Success Kit. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, “5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits” at www.AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

 
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a million goals, plans and ideas and not enough time in the day to put a dent in any of them. I may pick one or two of my ideas and go gang busters working to get it going, and then another fun thing comes along and I get excited and go gang busters getting that one up and running.

There are a few downsides to this. The biggest being I am in the middle of a bunch of really great projects that aren’t done! It’s easy to see how this can happen next year too with all of us excited about our New Year’s resolutions. What happens to a lot of us is either my scenario above or the opposite happens – nothing because you don’t know where to start.

With that said, I have a recommendation on how to handle this strange phenomenon this year….make very small commitments that you know you can fulfill. By keeping your commitments small and simple you will have more flexibility to change, and more freedom to try different ways to keep your commitments.

Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about…

You may commit to doing one additional marketing piece or trying one new marketing strategy a month. Something simple. By the end of the year that really means that you will be trying 12 different marketing methods.

Another idea is to commit a certain amount of time to a specific project. For example, if you have a goal to write a book this year or develop products to sell online, set aside one hour a week (or a day – whatever you can commit too) that is devoted to meeting this one goal.

I am not going to say I am going to work out every day after I drop the kids off at school. Yes, while being healthy is important, making such a stringent commitment realistically won’t happen. A better commitment may be to promise myself that I will work out consistently this year. For me that could be two times a week as opposed to my sometimes every day and other times nothing for three months.

Other ideas of small goals that can make a big difference in your day are to:

– Only check emails at 8:00 and 6:00
– Have a cup of coffee once a week with a new friend or business acquaintance
– Take two hours off in the middle of the week that’s free time
– Do one self-improvement tool or book or something a month
– Post on other people’s blogs once a week

But the deal is whatever commitment you do make, you HAVE to stick to it. So keep your promises simple and realistic.

If you’ve taken the time to develop long term goals and strategies for your business (or your personal life) that is great. You’ve done more than most people I know. If you don’t want this years resolutions or commitments to fall by the wayside, break those long term goals into super short smaller commitments that you know you can keep.

In issue 50 of our ezine, The Healthcare Marketing Connection, I talked about discipline and keeping your word to yourself. Now is the time to be thinking about what commitments you do make and your ability (or inability) to keep them. For us entrepreneurs and small business owners, oftentimes ANY commitment we make is one we make to ourselves only. No one knows about them, and no on else will hold you accountable to keeping them. Plug your commitments into a calendar, schedule the time with yourself to get them done, and don’t make a commitment or resolution unless you know you will keep it.

No one else knows you are making it, and no one knows if you break it.

Except the all important you.

Contact us at Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com or call 303-460-0285 for more information.

About the author
Founder of A Marketing Connection and The Copywriting Institute, Kelly Robbins, MA, is an award winning author, copywriter and healthcare marketing coach/consultant. Kelly is the author of Marketing 101: Why Successful Alternative Healthcare Practitioners Specialize as well as co-author of The Practice Evolution Success Kit.

Kelly Robbins also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, “5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits” at www.AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

Some MT’s think if they invest thousands of marketing dollars into a high-quality brochure, patients will be attracted to it simply because it’s there and looks nice. The truth is that massage therapists should really use a brochure as an educational marketing tool that patients can use to answer questions on their own. They key to an effective massage therapy brochure is to provide patients with something new that makes them want to pick it up, read it, and keep it around long after they leave your office.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when creating a massage therapy brochure:

• Include helpful information that makes clients want to keep it, such as three tips to reduce neck pain, or five steps to stay relaxed after your massage.  

• Share benefits rather than updates on new features or equipment. For example, describing new technology or equipment available in your office doesn’t attract interest, but showing clients how and why the new equipment helps them through less pain, faster appointments, etc will make them want to learn more.  

• Provide a strong sales message on the front cover. For example, “Your health is our priority”. This is your chance to grab the patient’s attention and make the brochure keepable.  

• Move the reader forward in the sales process. Accomplish an objective, such as answering common questions, and then ask the reader to call to make an appointment or visit your website for more detailed information.  

• Ensure your contact information is easy to find and up to date. Always include your phone number, web address, hours of operation, location and directions.

Don’t print expensive brochures simply because you should have them. Set objectives and make sure your brochure leads the reader to specific and helpful information about your practice.

About the author

Founder of A Marketing Connection and The Copywriting Institute, Kelly Robbins, MA, is an award winning author, copywriter and healthcare marketing coach/consultant. Kelly is a blogger for both ChiroEco and MassageMagazine and is the author of Marketing 101: Why Successful Alternative Healthcare Practitioners Specialize as well as co-author of The Practice Evolution Success Kit. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips.

Contact Kelly to receive her free report, “5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits” at www.AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

 This week I’ve spoken with quite a few LMT’s about their practices and why they have ups and downs in their business cycles. We talked about why they never seem to have a consistent stream of clients (and income). Some of them assume they are working with the wrong group of people, the wrong niche. Or that they don’t have a niche and that’s why they aren’t making any money. Others tell me they aren’t making the money they deserve because they are in a small town and there isn’t much business there. Some don’t specialize, some don’t have a web site.

There are a lot of excuses I’m hearing.  

After talking to these folks for a few minutes, I realized that while these excuses may be contributing factors, this is not the reason why they don’t have a thriving business.

They don’t have any business because they aren’t marketing to ANYBODY at all.

Yes, you need to be strategic about your marketing. Yes, it’s smart to chose a target group of people that have a need for your services (and the money to pay for it) and spend your time and energy on them. Choosing a niche is a term for this.

It’s important to know who you are marketing to and to understand WHY they would hire you, what they are looking for and how you could best and least expensively get in front of them.

That’s all important, and you should do it. If you don’t do those things and you aren’t strategic about your marketing, you will waste your time and your money. But the bottom line is…you still have to market yourself. If you don’t do something, no one will know you are out there.

Write articles and publish them. Go to networking events. Make a point to have coffee with one person a week. Send postcards. Make cold calls. Whatever you chose to do – do something. Take action.

Your marketing doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be happening. Now, this is a non-tangible thing I am going to say and some of you may just laugh at me, but you have to get that marketing engine in motion and get that energy moving. Go. Go. Go. It’s all about the moving energy.

If you are in a place (like starting a new business or trying to kick-start an existing business that is not living up to your expectations) and you are uncomfortable with where you are at or with the results you are getting, you need to change things. You have to move.

Imagine being in a stale or stuffy room with all the doors and vents closed. New air can’t come in and the stuffy, stale air is just sitting there and can’t get out. No one likes the way this room feels, but no one is doing anything to change it. No one wants to be in this stale and stuffy room. New people rarely if ever come in, and the people that are in the room are too hot to talk or be friendly with each other because they are miserable.

But then…you come in.

You open the windows and the door, maybe bring a fan in and start moving the air around. You get the air to circulate. Suddenly it’s easier to breathe and new people start to come into the room and socialize.

You need to do the same thing with your marketing. Of course you don’t have a room with stuffy air, but the energy around your marketing is stale and is either not attracting clients or not attracting the right clients. You need to change the air – i.e. your marketing energy.

If you are doing nothing but thinking about what you are going to do, nothing is moving. Including your energy.

The funny thing about doing this, about taking action, is that people start coming to you that you aren’t even marketing to. It’s something about getting your marketing energy moving around, just the act of doing it and building the momentum up starts to make things happen.

The moral of my story….get marketing. Do something. Move your butt.

About the author
Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed and The Practice Evolution Success Kit, Kelly Robbins is an award winning copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, 5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits at Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.

Why don’t we market our massage therapy practice? What are some of the things holding us back, or causing us to procrastinate putting that flyer together, or calling that other practitioner and inviting them to lunch? Do you find yourself busy and saying “I’ll do that tomorrow” when it comes to activities you don’t enjoy?   

I was thinking about this yesterday while writing a sales page for alternative health practitioners. Why don’t we do something that we know is going to help us? All of us want to make more money. All of us want to serve more clients. All of us want to create a successful and prosperous business doing what we love.  

So why don’t we do the one thing that we know will lead us to achieve these things? 

In many ways, marketing for massage therapists is like working out for some people. You know it’s good for you. You know you’ll feel good after you’re done. Ultimately you’ll lose weight, look better, feel better, and live longer. So why doesn’t everyone work out even a little bit? 

Because getting started is hard. It takes discipline. It takes overcoming fears you have. You are putting yourself out there – other people may judge you (or even worse, you may judge yourself and compare yourself to others).  

Plus, working out is hard! It’s not an easy and fun thing to do in the beginning. Once you get into the swing of things it becomes fun, but starting out doesn’t work that way. 

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why massage therapists don’t do marketing. Perhaps we’ll uncover some beliefs you have. Awareness is the first step to overcoming unsupportive beliefs.  

“Marketing is expensive”“Marketing is time consuming”“Marketing doesn’t work”“I tried marketing once and didn’t get any new business”“I’m afraid” “I’ve never done it before”“I don’t know where to start”“My business will grow naturally through word of mouth referrals”

“I don’t have 3 hours a day to devote to that”

“Marketing is hard”

These beliefs you have about marketing are nonsupportive. Doing something different requires YOU to make a change.  

There are three key elements to change:

1. Awareness
2. Understanding
3. Reconditioning

Let’s start with awareness. Are you AWARE of what excuses you’re using for not proactively growing your business?  

For help overcoming your marketing procrastination, contact us for an initial marketing coaching review at info@amarketingconnection.com

About the author

Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed and The Practice Evolution Success Kit, Kelly Robbins is a healthcare copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. She also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection, a free e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, 5 Critical Mistakes Healthcare Marketers Make that Lose Sales and Plummet Profits at Kelly@AMarketingConnection.com or 303-460-0285.