I had a real eye-opener this Monday. Well, a mind-opener, really. I’m having to rethink my attitude, or at least dial it back a notch.
What happened? Lemme tell ya.
See, I have started going to a boot camp style workout group three days a week.* The woman who teaches the class is strong, confident and loud. She wants the class to be strong and confident, too. Loud is a bonus. My kind of trainer.
With all this confidence, strength and volume, she was hesitant to remind me my payment was due. This surprised me. I gave her a little grief. (… Okay, a lot of grief.) And I challenged her on her reluctance to ask for what she was owed.
I was brought up short by her returns to my arguments:
I’m not a salesman.
I like to play to my strengths.
[Army wives] always expect stuff for free.
I don’t want to want it more than “they” do.
Wow. Do these sound familiar? They do to me; I hear them practically every. single. day. From massage therapists, bodyworkers, yoga teachers and other healing arts practitioners.
And honestly, I thought it was just the kind of people that are drawn to healing arts that made these arguments. I thought it was just gentle healers that felt sullied discussing fees for their Work.
Oh, my dears; it’s not just you. I’m starting to think it’s 85% of people trying to run their own businesses.
So here’s what I think: It’s time to take control. Personal control.
Your work has value. That value has a price. People need to see the value in order to pay that price. If you don’t show that you value your work, you get discounted.
The best way to begin? Confidence. And how do you get confidence? Practice.
How do you get clients to see your strengths? Practice.
How do you protect your practice’s capital? Practice.
How do you attract clients who “want” as much as you? Practice.
Are you sensing a theme here?
So the next couple days I’ll pick apart each of my trainers arguments. There will be tips. There will be “mini-scripts.” But mostly my dears, it’s going to be about you — whether you will find a way to change how you think and talk about your Work.
All my best,
Eileen
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*My ten year wedding anniversary is next year. My goal is to be the same weight I was when I got married. I recognize some bits have … shifted, so I’m going to judge my success by volume. Any cheerleading you care to give will be appreciated.
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15 users commented in " 4 Excuses I Hear Every Day: Massage marketing revelations from a “boot camp” trainer "
Thank you for take the time and posting this.
I am licensed massage therapist & I find it to true. I’ve had to learn that if you do not believe in what you are providing or practicing and find yourself not holding your profession with the highest regard, then why would others. Many people, unfortunately, must waste time and $ on services that could be so beneficial to ones life but it isn’t until one realizes that sometimes, the less $ you try to spend, the more $ you’ll need to dish out to fix what a professional could of taken care of the first time around. Thanks again :0)
Great blog. And I am going to be in your corner cheering you along on your journey
Thanks “Tango” —
Convincing potential clients they’re saving money on the front end is difficult to do. And, as you know, there are some people are unlikely to be helped ever at any point. HOWEVER! those in the healing arts can do their part by making the value of their Work evident. Evident in the way they speak about their Work. Evident in the way they speak about the benefits of their Work. That come through with confidence. And confidence comes with practice. Okay, I’m going to end up rewriting my article here. Can you tell I’m feeling pumped about this?
Eileen
Thank you, Jessica. Keep sending me good thoughts. I need them because all I want to do after a boot camp session is eat an entire pizza. I don’t. But I really, really want to. Somehow I don’t think that would contribute to my progress.
Eileen
I’m cheering you on! I actually just started to take working out seriously again. I would like to get down to the weight I was in highschool. Hang in there. And remember, plenty of water!
Thanks for the cheers, Sarah! Water, check. And I have discovered coconut water and the wonderful world of green smoothies.
And YOU GO, TOO!
Yeah Eileen! This kind of message is always a morale booster. I tell you being alone in this business I think somehow plays into the becoming weak-willed. Yuck. Most of my clients respect what I do. There is always that 1% that will make you second guess your skills and ability. They love you but want to discount you and what a discount on top of that. That is another posting! Great read Eileen!
Oo! Fran! I forgot about the Alone Factor. You’re right! And letting the 1% go is tough.
I actually was thinking about doing an entry on that since Natural Touch is going through a kind of 1%-er drama right now. Not over discounts but another business decision we had to make.
Please chime in with the upcoming posts in this series; I was thinking of you especially when I was writing one of them (yeah, the discount one).
Hi Eileen,
Sounds like we will all be in for some good motivational speak! I’m looking forward to it! Watch the coconut water and smoothies, it is the balance sheet that matters: calories in versus calories out! If “in” is greater than “out” then the change can’t happen!
Hi Eileen,
Great Blog!! I’m with Fran. When you are a therapist on your own, for some odd reason it’s easier to feel less confident about asking for money. I have had two client who were sisters. I had already given them both a “break” on the price. They would come on a regular basis for awhile, then stop. So I would send them a coupon for $10 off they next appointment. I did this maybe 5 times trying to keep them as clients. One dropped off the radar after telling me ” I love coming to see you, I’ll never give you up” and the other canceled an appointment, saying she had work conflicts and would call me when she had an opening in her schedule. That was back in June.
I just don’t feel the need to “chase” them to get them to come back. How many times do I offer them a discount, or added time to the session if they “book today”? I feel undervalued.
Yes, yes, Elizabeth; I know, I know … sigh. I spent the morning trying to figure out if it would be a “bad” thing to make quiche for dinner. Honestly, I feel that giving my eating decisions over to someone smarter than I would be a good idea at this point. You know how we all have jobs that should be done, and we want to have done, but we’re going to keep putting them on the back burner? Right now I’m that way about meal planning/thinking. I need a grocery list and a week’s menu.
Baristababe: I’m hearing more and more about the Alone Factor. You’re very right. I can’t come up with any ideas on how to fix it. AND, I think it’s just harder for people (generally) in the healing arts world.
But, yeah, let those clients go. I’m sure your absentee sisters had and have good intentions but don’t waste your energy chasing after them. Best phrase I’ve heard this decade: “It’s like herding cats.” (The first time I heard it was when my sister was trying to describe what it was like getting our mom, grandmother, and two great-aunts out the door and into the car.)
I am cheering for you Eileen! Losing weight is a very hard thing. Is is a total paradime shift. I”ve lost 70 pounds over the last year and have found that my clients take me a lot more seriously because you can talk the talk all day but when you are actually walking it out, the message is that much louder! It is up to us as health professionals to be healthy examples for our clients. Good luck. Remember, eat to live, don’t live to eat!
Thanks, Jeniene —
70 pounds!?! Walk the walk, Sister! Good for you!
I had a bit of a breakthrough over the weekend, so today is really the (another) New Beginning. 7 hours in, so far, so good. ;P
[...] Posted in October 26th, 2010 by Eileen in Beyond the Basics I did an entry a while ago about four excuses I hear every day from massage therapists. These common excuses are merely stumbling blocks. They can be easily [...]
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