Sometimes when we want to have more clients or improve our income, we spend lots of time thinking of ways to get people into the office. How can you be more successful? Maybe you run sales or send clever email campaigns. Perhaps you offer packages and VIP incentives.

These are all fantastic ways to bring clients back.

But have you ever examined what’s going on “in house” with YOU?

Sadly, massage therapists often have the bad rap of being unreliable. We know plenty of the LMT flakes-they don’t show up for work because the wrong president won or they need to commune with nature on short notice or it’s 70 and sunny. Maybe it’s simply because they can’t be bothered with coming in to work for “only one client”.

You may do great at ALL of these intuitively. We hope so!

All of these 10 tips are common sense. But take a few moments to read them and see if there’s something you can tweak in YOU.

1. Be ON TIME. Show up if you say you’re going to show up. How hard is that, really? Of course there are exceptions-you don’t plan for a kid or dog to ralph on your shoe as you’re about to walk out the door. But if it’s wintertime, see if you need to defrost your car before it’s time to go. You shouldn’t be running late because you didn’t have the forsight to discover that January in the Midwest is often below freezing.I had an LMT client who was always late for his massage. Like 20 minutes, every time. Seriously?
   

   Be. On. Time.

2. Work ethic– if you’re going to work a full hour, work the entire 60 minutes. Not 58. If you say you’re going to be there, be there.
3. How about a little good old-fashioned effort? Call or text your clients if you are running late. Wish them a happy birthday or holiday, even if you’re not “religious”. People appreciate that.
4. What kind of body language do you portray? Do you skulk sullenly because you don’t like that Joe doesn’t tip and smells natural? Do you stand upright and confidently because you are self-assured? Clients would prefer the latter.
5. Energy--it’s fine to be low key as a massage therapist, but you should be vibrant enough when your client comes in the door to make them feel welcome. And don’t act like their massage completely drained you so much that you can’t wish them a happy day before they walk out the door.6.  Attitude-is your massage client taking advantage of a sale? Don’t act resentful about it or transfer any negative feelings towards them subconsiously. Instead, be grateful that they are choosing to spend money on YOU massage. I’ve heard of many clients having bad experiences with Groupon massages because their therapist didn’t care, didn’t keep them in the whole time, or were just not the most pleasant.
   

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   7. Which brings us into the next item-passion. What’s the driving force behind your work? Are you doing it for the money? Of course we’re not philanthropists (it would be great if we were) but there’s a big difference in massaging because you HAVE to and because you WANT to.What can you do to find more passion if you’re burnt out?Take a class, change up the music, start face up instead of face down, try a new technique you’ve forgotten you know.

   Or you can remember how much better YOU feel after receiving a massage and know that your client feels the same way after YOU’VE massaged them.We’ve got a blog post HERE to give you some ideas to prevent burnout.8. And now we’re rolling into being coachable. Before I learned massage, I was a restaurant manager. One of my very wise bosses told me one time,

   If your employee isn’t doing something right, it’s one of 2 issues. 1-they’ve not been trained well and need to be coached. 2-they’ve been trained properly but don’t do the job well because they don’t care. It’s up to them to decide which one they are and to act appropriately.

   If you need help with a technique, have someone help you. Our instructors offer Skype / Facetime / class reviews if you need to refresh or improve your strokes. Join a peer group, meet up with massage therapists, ask questions on Facebook group. There are plenty of ways to be coached!

   

   9. Do you go the extra mile? I do something super easy-open the heavy door for my client when they leave so they don’t smack their head on it as they exit. You could meet the client outside at their car with an umbrella if it’s raining. Or you could even crank up the heat to a ridiculous temperature if your client likes it hot.

   10. Be prepared. Is your room all set up and ready to go in plenty of time before the client gets there? If they’ve filled out an online intake form, have you looked at it prior to their appointment? Do you have water for them to drink and toilet paper in the bathroom? Maybe you know they’ve got some type of injury that you’re not familiar with, so you research it ahead of time.

   **Bonus** Don’t chew gum during a massage. I had a therapist in class one time who actually dropped gum onto her client’s back while she was working on him.

   Every single one of these tips takes ZERO talent but can make your business more successful.

   It’s more likely that a mediocre therapist who loves her job and shows it to each client is going to have more happy clients than the exceptional therapist who doesn’t value his client’s time or is not personable.

What do you see other therapists do that make you either cringe or do amazingly well? Let’s continue this conversation in the comments!