Working as a freelance contractor of any type can be extremely difficult. It means that you are going to have to work on your own to market yourself, develop skills, and to also reach out to potential clients. It’s a lot to manage on your own!
Is it impossible? Definitely not. Here are four of the best tips for becoming a successful freelance massage therapist.
Market Your Skills
Something that more and more people do on a regular basis is market their own skills and abilities.
This can be through word of mouth, this can be through testimonials, or it can also be through social media marketing and handing out business cards at different conventions.
This is a multifaceted way of increasing your customer base and it ensures that your name gets out there.
What Do You Do Best?
One of the best questions to ask yourself is what do I do best?
Everyone has a skill set that they have worked on that is their pride and joy. As a massage therapist what is it that you actually do best?
Is it deep tissue massage, is it working with new mothers, or is it working with people who are dealing with injuries? All of these are skill sets that you have to Market in order to be successful.
Testimonials and Reviews
One of the best ways to show your skills is to have a place where people can leave reviews and view testimonials. The reason being is that there’s nothing more powerful than word of mouth to spread how incredible your work is.
If you want to encourage people to read testimonials and reviews, a great way to do this is to have a QR code on the back of a business card, or have a link in your social media profile. This will help people see just how amazing you are!
Build Your Client Base
When you first begin to work as a freelance massage therapist, there are going to be a few ways that you can build your client base. From sharing your business card or social media card at different salons, to hosting free sessions, there are a lot of different ways that you can start to reach out to clients.
Free Sessions
One of the best ways to start building up your clientele is by doing free sessions at colleges and various other venues. One way to help yourself with this is to get onto Groupon where you can offer free sessions without much of a problem.
This is going to encourage people to select your services, and then you can ask them to leave a review. See the positive feedback loop there?
Family and Friends Discounts
Sometimes the first way that we start anything is with our friends and family. If that’s the case, make sure that you do offer friend and family discounts. These are people that are going to come to you regularly and are going to help spread the word about how amazing your work is.
Ensure that you are giving them the same treatment that you would any other customer, and help them just as much as they are helping you.
Learn How to Communicate Effectively
In many ways, massage therapy or any type of massage is a lot like having a good conversation. You, as the massage therapist, are having a conversation with the body, while the client is having an internal conversation that they may need to externalize.
Empathy and Compassion
If you have a Chatty Cathy that is on your table, it’s best to approach with empathy and compassion. As you well know, massage therapy can release many different emotions and memories that are held deep within the muscle tissue.
If someone begins to cry, or begins to incessantly speak, approach how they are processing those emotions with as much empathy and compassion as you possibly can. This is also going to help you build a successful business because people know that they can trust you with the information found deep within their muscles
Quiet time or Conversation?
Another thing to remember is that not everyone is going to want to talk. A great way to approach your clients, is to ask them if they want conversation or they just want a quiet time.
if they’re wanting more quiet time, have peaceful music playing and potentially have non-caustic scents in the area. This can help them relax even further. If someone wants a conversation, well then let them lead the conversation!
Study Regularly
No matter what field you are in, there are often certifications that have to be done in order to make sure that people are following state guidelines as well as health guidelines.
Stay Up-to-date
Most freelance massage therapists are going to have to carry their paperwork with them. You can either use digital paperwork or hard copies of your certificates.
No matter what you choose, it is important to stay up to date on any certifications that you have as well as make sure that you take your continuing education classes on time.
Conclusion
If you’re having trouble starting out, there are websites out there available for you to help you reach out and connect with new clients. Check out soothe to start connecting with clients today and don’t forget to use these four tips!
