cold calling

[masshole in florida]

I made my first couple of cold calls for the first time yesterday. YUCK. I used some of the ideas from this board which were helpful tho. It's awful tho! Is there anyway to make it feel less so? Or do I just have to suck it up? Thanks.

 

[starshine dreamer]

To start with call on groups that you have a connection to or know something about. Are you a mom? call on moms groups.Background in a certain industry such as child care, auto industry, dentistry etc etc,? Call on them. Talk about how " when I was doing this I sure could have used some chair massge" yada yada. Or ya, my Uncle Joe, Aunt Sally, cousin Lou whoever, used to do this and I saw some of the physical effects on him. Do you have kids in sports or school? Captive audience right there. Imagine you are an expert in your field (you are!) and that they are looking to you to provide education and insight. Just try and get some good deep breathing going before hand. And remember you can do anything for a few minutes. That said, if you just hate it, don't do it. NO you don't have to just suck it up. There are so many ways to get the word out. Find what works for you. Its your business and your life. Be happy with how you conduct it right? Just because you don't like cold calling does not mean you can't be successful. Thats one tiny tool. Lots more out there for you to choose from to build your business. Best of luck

 

[tophdguy]

Cold calling...

From my business education & personal experience, cold calling has an extremly low success rate -- you have to call many prospects before you get anyone even willing to listen to you. I am sure others have had some success with this due to sheer determination and time investment but from a cost vs. benefit ratio I believe you could spend your time more wisely by other means.

Every workplace massage client I have is a result of offering chair massage to the actual decision maker(s). I make a point of offering chair massage at network meetings where the chances of meeting a decision maker/business owner is high (for example chamber of commerce). What better ice breaker could you ask for then initiating the conversation of workplace massage AFTER you just massaged the person and their brain is being bombarded by an endorphin rush? You want to break down barriers to communicate a 30 second message to someone? What better way could you do it then massage them first? Plus, if you don't charge them anymoney up front they also should feel obligated to listen to you given your "no obligation" massage. The solution is right under your nose! Get out in front of people and do what you do best!

 

[BC13MF]

Cold calling...

Thanks for both of your replies. Yeah, this is definitely the hardest part for me, getting myself out there. Dave, after the awful feeling from cold calling I went right online to reconsider joining my local Chamber of Commerce and other networking groups. Even that scares me a little but at least there you're expected to promote yourself and you're not infringing upon anyone. I know the fear is because it's unchartered territory for me, just the whole business person persona.

So when you network and someone is interested in what you do you then offer to give them a massage in their office and the rest is history? That sounds like a good plan. The first time you went to the meetings, did you know anyone? I'm not shy so I think I could just walk up to a group, tell them it's my first time and ask if I can join in. Were you nervous your first couple of meetings?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Visions of Codeine]

No problem....its only "hard" in the beginning. Of course I was nervous the first few times....thats only natural and you should not feel bad for this...I would be surprised if anyone would not be a little nervous. But I guarantee you your confidence will shoot up after the first time. People will come to you out of sheer curiosity...let your hands do the promotion and people will come to YOU.

I knew a couple of people in the chamber the first time but from my experience its actually better to offer/promote yourself to people you dont know because they are not your "friends" (i.e. no history) and as such should view you as just a professional and not start yakkin about non important stuff. Just offer "no obligtion 10 minute tune ups" (the chamber of commerce is the only place I dont charge money for massage, everywhere else I always do when promoting) and don't try and "sell them". Just tell them after the massage you offer workplace massage to employees and that in 10 or 15 minute treatments you can make employees feel like a million bucks and also increase productivity. Typically, right after a 10 or 15 minute treatment, many feel "sleepy" and I joke around that would it not be funny if all your employees were asleep at their desk for the rest of the day? hahaha...then I tell them, in all seriousness you should feel very alert and awake in about a half hour -- more than a cup of coffee, its better for you and longer lasting - in fact research prooves this.

After that, let them ask the questions and view yourself as more of a 'consultant' then a salesperson. Once you get the feeling they are really interested, just ask them for a commitment -- something like, OK Mrs. so and so, it sounds like your interested in offering workplace massage to your employees, why don't we test the waters and you have me come in for 3 hours next week on Friday since I have a "block" open and it would be a nice way for your employees to end their week. Let them mull it over and dont say anything after that...they probably will offer another time based on their schedule/needs or need to "talk" with HR or someone else? Follow up with them accordingly. Dont even talk about how much it costs until they ask. Don't do it for free -- they just tested you out there.....you should be paid for going through the trouble of going to their workplace. Granted you have good skills you should be paid.

 

[smdiner]

Love your posts - you express yourself very clearly. Yeah, I think what I'm looking for on these posts is that comraderie of, "It's ok! We've all been there before!" I don't know anyone at the moment who could really relate so these boards have been a big help. Anyway, yeah, I think I'll be fine. I'm pretty friendly and I love learning about other people so it's just those first time jitters.

I agree with what you said in that it's probably better that I won't know anyone in the networking groups. The one thing that will be a little different for me, I think, is that I will be promoting myself as a chair massage practitioner. My company is called Corporate Knead and that is really what I want to do. I know I will get table clients from it but the chair massage is what I love the most and am most passionate about. So would it be appropriate to just offer that up front if someone is interested? Like if it's pretty clear that they're interested I could say something like, "I'd be happy to come out on your most stressful day of the week and show you what a difference it really makes." or something along those lines?

They will already know what they're getting into in a sense, you know? And I'm not going to push my service but I'll be happy to give them a tester and will certainly let them know what the benefits are and how it could help their company.

And I won't charge for that first one but any others I will. I've read a lot about having a trial period too, as you suggested, and I think that's a great idea for everyone involved.

How long have you been doing chair massage?

 

[When.There.Isnt.Enough.]

I agree about networking groups. Chamber of Commerce may be good or bad in your area; most networking groups will let you attend one meeting or even two for a small fee, before actually joining the group. (You might not be able to bring your chair until joining.) I recommend doing this, checking out as many groups as possible. Talk to members while there about how the group works and how it has worked for them. You will get lots of practice giving your 60-120 second "commercial," and you can decide which one to join first.

Think about how often you want to attend meetings (some require weekly!), when they meet, what benefits accrue to members, advertising opportunites, the obligations of members, and who else is in the group when you make your decision.

 

[Brecht]

Probably 95% of my business is chair massage and I have been doing it for 7 years. So here's my 2 cents worth.

I tried the Chamber route and it was a total waste of time and money. The luncheons were like little infomercials where everyone was more interested in what they were selling rather than listening to anyone else.

I tried mom's groups.........ever try doing chair massage with toddlers wandering in and out of your legs? I tried local businesses like the auto industry, customer service companies......didn't work out.

I realized that I had to think like a business, put a worth to myself and then go after the companies that I thought could afford my services, were willing to allow time for their employees to get the work done and who respected that what I did was a valuable asset to their people.

I joined the convention and tourist board (for convention and tradeshow connections). I subscribed to the business magazines for the area. I bought business books and read them........you can be the best therapist but if no one knows about you, it just doesn't matter. I personally market to HR directors and event planners.........if you market to the CEO, especially for big companies, your material goes down to these people anyway most of the time. I do my research on the companies I want to market to.....the ones I want to work for. I mail out my info......I follow up calls. The worst thing I get when I fail to grab a client is a "no". You can't die from that. So tho I am technically cold calling, I am managing my odds. It's worked very well for me.

Once you get a good business going, word of mouth is the best marketing. I just picked up a new business today (5 hours EVERY Tuesday...company pay) thru a client who used me at a girl's nite out function. She used to use me at the company she previously worked at and is planning on using me at her new company. I've also added new table clients thru her.

Been rambling. My 2 cents turned out to be a nickle.

 

[Hayley S]

My mother is a meber of BNI for her homebased business and there is a massage therapist in that group. Check and see if your city has a business networking group like that?

Angela

 

[Busiwoman]

I think BNI is quite expensive and there are sometimes more reasonable alternatives.

In contrast to others, I found the local Chamber of Commerce pretty good. I have just moved city so it remains to be seen how the new Chamber will be.

Do you have a target market? In very large oraganizations, you might have to hire another practitioner. In theory this sounds great but it brings its own problems when you are just starting out. In very small companies, it is not really enough to fill your day or even half day. I have a couple of companies that are around 20-25 staff, a nice number to do without a break

A five hour stint every Tuesday sounds pretty good - I think I will put in an order for one of those!!

Have you checked out Eric Brown's http://www.bodyworkbiz.com which has lots of ideas on developing a business. His methods work if you follow them.

Good luck!

 

[Dotbo1978]

In contrast, I have had few problems hiring other practitioners. You have to know your practitioner's massage and people skills. It can be quite profitable doing big companies, big conventions. I pay my IC's better than anyone in this area.........so I have no problem when I call and tell them I need them.

Marion, if you're working a company with 20-25 staff.......how does that not fill a day? And you do this many without a break?

If you have a number of small companies, you can schedule one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Or work the small companies every other week......if you have a lot of them.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Wow, all of your imput has been fantastic. Thank you so much! I did join the Chamber but it's not "official" yet because I sent my application and payment thru the mail. I'm nervous about going to the first event, whenever that will be, but Dave's post helped me gain perspective on that issue.
I was thinking about BNI but I do agree that it's expensive and I also don't really like the pressure of being expected to have referrals for other people on a frequent basis.
This networking, promoting part is definitely the hardest part for me but you guys have helped make it easier. I'm going to print this page and refer to it when I'm feeling uncomfortable about getting myself and my company out there. Thank you!