I qualified last year as a holistic massage and Indian Head massage therapist. I currently work full time in an office job and have been doing some masage work along side it. I am now looking to try to make the transition to working as a massage therapist full time.
Does anyone know of any recruitment agencies that specialise in finding people this kind of work? Any information, tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Nicola
-- Edited by jackie on Wednesday 20th of October 2010 12:41:33 PM
RE: Any advice on starting a career as a massage therapist welcomed!
Closed
Hi Nicola,
I dont know of any agencies that specialise in therapists I'm afraid. Sometimes getting work is almost like being in the right place at the right time - you need to put yourself out there and let people know what you do. Anyone you talk to may be someone who can open a door for you.
I have just received a newsletter from the West Norfolk Group of Therapists and they had a great talk on marketing yourself as a therapist and the newsletter contains some good advice that the speaker gave on this subject - her name was Linda L'Anson. Some of the excellent advice is repeated below, the whole newsletter is on the Forum under Workshops etc from other schools and associations:
Ultimately, when marketing we need to concentrate on the basics:
- WHO you are - WHAT are boundaries and key drivers - WHEN do you want to work - WHERE do you want to work - HOW do you want to achieve your goals - WHY are you doing it (key drivers)
A key to remember is the word FAB. Think of something you offer that is special to you and special to the people out there. F – features A – advantages B – benefits
It’s all about perception. Don’t ever assume (‘ass out of you and me’). Clients however will do this all the time. Your clients will always be assessing you through actual experience, all your promotional material (business cards, website etc.). You need to think about your audience, what methods you could adopt such as local talks, how far you are willing to target your audience, you working hours in order to be clear to your clients and promote yourself in special event national weeks such as Reflexology Week etc.
It is all about reiterating your message you want to deliver in the form of articles, patient feedback/recommendation, answer phone message (maybe not the right impression if a young child answers), interaction with local companies etc.
Linda’s biggest advice was to be true to your values and to keep evolving.
I have attached a handoutout I made for one of our School Meetings (held bi-annually) - called Seven Secrets of a Successful Therapists - I am not that clever to have 'made it up'! I copied the excellent article from the Today's Therapist Magazine and I hope there are some tips in here for you to help grow your business in the way you would wish.
good luck and let us know how you get on! Jackie x
Hi Nicola A great new book has just come out that will realy help you - its by Jane Sheehan and called Sole Trader - its terrific. I have ordered copies for students to buy at a reduced rate and each class (on the last day) will have a 'draw' and the lucky person gets the book free!
Here are some more marketing tips (from therapymarketing tips.com):
Getting really clear about the benefits you can offer people not only revolutionizes your marketing, it can help you to see your practice in a whole new light.
Let me explain. I think therapists as a group struggle with self promotion because we don’t like to come across as boastful or self laudatory. But the fact is you almost certainly have the ability to dramatically impact the quality of someone’s life. You know when this happens because your patient/ client walks out with a big smile on their face. Or maybe they start to sleep better, or maybe they suffer less back pain. Either way, this is nothing short of miraculous if you think about it. Through some form of therapy, you have affected a change in how this person feels. Now don’t you want as many people as possible to experience this? Obviously you can’t guarantee to help everyone, but if there’s a chance you can help someone, don’t you want to communicate this so they at least give your therapy a try?
Unfortunately what usually happens when people come to promoting their practice is they hide behind the technical features of their therapy - How old it is, who invented it etc, thinking this is what will impress people. “I’m not being boastful” we think “I’m just giving the facts about my therapy”
The problem is the technical details of your therapy may be fascinating to us but they are sure to bore the pants of your prospective clients!
The question your prospective clients are most concerned about is “Can this help me?”. If the answer is yes, THEN they might want to know a bit more about the features of your therapy. If we’re really honest though its not the technical features of our particular therapies that make them amazing, its the benefits they offer. If I could get better results using tea cups instead of acupuncture needles I would. The problem is, we are too attached to our therapy and think this is what we should be promoting.
You need to promote the benefits of your therapy, not your therapy itself. A good way to do this is to say something like “Therapy X can help you to....”. Try this right now with your therapy and something you know you can help people with. See how it feels for size. Does it make you feel boastful? Or just proud? Nobody likes a boaster, but pride in your work completely changes your whole outlook.
You obviously need to back up your benefit statements as much as possible with testimonials and scientific evidence and never be misleading or untruthful.
Also if you’re lacking confidence in what your therapy can do, spend some time with an expert in your field and see what can be achieved. I regularly attend ongoing training with the best people I can find and come back blown away by what’s possible.
If you remind yourself of this awe and excitement at what is possible, your marketing becomes natural and your interaction with clients a privilege
1st June 2011 - I have just been sent PR tips for CNHC registered practitioners - also for therapists in general! on writing an editorial to get it published
Hello and welcome.
This is the first in an occasional series of public relations tips designed to help CNHC registered practitioners to get the most from their PR activities.
There are many ways to generate media coverage for your practice.
First of all, think about anything that’s new and interesting – for example have you had a record year, expanded your business or added another therapy area? Have you helped someone who would be willing to be a case study? If you have, you could put a press release together to send to your local media. You may also want to consider trade or professional association publications who may be interested.
Find the contact details of the publications and send them your release, making sure to follow up afterwards. You should also keep a note of who you speak to and their contact details. This will help you to build your own media database.
How to write a press release
The first thing to be aware of is that journalists are very busy people. They receive around 100 press releases every day. You need to get their attention in the first paragraph and keep your release short and to the point, ideally one page but no more than two. More importantly – it has to be newsworthy.
Press releases should be sent by email with the text in the body of the email and not sent as an attachment. Journalists will not open attachments in case they contain viruses. Likewise, don’t include photographs. If you have one available say so in the press release and the journalist will contact you if they want a copy.
Audience
Write your release with your audience in mind. If you are sending something to your local newspaper then it needs to be of interest to their readers – the local population. Write your release in the third person – ‘it’ not ‘we’. Keep your sentences short, to the point and avoid jargon and exclamation marks.
Headline
An eye-catching headline is a must. It should be in the subject line of the email and grab the reader’s attention. Ideally it should sum up your story, for example ‘Local therapist doubles size of business’ or ‘Hypnotherapy helps local woman pass driving test at last.’
Make sure you include the date – ideally it should be the date it is distributed.
First paragraph
This is crucial and should contain the key points. Think of what you would say if you only had a minute to convey the main points to a friend. The first paragraph should be your story in a nutshell. For example, ‘A massage therapist from Shrewsbury has had a record-breaking year treating more than 1,000 people from the local area,’ or ‘A complementary health practice in Rutland is insisting that all its practitioners are registered with CNHC, the UK regulator for complementary healthcare.’
Next you need to think of who, what, where, when, why – and how. So who is doing what, where, when, why and how? Make sure you answer all those questions in your release.
Quotes
Include quotes in the release to bring it to life and add colour to the story. This breaks up the press release and allows the newspaper to use the story without needing to come back to you. The quote should be fairly short and sum up the key points. Don’t quote more than two people in a press release.
Contact details
Make sure you include your contact details so that the journalist can contact you if necessary for further information. You also need to be available to take any calls.
Notes to editors
You can include any relevant background information in this section but again, keep it short and to the point.
Once sent, it’s worth following up with the publication to see if they need any further information.
Finally, read through your release to ensure it makes sense and always remember to use your spell check.
-- Edited by jackie on Wednesday 1st of June 2011 04:05:33 PM
-- Edited by jackie on Wednesday 1st of June 2011 04:07:22 PM
