You Are In High Demand

by Coach Cary Bayer

Wouldn't it be fabulous to own a business in which virtually everyone you met wanted what you offered? Even a giant like Microsoft isn't in demand by everyone; after all, not everyone owns a computer. But there are businesses desired by virtually every adult alive. Those businesses are called medicine, nursing, coaching, hypnotherapy, psychology, counseling, social work, massage therapy, energy medicine, chiropractic, and naturopathy, among other integrative healing modalities. If you're a practitioner in any of these fields and are uncomfortable with the use of the term business to denote your work, then please read on. And realize one other important distinction: what you do on your table, couch, office, etc. is your practice; everything else associated with it is your business. If someone pays you for the service you render you're a professional. That means that you work in a business--whether you're an entrepreneur yourself or an employee who works for some other business.

Everybody has problems. So your market as a therapist is greater than the market for Microsoft. Who would have thunk it? Very few of the 150 massage therapists, and the dozens of other facilitators of healing whom I've coached in the industries cited above, recognized this when I first started coaching them. They'd been so focused on making the ends meet or just improving the services that they render, that they missed the big picture--that every person they meet can become a client. The absence of this insight is the major cause for the financial struggles of those who serve professionally in the healing arts. Some of you have sadly taken other jobs to pay your bills, and if you've had time and energy remaining, you do some sessions part-time. This is a great loss for you and all those who could benefit from your healing modality.

Realizing that virtually everyone you see wants your service makes you more enthusiastic and bold. (Being enthusiastic and bold helps create new clients.) If you think this way, you won't have to rely on gift certificates, discount packages, coupons, and free chair massages as many of you have done to land new clients. These are marvelous marketing stratagems, but none is as easy as meeting someone at a party and having them book an appointment.

When you tell someone at a party that you're a licensed massage therapist or a hypnotherapist, for example, she'll likely express interest in your services. That's because everyone has either pain in his body or pain in his soul--most have both. At this point, many healers laugh and reach for the spinach dip. Others reach into their purses to give him a business card. The therapist who knows that her service is in demand, reaches for her appointment book and asks when he'd like to come in for some relief. Landing a new client can be that simple.

That's why it's important to get into many conversations about what you do--the second question you're asked when you meet someone. Observe reactions. Have your appointment book available--you never know when someone asks your vocation. Don't just give your card and ask her to follow up with a call. Sadly, many people don't recognize they deserve the pleasure of ongoing healing. Carpe diem and carpe clients.

I don't encourage dropping business cards everywhere you go. I simply encourage recognizing the following four important points:

1) Every adult whom you meet is interested in relief from physical pains, desires deep relaxation, and solution to his myriad problems in life.

2) Tell people what you do when asked; if they're interested, wait for them to say they'd love some relief from their cares and woes.

3) Once they've said that, take out your appointment book and schedule a session.

4) Stay open to the reality that this can happen anywhere at any time.

The remarkable thing about getting clients in this radical new way is that it's mostly a matter of staying focused on it in your daily life--and having the courage to do it. I say courage because--even if you see the wisdom in these ideas--you might easily revert back to being like the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and let fear stop you. Here's an affirmation to help you expand your thinking: "Since everyone wants what I do, I can get a new client every day." The more you let this thought grow in your consciousness, the faster it becomes the way you think, speak, act, and expand your business.

Cary Bayer (www.carybayer.com) was keynote speaker at the 2006 American Massage Therapy Association national convention. Widely known as The Business Coach for Massage Therapists, Cary is a Life Coach; CE provider licensed by NCBTMB and Florida Dept. of Health's Board of Massage Therapy; and faculty member of Massage Business University, he writes for Massage Today, massage publications in 14 states, and a syndicated column, "Life 101," that runs in wellness publications. His 27 publications include 11 specifically for massage therapists. He's coached some 150 LMTs and dozens of alternative healers. His CE seminars, "Build a $100,000 a Year Massage Business" and "Healer, Heal Thyself," are very popular among alternative facilitators.