I did not set out to be known as the massage-tool guy. Achy hands pushed me to make changes in the massage room, and eventually, massage tools replaced my fingers and thumbs for a majority of pressing and gliding work. When that happened, my massage practice took off.
Why? Clients liked the focused pressure I could deliver with massage tools, so they sent me more referrals—and I could handle more referrals because massage tools took the strain out of my hands.
If you’re thinking about using massage tools to grow your practice, I have good news: You don’t need a special business plan. You just need to get competent with massage tools and demonstrate that competency on potential customers.
Getting Competent with Massage Tools
I know what you’re thinking: “I’m not going to be able to feel anything with a massage tool.” You’re not alone. I hear it all the time from massage therapists in my massage-tool classes, and it’s a legit concern. After all, I’m asking you to swap out a highly sensitive thumb with a hunk of wood or chunk of plastic that’s not hardwired to your brain.
But there’s a workaround to this problem. It is: Put a guide finger next to the massage tool tip.
A guide finger acts as a palpation tool. Depending on which direction you’re moving, a guide finger can explore the tissue in front of the massage tool or act as a drag finger, providing information about the tissue you just worked.
By the way, a guide finger doesn’t have to be a finger. It could be a thumb, knuckle or fist.
In addition to giving you all the sensory information you need to find tight spots and trigger points, a guide finger also helps stabilize the massage tool in your hand.
If you pin the massage tool between your hand and the tissue you’re working on and then add a guide finger to help support the tool, you won’t have to grip the massage tool, even when applying firm pressure. In fact, doing the two together will allow you to relax the hand holding the massage tool.
If you lean while pinning and using a guide finger, you can regulate your pressure by directing your body weight. Lean your body weight into the massage tool for firm pressure. For light pressure, lean your body weight into the table and guide hand.
Efficient pinning and leaning won’t happen overnight; you’ll have to practice. But the more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll get.
Getting Comfortable with a Massage Tool
Here’s how you streamline the process of getting comfortable with a massage tool. First, ask people who can give you instant and honest feedback, like colleagues, friends and family members to be recipients of your massage tool work. Then pick a massage tool to try out. This round-tip L-bar is one if my favorite starter tools because you can easily glide and press with it.
Next, use the massage tool in areas of the body that are easy for you to access.
For instance, the round-tip L-bar fits nicely in the arch of the foot and is great for gliding in the lamina groove of the back.
When you first start experimenting with the massage tool, you won’t automatically reach for it in the massage room. In fact, you’ll constantly have to remind yourself to pick it up; but, the day will come when you automatically reach for your massage tool during a massage. That is the day when you should start marketing your massage-tool skill.
How long will it take to get comfortable with your massage tool? It really depends on how much you practice with the massage tool. If you practice consistently, using a massage tool in every massage, I would say a month.
Making Money with Your Massage Tool
Once you’re comfortable with your massage tool, take out a billboard ad on I-95: Try Carla’s Massage-Tool Massage—the most precise massage in town! I’m joking about that. Most people don’t associate massage tools with relaxation or pain-relief massage and you’d need 10 billboards to explain it.
Save that billboard verbiage for platforms that are cheap or free, like your website or Google Business Profile page, which I’ll talk about a little later. Instead of explaining how good massage tools can feel to the massage recipient, show them.
Massage Tool Marketing Inside the Massage Room
Working on new clients with massage tools is a quick way to get referrals and repeat business. When new clients experience focused pressure—exactly at the pressure that is pain-relieving or relaxing—they won’t know or care that you’re using a massage tool. They’ll just want to come back for more.
To get a bigger marketing bump, you could encourage that happy client to like your Facebook business page or to give you a Google review. Personally, I don’t do either because it’s not my marketing style, but I’m always quick to reply when I get a Google review or a comment on my Facebook business page.
Massage Tool Marketing Outside the Massage Room
Paid chair-massage gigs are a great way to spread the word about your massage-tool work. Massage tools are ideal for chair massage, because tools with round tips glide over clothing and tools with flat tips are great for pressing through clothing.
If you don’t have any chair massage gigs lined up in your schedule book, do some free demo massages using your massage tools.
Yep, I said “free.”
To make “free” more palatable, think of “free” in terms of advertising. Instead of paying to advertise, you’re now advertising for free, and you’re advertising with known winners—your hands and a massage tool.
If you’re concerned about devaluing your service, apply these three rules to your free demo massages:
Rule #1: Not free for everyone. Only offer free demo massage to strategic business allies, their employees and their clients. A strategic business ally is someone who can refer clients to you, like a hospital, MD, chiropractor, PT, personal trainer, hotel or retirement community.
Rule #2: It’s free for 15 or 30 minutes. Limit the length of the massage to 15 or 30 minutes. In the past, I’d offer a business ally (e.g. a chiropractor) a free 30-minute massage, and I’d offer her patients 15-minute massages.
I gave the extra time to the chiropractor because I wanted to demonstrate that I was a good fit with her practice. For her patients, 15 minutes was the perfect amount of time to find and treat pain/problem areas.
Rule #3: Limit the time of the offer. Offer free massages for one month (once a week for four weeks). At the end of the month, re-evaluate and decide if periodic demo massages in the future are important to keep you connected to your business ally and her clients.
Online Massage-Tool Massage Marketing
Now, let’s circle back to your website and Google Business Profile page. If you’re not familiar with Google Business Profiles, Google “massage near me.” The first thing that comes up is probably an ad(s). Then under that is a local search with names of massage businesses in your area.
Currently, the local search appears as a map with three businesses underneath it and a “More Businesses” button below the three businesses. Your Google Business Profile listing is important because if you can rank high in the search, people see your business without having to hit “More Businesses.” Having content that engages viewers can potentially boost your ranking, and this is where you should talk about your massage tool work.
Don’t write something that’s jargon-y. Try to connect with what you think your client wants. Here’s an example: “Sometimes pain relief comes down to finding the exact spot and applying the appropriate amount of pressure to produce a pain-relief effect. At times during the massage, I use specific massage tools that allow me to apply very precise pressure so that I can pinpoint and provide pain relief to your areas of concern.”
On your Google Business Profile page, you’ll use your massage-tool content to make a short post. You can find out more about creating your Google Business Profile page here: google.com/business. On your website, you can add your massage-tool content to your Home or About page.
Why Wait?
When you think about it, using massage tools to build your practice couldn’t be more straightforward.
First, practice with a massage tool on friends, family and colleagues until you feel yourself reaching for your massage tool without thinking about it.
Next, find some chair massage gigs or do some free, strategic, demo massages, and sell your massage with the best marketing tools you have—your hands and your massage tool.
At the end of the day, your body will be happy, your massage practice will be bustling, and you’ll have peace of mind that comes from knowing that massage tools will keep you massaging for a long, long time.
About the Author
Mark Liskey, LMT, CNMT, is a massage therapist, massage CE provider and author of “The Pain-Free Massage Therapist,” a body-mechanics strategies and techniques book for eliminating pain in the massage room and extending massage careers. You can access free, instructional body-mechanics videos at painfreemassagetherapist.com.