How on earth do some MT's perform 30 to 40 massages a week??

[The Bear]

I know there are a few MT's who do over 30 sessions a week.

HOW???

Not the physical how, but the time how! Do they schedule only 15 minutes between clients? Do they work 6 or 7 days a week?? Performing 6 sessions every day?? How do they have time for anything else besides massage??

On average, I get in 15 to 20 sessions a week, and my schedule is roughly 80% full as I see it. Perhaps I am seeing it wrong?

I currently take Mondays off all the time. I do work Sundays whenever my local NFL team plays on a Sunday (3 appointments max). I schedule between 8am and 7pm weekdays and 8am to 2pm on Saturdays. Generally, when I have 5 appointments for the day, I do not book more for that day. I do my best to keep at least 30 minutes between appointments, but occationally there are appointments with 15 minutes inbetween. I have my children every other week. The week I have them, I dont book appointments later than 4:30pm most nights. The week I dont have them I take appoinments up to 7pm.

I schedule 30s, 60s, 90s, and the occational 120 minute session. This can kind of throw a wrench in my scheduling. I am not like a big spa who schedules sessions on the hour every hour giving 50 minute sessions. In a perfect world, clients would bend around my schedule and line up perfectly in my appointment book! But alas, that doesnt happen and often times I have an hour break between clients. That isnt a bad thing, but it can make your day long when you have an appointment at 8am, another at 10am, the next at 2pm, and the last at 5pm. It would be nice to line them up at 8am, 930am, 11am, and 1230pm. Bing bang boom done and out, or still time to get another one or two in!

SO, all you big timers, please fill me and everyone else in!! How do you do it?? And do you have time for anything else? t101 t102

 

[Martin the baby]

One at a time, just one at a time. 6 per day X 7 days = 42/week Then you go around singing "I'm in the money, I'm in the money....

 

[magix151]

well, keep in mind...

Most people who are doing that are pacing themselves and not giving each client their all.

Inevitably this statement will offend a few therapists who are exceptions to this generalization. The generalization will, nonetheless, remain mostly true.

 

[Blondie.]

I do about 12-16 one hour massages a week. Physcially thats all I can do. I do agree with Razor. If I was doing 30 massages a week, I could never give the massages I give now. I would have to eliminate so many techniques and not be as thorough.
When I do schedule my clients. I will tell them what I have available instead of asking when they wouldl like to come in. This way most of the time my work schedule works well with my personal schedule. Clients do not have to be privvy to your whole days schedule. I offer a 9am-10:30am 12:00pm and a 1:30pm. On days I work later, I offer a noon, 1:30pm, 3:00pm, 4:30pm and sometimes a 6pm. This way my clients are back to back and I don't have to sit around all day. So far this has worked well for me. Yes there are days when there is a huge space between clients, like when there is a no show or someond cancels on the same day.

 

[Lucy Girl]

Physically I can't imagine doing that many. I'm very part time and dealing with some physical limitations. If I were doing more than 15 a week I would be freaking burned out. When I started massage as a career I vowed that my family would not suffer. I am unavailable after 2:30. My clients wished I would take night and weekend appts. although on the rare occasion I will. Yes, it limits the amount of money I make but I'm not really in it for the money.

 

[Downtide]

It's all in the scheduling. I had no idea how it could be done either, until I went to a 3 hour marketing course this weekend. The instructor does 30-40 sessions a week, and has at one period in his career done up to 50 hours a week.

It's a bit like SandyO's scheduling.

He allows 15 minutes between clients, and he schedules strategically. For instance: He has an open day, so he puts on his message that he has an one hour at 11am or a 90 minute at 10:30am, and one at 1pm, or please leave a message if you need another time and we can try to work it out. This leaves him an hour for lunch in between clients. So someone calls in and says " I want your 11am for a 90 minute massage." He says, I don't have the space at 11, but I can see you at 10:30am. Then he changes the machine to reflect that he now has an hour appt at 9:15, or 90 minute at 8:45am. When he fills the 1pm he updates to reflect the next available spot.

If someone calls to request an appointment at 8pm, (which he will do,) but his last appt on the books is at 5pm, he tells them he has a 6:15pm. He doesn't allow them (or himself) to schedule randomly and create big gaps when he has already worked several appointments that day.

There was more like this, but the main point he made is that this kind of scheduling is dependent on having a message machine that you will update frequently with your availabilities. People call and see what you have, and it's much easier to get compliance when you give them limited choices. It's when there are an abundance of choices that things become difficult.

I was very impressed with this method, because this is my biggest problem in my practice. I might have 5-6 clients scheduled in a day and end up being in the office for 11 hours. bleh. I really needed to find some way to change that, and I think I'm going to implement this method.

Stacey

 

[Kaleigh]

Thanks for the info breathe.

Breathe, what is your prefered length of time between clients? I like 30 minutes, but it isnt always needed with regulars as they do not have paperwork to fill out. I have been toying with the idea of shortening up the time to 20 minutes between clients I have previously seen.

I dont have to worry about leaving a message when my next appointments are because 90% of the time I have someone to answer the phone.

This week, I have 28 appointments scheduled and only one opening on Friday morning. Now 3 of those appointments were yesterday (sunday.) 28 is damn near 30!! But not 40. Preferably, I would like to get all those appointments into 5 days instead of 6. If no one cancels or reschedules, this will be my busiest week in a while. I usually have about 18 appointments in any given week. I sent out a newsletter recently and that has jogged people's memories and has them calling.

I am not fond of having 5 appointments well spaced out over the course of a day. I do my best to cluster book. But as time goes by and I get busier and busier I have been booking them whenever because I know there is a good chance the day will fill in.

 

[jwhizzle4shizzle]

I don't know how much space I really need between clients, but I think I'm going to try close scheduling. I have been leaving at least 30 minutes (or more :roll: ) between clients, but it's not really working out for me, as I have Loooooooooong days, but spread in just such a way that I never really get lunch.

 

[Brandie C]

I don't know how much space I really need between clients, but I think I'm going to try close scheduling. I have been leaving at least 30 minutes (or more :roll: ) between clients, but it's not really working out for me, as I have Loooooooooong days, but spread in just such a way that I never really get lunch.

Geee!! Does that sound familiar!! Here are some examples of my week:

Tuesday, 11am 60 min, 1pm 60 min, 315pm, 30 min, 430pm 60 min, 6pm 60 min.

Wednesday, 11am 60, 130pm 60, 3pm 60, 430pm 90, 630pm 60.

Thursday, 1030am 60, 12pm 60, 130pm 60, 330pm 60, 5pm 60, 630pm 60.

Friday, 1130am 60, 130pm 60, 3pm 60, 430pm 60.

Saturday, 830am 60, 10am 60, 1130am 90, 130pm 60.

I could change the way I schedule, but it will take a couple months to perfect it as many of my clients book one and two months out.

 

[tron]

I've heard of some therapists having set times to schedule. For example: 11, 1230, 2, 330, 5, 630. If you do a lot of 90's, it is easier. 11, 1, 3, 5, 7.

Just set some times, and don't change it. If somene calls and says: " I want to get a rubdown at 245." Going by the above times, you can say, "I would love to rub you all over with some oil, but I only have a 2 available today. I have a 330 tomorrow. Hope this is helpful!

 

[white gravy]

Yep GL, that's what my books look like too. Wider gaps than I need, but not wide enough to leave the office, go for a walk, get lunch, run to P.O., etc.

Mick, I do give set times and don't change them, the problem is my set times are not very efficient. I'd LIKE to work 4- 1/2 days a week and book 23-25 sessions a week. AND, I'd like to spend no more than 9 hours at the office on any of those days, with a shorter day Fri and Sat. (less than 40 hours total.) Obviously, I'm going to have to manage my transitions better if I'm going to do that. Currently I am generally at office for 11 hours Wed, 10 Tues, 8 on Thurs/Fri, and 5 on Sat, (total 42+ hours) and only booking 16-17 slots. I have the calls because I'm booking a week out, sometimes more. But my time management is the single biggest waste of resources in my practice.

Thanks for bringing this up GL.

 

[Qatie]

i'm just part time, but i do closed scheduling.

mondays: 1pm, 215, 3:30-5, 5:30pm
wed: 5pm, 6:15pm
fri: same as wed
saturday: 9, 10:15, 11:30am

my regular monday guys (3:30-5 and 5:30) both needed to reschedule for friday. when i had people calling for monday i started at the bottom of my times and worked my way up. i leave early from my day job to massage mondays. if i don't have any appointments, then i stay at work. doing that worked! i booked the 5:30 first and worked my way up to the 1pm. all of my slots were book in one day and no gaps. i usually do 15 mins between slots. 30 mins is my max.

 

[vball07]

There is a great write up about a man doing 50 a week. He even does his own paperwork (WHEN??).
It was in DEEP, a newsletter I get through Cortiva.
His website is:
http://www.humantouch-llc.com/

You can go to Cortiva I suppose to subscribe to DEEP. It has wonderful contributors. I am a Whitney Lowe Groupee so I enjoy reading his articles.

Robyn

 

[Meaty Babby CR3]

here is the article Nybor7 is talking about. http://www.cortiva.com/pdf/DeepMTR-Oct-2006.pdf

There is a great write up about a man doing 50 a week. He even does his own paperwork (WHEN??).
It was in DEEP, a newsletter I get through Cortiva.
His website is:
http://www.humantouch-llc.com/

You can go to Cortiva I suppose to subscribe to DEEP. It has wonderful contributors. I am a Whitney Lowe Groupee so I enjoy reading his articles.

Robyn

 

[jnmedrano2004]

There is a great write up about a man doing 50 a week. He even does his own paperwork (WHEN??).

I for one don't want to work that many hours in a week. I like money but I also want a life outside of work. This is my only income and I believe in working hard for it, but I have my limits on how many hours I will work in a week.

healingtouch

 

[killedbyapenny]

Jeopardizing our own health and well-being is not what I meant by "giving our all" of course. I stand by my generalization and suppport therapists managing their own resources as they see fit.

 

[Where is my vote!!!!!]

The economic theory of massage

Here is a wild theory....most MTs - no matter where they choose to practice - will always make about the same amount of money as other MTs over the course of a year.

Hypothesis 1 - Most MTs only have X # of treatments in them. X for one person is +/- 20% of what it might be for another person

Therefore you earning potential over the career for MOST MTs (not necessarily you, or the guy in the article) is predetermined as X * Hour Rate

Therefore as an MT you can":

A) work for a spa factory (like Doral, or Elizabeth Arden) and do Y massages * Z hourly rate (where Y is very high - like 30 - and Z is very low, like $30)

B) work for someone like Relax & Rejuvenate where (Y=.5*Y in example A) * (Z = 1.5*Z in Example A)

C) work for yourself and do .25 * Y clients * 2Z rate -- if you can afford to wait it out long enough to get the client base.

Unless you possess extraordinary discipline, stamina or are fortunate enough to have the deep pockets required to build a substantial private practice - or a combination of all three - 80% of all MTs will end up in the same boat regardless of the path they choose.

That should fire up the debate!

 

[Courtney Q]

The type of MT who works for themselves AND does 30-40 sessions a week is likely not the type of person to "wait it out long enough to get the client base."

F/I, I was doing .25Y * 2Z by my 5th month in business, and I'm pretty sure I could have done it faster if I had really applied myself.

OTOH, I just spent the weekend with over 100 therapists, the majority of whom are working parttime, and the many of them are "waiting" to become busier.

What were those statistics the AMTA released? That the average MT works parttime and makes less than $12k a year? That's unfortunate. The MTs who work for themselves but struggle for their entire career would probably be far better off to find a good spa or clinic to be an employee or IC.

Which is a rather longwinded way to say I agree with this:

Unless you possess extraordinary discipline, stamina or are fortunate enough to have the deep pockets required to build a substantial private practice - or a combination of all three - 80% of all MTs will end up in the same boat regardless of the path they choose.

 

[Aland]

The economic theory of massage

Here is a wild theory....most MTs - no matter where they choose to practice - will always make about the same amount of money as other MTs over the course of a year.

Hypothesis 1 - Most MTs only have X # of treatments in them. X for one person is +/- 20% of what it might be for another person

Therefore you earning potential over the career for MOST MTs (not necessarily you, or the guy in the article) is predetermined as X * Hour Rate

Therefore as an MT you can":

A) work for a spa factory (like Doral, or Elizabeth Arden) and do Y massages * Z hourly rate (where Y is very high - like 30 - and Z is very low, like $30)

B) work for someone like Relax & Rejuvenate where (Y=.5*Y in example A) * (Z = 1.5*Z in Example A)

C) work for yourself and do .25 * Y clients * 2Z rate -- if you can afford to wait it out long enough to get the client base.

Unless you possess extraordinary discipline, stamina or are fortunate enough to have the deep pockets required to build a substantial private practice - or a combination of all three - 80% of all MTs will end up in the same boat regardless of the path they choose.

That should fire up the debate!

R&R,

I would like to know how long you consider a single practitioner practice to be successful?

God knows I don't have extraordinary discipline, stamina or deep pockets. But still I have a busy practice. I do have good marketing skills and give a darn good massage. People spread the word, I give a few coupons to sweeten the deal, and reward clients for referrals. Bada bing bada boom. Busy busy busy. And no, not with only new clients getting a deal on their first session. Regulars who come back over and over and over.

Am I an anomaly??

 

[WWE Bragging Rights]

The economic theory of massage

Am I an anomaly??

I'm not R&R, but my answer is Yes. You are an anomoly. Most MTs don't take off with the momentum that you did. You formulated a very intensive marketing plan and you mostly stuck to it. And your game plan paid off. Besides which, you have the determination to make yourself available for all of these clients you brought in very quickly.

Now, if you are comparing yourself to therapists here on this board, you are not as much of an exception. There are quite of few of us here who use multiple marketing approaches, who are very serious about business, and who are determined to make a decent living at this business. But compared to the population of MTs at large, take a look at the statistics. 50% don't make it past their first couple of years, the average income is $12k/year, the majority of therapists work parttime, (and quite possibly not by choice.)