From my experience as a Remedial Massage Therapist, I’ve come to realise one major thing – that achieving great outcomes for my clients is not simply about practicing awesome techniques or keeping up to date with the latest research. While both of these aspects are essential to be a competent therapist, getting great results requires much more than that!

In fact I’d go as far to say that more than 50% of therapist input to achieve great client outcomes is not technique related – it’s communication related.

How Well do You Communicate with Your Clients?

If you are struggling to develop a solid client base as a Massage Therapist or Myotherapist it is most likely not because you are a bad therapist. It’s possible that your communication skills are letting you down. Good therapist-client communication is critical to achieving positive outcomes in your clinic.

I’d now like to introduce you to the first 2 steps you need to consider when communicating with your clients in your practice.

Step 1 – Inform Your Client About Your Services Before You Meet Them

Marketing is sometimes thought of as a tricky word in massage and can be regarded with apprehension. In reality, marketing is all about telling the world what you do in a clear manner. This is absolutely essential for any business to attract and retain customers so that the business can remain viable. Why would massage be any different? Of course… it’s not.

You need to tell the world via your communication channels (such as your website and inside your clinic reception area) who you are and what you do. What is your philosophy? What is your approach to Remedial Massage? What modalities do you use as part of treatments? What sort of injuries or problems do you like to focus on?

As an example, if you are sports focused and have alot of experience assisting athletes in pre and post-event recovery from sport, then make sure that you make this clear in your marketing. If you are getting “the wrong sort of clients” coming to you for treatment, this may well be because you are not sending out the right message?

Step 2 – Identify the key treatment outcomes and goals of the client

Perhaps the single biggest mistake that a therapist can make with a new client (or even an existing one) is not clearly identifying what a client or patient is wanting to achieve from a treatment. And “I just want a massage” is not an adequate goal. You need to determine in clear terms exactly what it is the client wants to have achieved by the time they walk out the door. What do they expect from the treatment session?

If you can clearly identify and connect with the needs of your clients to achieve the outcomes they are looking for, then you will have demonstrated to them that not only are you an excellent therapist, but you are someone who cares about their specific goals and will listen to what they have to say.

CPE Course in Client Management

In our latest course “Client Management – 9 Steps to Positive Treatment Outcomes and Re-bookings” we reveal how to structure your communication through a “client centered” approach to treatment planning.

The 9 steps are designed to increase the professionalism of your clinical practice, increase the satisfaction of your clients and ultimately lead to more rebookings. The course is intended for Remedial Massage and Myotherapists who feel like they do a great job as a therapist but find it a challenging to develop an ongoing client base. If that sounds like you, be sure to check out the course online now.