Happy New Year! I am back from blogbernation. When I get called out by our social media heartthrob and one of the massage world’s preeminent bloggers, it’s time to get back to the salt mines.

My goal this year is to come up with enough cool, innovative, clever, practice-building resources through this blog that I receive threats from people: “Stop it! I can’t take any more business. Quit helping me succeed!” As you may have heard, ABMP is celebrating its 25^th anniversary in 2012. So I am going to post at least 25 blogs and offer at least 25 good ideas about developing your practice. You can be the judge about the quality.

Time to build your 2012 Super Fantastic Client Building Machine. In my last post in December (“What’s in Your Wallet?”), when discussing what prudent therapists might carry in their wallets, I included the following:

A referral card—do you have a system to reward referrals from your existing clients? If not, do it. Now. I’m not kidding. I’m waiting … okay, we’ll build this in the next blog. You’re off the hook for now.

You’re no longer off the hook. Today, we start with a simple exercise—handing out cards. Not your business cards— referral cards.

First, Arts & Crafts. Yippee! Go in your dad’s closet and get an old shirt to use as a smock (okay, not really—just reminiscing about art class at Silverside Elementary).

Actually, you’re going to either a) craft these yourself by hand or b) design them on your computer.

On the front side, you’ll have an invitation and your contact info. On the back, you’ll put a sticker that identifies who you gave the card to (your sales person). Then, ask that person to hand out your cards, and for every 5 (or 3 or 10, you decide) you get back, you give your sales person a free massage (or a discount, or extra time, or a Rolex, or whatever makes sense for you).

The most cost-effective way to do this is to probably print out multiples of the card’s front side on quality paper, and either hand-write numbers on the back or use colorful stickers (with numbers, or you can write the numbers on). If you go the colored sticker route, make sure you have at least a few different shades so you can have multiple people on your sales force.

Also, you probably want to set a time limit on the handing out and returning, so you can gauge how this is strategy going (and add more peeps to your sales force, if necessary).

Alright—time to get to work. Let me know what you think, and feel free to add to the idea.

Next post: Let’s Make a Deal.

Les Sweeney is on Twitter. Follow him at @abmp_les.

Two of my favorite entertainers—Jimmy Fallon and Alec Baldwin—are now shilling for Capital One credit cards. Not an inspired choice of products to endorse, in my view, but nevertheless they are funny commercials. And of course, Capital One and its marketing team deserve credit for creating one of the more memorable tag lines (which I appropriated for my title this week) of the past few years.

The other day I heard one of those commercials for the 39^th time while doing the dishes, and a thought occurred to me—what is in my wallet? A few credit/bank cards, driver’s license, medical ID/insurance card, a little bit of cash. I don’t even keep a real wallet­—I’m a clip guy.

So naturally, as I finished loading the dishwasher, my thoughts turned to our members—what’s in their wallets? As mentioned regularly, I am a sideline massage therapist—a big supporter (and user) of massage, but not “in the game” like the rest of you. My client list consists of people with the last name of Sweeney. So my train of thought turned to, “what should be in your wallet, Massage and Bodywork Professional?”

Now I am taking writer’s license here (hey, it’s my blog), and interpreting the term wallet to mean, “what is on your person as you travel through your day.”

• Business cards—interested in building your practice? You better have enough in stock to hand out 50 a month. If you’re not doing this, I am officially disappointed in you.
• Chewing gum—I will also accept mints here. Grabbing a quick lunch between sessions? Don’t make red onions part of your treatment plan.
• Contact information for your health care “team”—if in doubt, refer out. To do so, be informed and ready to share important contact info for professionals who know you and you trust. Clients may not have all the answers, and will appreciate your guidance to find a solution.
• Emergency ID information—I’m sounding like my mom here, but does someone know where you are right now?
• A phone­—continuing on the mom theme but: your phone can be a really handy business management tool (the only time I don’t have mine on me is when I’m sleeping). Can you access your e-mail or calendar 24/7? You may need to during the day. Plus between clients you might want to watch this (or this). Or maybe this.
• A referral card—do you have a system to reward referrals from your existing clients? If not, do it. Now. I’m not kidding. I’m waiting … okay, we’ll build this in the next blog. You’re off the hook for now.
• ABMP membership info—hey, you never know when you might need a discount on legal guidance, Crocs, or a rental car. Just sayin’.

What else?

Follow Les on Twitter at www.twitter.com/abmp_les.

As I mention every year, the week of Thanksgiving is easy fodder for a sporadic blogger such as yours truly. Lots in this world we’d love to change, but lots in this world I am grateful for, too.

I am:

• Grateful for the love of my life.

• Happy to be alive, and in reasonably good stead.

• Proud to work for our members, and with the fantastic people with whom I do.

• Glad I get to participate in discussions that (hopefully) help advance the massage and bodywork profession.

• Blessed to spend my life with three outstanding sons, who make their father proud every day.

• Grateful for the Grateful Dead.

• Thankful for my bimonthly massage.

• So impressed by the thoughtful, engaging voices in our profession, like Allissa Haines, Laura Allen, Michael Reynolds, Emmanuel Bistas, and our own Abram Herman.

• Excited about the future of this profession, our organization, and growing old with them both.

• Getting really serious about blogging more frequently in 2012.

May your Thanksgiving be complete with friendship, family, and laughter.

Follow Les on Twitter at www.twitter.com/abmp_les.

When I’m in the office, my preference is to bring my lunch to work rather than eat out (I’m not as good at this as I should be). Sometimes I make my lunch, but usually my sweet wife does. I usually bring along a banana, but I don’t stick it in the fridge with the rest of my lunch—I keep it at my desk. Why? Because if I get hungry mid-morning, it’s better to eat my banana than hitting the pretzel jar or Connie’s candy dish. But there’s another reason—I don’t like cold bananas. I like my banana to be room temperature. I don’t why, that’s just the way it is. And that’s just me.

What does this have to do with anything? Good question. But here’s what I think—if it matters to me, it matters. Just like your clients. Too hot? Too cold? Jazz instead of dreamy massage Muzak? What matters to your clients should matter to you.

If you don’t already, you should begin creating a dossier on your clients­—likes and dislikes in the treatment room, before, and after, as well as birthdays, hobbies, kids, pets’ names—you name it. If your objective is to establish a meaningful business relationship with your clients, the quicker you embrace the fact you are in a service business, the better.

You can use an Excel spreadsheet, a notepad, or a more robust client-management tool. The medium can be helpful, but it’s the discipline that counts. Intake forms are critical, but so are customer notes. No practice should skip on either. Charting and notes are what make you a professional; understanding your clients (and delivering for them) keeps you in the profession.

Discover your clients’ “banana” preferences and use these understandings to make connections that help lead to client retention and practice success.

Follow Les on Twitter: @abmp_les.

I am typing this while sitting on an airplane. Life has put me on a plane three times this month, for both business and pleasure. On balance, travel makes life more interesting—even business travel. Seeing other parts of the country is a privilege I never take for granted. My adult life has taken me away from my immediate family and my place of birth, but I treasure returning “home” when the opportunity arises. Today’s flight was for business, but last week was all fun—the (usually) annual reunion with my beloved band, the Traveling Pillsburys, for a weekend of rock and roll with my college buddies and bandmates.

This morning I was reflecting that September is over. The school year is underway and, by this time next year, my oldest son will be off at college (and his brother the next year). Where has the time gone? We always comment how “time flies” and “it’s going too fast.” I heard a quote once that time doesn’t go fast—it just never stops. Amen to that.

So my question to you today is, how is your year going? Is your practice where it should be? Are you doing better than expected? Worse? What’s happening? Are you taking stock of where you are as a massage therapist and where you want to be as a professional? We have 90 days left in 2011 to achieve some of those goals we set back in January. At a minimum, we need to feel like we’re making progress.

How about personally? I have run two half-marathons this year, but I am slower than I have been in a few years. My objective for the next 90 days is to do my best keeping life in balance. We have a busy spate in front of us at ABMP—strategic planning and some new membership initiatives—but I want to make sure I’m exercising my heart, lungs, and legs in addition to my brain. Last week singing with the Pillsburys gave my vocal cords and inner rock star welcome workouts.

What does your 2011 report card look like thus far?

ABMP offered its first live-training workshop for professionals just last week. Like many activities we try out, we started close to home, right here in Denver. Forty-two professionals gave up their Saturday to, in essence, look in the mirror. The subject matter was Successful Practice Development, as part of our BizFit program.

Introverts and extroverts—men and women, students and newbies, veterans and the simply curious all joined in. I admit I have a bit of a bias here, but practice development is one class that should never end. Have you ever met a therapist who said, “I’m finished getting clients.” If you did, chances are they’re on their way out, not on their way up.

What’s fun and exasperating all at once is that business success—whether you delve in massage and bodywork, software, or cars—does not follow a universally recognized path. There is no secret recipe or one true path to success.

Our workshop focuses on building skills and capacity, and exposing therapists to tried and tested development exercises. Building a practice consists of visiting the cafeteria line of ideas, and picking out the ones that suit your specific (or individual) interests and skills.

Kristin Coverly, an über-talented and inspiring member of our education team, delivered an outstanding workshop, receiving an average rating of 4.9 (out of 5). Not bad for her first try (we’ll expect perfection next time). And the workshop will only get better from here.

At ABMP, we don’t rush into things, so I’m not announcing a slate of 30 workshops coming to your city. We’ll continue to refine the program and make sure we visit towns that will generate good attendance—no point in playing to an empty concert hall.

But this workshop, and our BizFit program, is another example of us looking around and saying, “What do our members want? How can we help them be more successful?”

We’re glad to be at your service.

I have worked in and for the massage and bodywork field for a few weeks short of seventeen years. Like many of you who’ve spent that same time span in the field, I’ve seen many changes. Back in 1994 I joined an upstart counter-organization named ABMP. This newcomer association ruffled some feathers in the field with its arrival and occasional actions of self-defense. How our role has changed over the years! (Although I admit that, on occasion, we may still ruffle a few feathers.)

I am writing this while on a plane back from the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (AFMTE, or “The Alliance”) annual conference in Charleston, South Carolina. The AFMTE has an ambitious agenda, and has made impressive progress in its 2-year history.

Its latest effort is a proposed establishment of “National Teacher Standards” for the massage therapy profession. Raising the bar for the quality of instruction in our field is a worthy goal, one that we at ABMP have embraced heartily over the past 5 years, led by our fantastic Director of Education Anne Williams. The Alliance’s next steps in this area could be valuable building blocks in the profession.

The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) has embarked upon a new continuing education approval regime; this effort could bring some important clarity regarding the sometimes-silly rules surrounding continuing education requirements. A coordinated effort with the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) could provide much-needed value for professionals and CE providers.

As you may have heard, leaders of 7 organizations (ABMP, the Alliance, the FSMTB, and the NCBTMB included) are meeting next month in St. Louis to discuss issues facing the field. This gathering may lead to further collaboration among the organizations. And it follows our work together developing the first Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge.

Yes, in my 17 years, I’ve seen many phases in the field, and many periods of discord. I like today’s vibe. We still compete, but in many ways we’re all in a better place than ever.

Modality: noun ( pl. -ties) mo•dal•i•ty |mōˈdalitē|—a particular mode in which something exists or is experienced or expressed; a particular method or procedure.

The massage and bodywork field is rife with modalities; these are specific disciplines, areas of practice, or specialties. In ABMP’s member database, we have catalogued 422 different modalities practiced by more than 72,000 practicing members (this excludes student members). In our current system, we call them “interests” (to have an “interest” listed, a member must provide proof of training in that modality). Now that I think of it that term doesn’t make much sense. To me, public policy, wine, or current affairs are “interests,” not reflexology or Hellerwork. I may need to get to work on changing that. Of our current membership, more than 93 percent practice massage.

ABMP has long been recognized for its openness toward many forms of bodywork­—a position we have embraced and believed in. Massage therapy is a form of bodywork, but not all forms of bodywork are massage. There are many of our members who don’t practice massage as typically defined (or perhaps more significant, as defined by their state’s regulatory arm).

Regulation has been a typical and traditional means of constructing boundaries between practice disciplines. This has been both an aid and a burden, depending on what side of the conversation you’ve been on. But despite what a state says, the work is the work. Therapists are stuck between a rock and a hard place many times, because some states will only recognize what they regulate. In the case of continuing education, this becomes a problem where therapists want to expand their skill sets, but the state won’t recognize unregulated “non-massage” training.

It’s easy to make the states seem like the bad guys (in most cases, very easy). But we the profession share some of the blame here. Take a trip over to Massagetherapy.com and search for a practitioner. Your first step is to “choose a modality.” The list to choose from is 136 entries long! How many of these will the general public be able to define or identify, let alone desire?

As mentioned, our database lists 422 modalities. This means there are 286 modalities listed in our members’ records in our database that are not listed on Massagetherapy.com. Why aren’t those modalities listed on the web? Because fewer than 50 of our members practice that discipline.

A full 66 entries include the word “massage.” Are there truly that many forms of massage? Does it help the public understand and appreciate our work to segment massage into 66 different classifications?

Sorry, I have no easy answers to these questions. To those who practice these specific disciplines, these distinctions are important. And I don’t want to be an über-homogenized profession either. But greater acceptance and appreciation (goals most of us strive for) require easier understanding, and that might mean trading off some of our “uniqueness” for simplification and greater comprehension—at least to the general consumer, who may only be versed insofar as light, medium, and deep pressure. Besides, in the eyes of the law we’re practically all the same anyway.

I guess that means I’ll postpone introducing the Sweeney Method of Massage.

Follow Les at http://twitter.com/abmp_les.

As I was driving to work today, I stopped at the light next to a guy driving a 1970ish Cadillac Fleetwood convertible—an icon of a time gone by. It was particularly styled out: leopard-print dashboard cover, big fluffy sheepskin seat covers. While not in great condition, this boat was sweet looking (adding to the wanderlust, I was driving my wife’s Prius this morning). Now, it’s August—still clearly summer in Colorado—but we get to enjoy very comfortable morning temperatures. I used to own a convertible (actually have owned 2), but don’t currently have one. But as my 40s become my mid-40s, and the college tuition iceberg looms, I entertain myself by thinking about what classic convertible I’ll be driving to ABMP in the summer of 2016. It’s okay to daydream, right?

In my world, you bet it is. We are all increasingly conscious about our decisions and how they affect our environment, and I have entered that phase where I question what it is I need, want, or don’t care about. I need very little; I have been blessed. I want even less. Availability of time, health, peace, and my loved ones fill me up. The fun thing about aging (and there aren’t A LOT of fun things) is that you shed the insecurities or preconceptions of youth, and get increasingly comfortable in your own (sagging) skin.

Of course we live in America, and we continue to consume (we have to, for our economy’s sake). So like everything else, moderation is the key.

Living in a capitalist society means we are focused on growing our business, our livelihood, and driving interest in our goods and services. So I don’t think apologies are required for wanting to be successful in your given path, and then celebrating your success with something that gives you satisfaction and meaning. For instance, a couple of my ABMP colleagues own horses, and doing so feeds their souls. Horses are also healthy investments (a lot of throughput, if you know what I mean).

As you become an adult, you start to further define who you are, and what drives you. For me, my wife, my sons, ABMP, playing hockey, running, and occasionally playing in a band float my boat. And from time to time, driving a convertible. But not right now.

What do you dream of?

One of the challenges of my job is managing my meeting time. I’ve been fortunate enough to progress in my career such that I increasingly have more responsibility. As a result, the time spent in meetings seems to increase exponentially. Somehow over time I have become a “meeter” rather than a “doer.” In many ways this reality frustrates me. I started my professional career as a doer, and my ability to get things done has helped me progress, but now I don’t get to “do” as much.

All of us are multitaskers. We wear numerous hats during the day—employee, employer, mom, dad, teammate, friend, spouse, gardener, maintenance worker, plumber…the list seems endless!

How do you keep up? For me, I need a list. I am continuously searching for a system that protects me from myself—from distraction, procrastination, and preoccupation.

My solutions rely on technology. I understand though that many of us aren’t big fans of technology. For instance, my wife uses it, but doesn’t particularly enjoy it. I have found gadgets and software that enable me to productively get things done, and as a result, enjoy my “free ” time (a great concept, but not sure if it truly exists). These days, it seems the only thing I don’t schedule is a trip to the restroom.

As massage and bodywork professionals, we get to “do”; the nature of our work is “doing.” And as independently practicing professionals (even those of us who are employees), we need to manage our time diligently.

For me, an iPhone, calendar software, address book, and e-mail account comprise the bulk of my time and project management tools.

How about you?