Todd Brown, Eric Brown and Growing A Practice

[meryl]

I just finished reading the older topic 'Just Ordered Fill Your Practice 101' and am inspired to write.

I have used a number of both Todd's and Eric's programs, including Fill Your Practice 101, and have been able to take something of value from all of them. I'm very careful about what I order, or at least I try to be, and everything I've ordered has paid for itself many times over. Maybe I've just been lucky. I may not always use the ideas as they're presented, and I sometimes modify a lot to take into account my personality, strengths, weaknesses, location, client base, etc.

I use Eric's materials for inspiration. They work really well this way, and are most valuable in getting my creative marketing juices flowing. They keep me thinking and planning, and I like his style. I constantly look over his programs, even those I've had for the past 3 years, and often take away something new and useful each time--even if it's just a small titbit.

I use Todd's materials very differently though ,and use them to educate myself in 'service marketing'. Between the two of them and this forum I have been able to start and grow my practice to the point where I am ready to hire an indepenent contractor, and am very grateful for having access to such materials and such wonderful people. A big thank you to everyone here! Although I've only been posting for a little over a month, I've been reading for a long, long time. And it was someone from one of Eric's forums that got me hear in the first place.

I wish I had the marketing savvy of a seasoned service provider, but I don't, and what they 'taught' us in school was totally useless. I have a retail knowledge, but it doesn't apply to offering services. So, for me Eric and Todd have been life savers, and I know I wouldn't be where I am without them. For people like me, and surely there must be more of me out there, these guys really serve a purpose.

To start I used only Eric's 60/60 program. I modified as I went along and was able to make it through my first year using the 'give to get' approach--giving out 'gift certificates' as Eric describes, and the other techniques of that program. After a year of giving free 1/2 hour massages with an upgrade to an hour available, I was ready to leave that behind, and now only offer purchasing a 1/2 hour massage and extending it to an hour at no additional cost; for new clients only, of course. For repeat clients I often offer purchasing a 1 hour massage and getting 15 additional minutes at no extra cost, and sometimes when it hasn't been busy I offer purchasing a 1 hour massage, and turning it into 1 1/2 hours at no extra cost. All work really well for me. Yes, I do have some that come only for the bargin, but a large percentage reschedule and keep coming back on a regular basis.

Eric is not big on paid advertising though, and after my first year I knew I had to do more than I was doing if I wanted to be able to support myself. My practice is in a small town of 4,000 and is flooded with massage therapists, and I was the new kid on the block. I felt like I needed the exposure that running ads would give me, and realized I was right when I kept hearing over and over, "How long have you been here? I never even knew you were here." It may not go this way for everyone, but it went this way for me.

When I needed to educate myself about advertising, I turned to Todd and his Ultimate Book or Real Massage Ads and Marketing Makeovers. This book changed the face of my practice and did it quite quickly, and as far as I'm concerned, it was worth every penny I paid for the program and then some. And a year later, I haven't stopped referring to it when designing a new ad or marketing piece. It may not be of use to some, but it was certainly of use to me. I learned how to write a headline, how to pull people into my ad, how to write ads directly to my target market, what to say, what to offer, where to advertise, and such a wide variety of other things about writing and placing ads that I could never list them all.

What I like the most about this program is that after studying it closely, I was able to place ads on more than just a trial and error basis, and I was able to get myself on target right from the start. With a really small advertising budget it was important for me to be able to do this.

If you haven't seen or heard of it, you can click the link below to see only this product without having to wade your way through volumes of information about other products, and you can see what it's about if you're interested.

http://www.getmassageclients.com/cmd.php?Clk=2060511

No matter how you may feel about Todd, and what he offers and how he offers it, this program in particular is most definitly worth it and made a really big difference in my practice.

Sorry this is so long, but with so much negativity about these programs, I just had to give the other side. And the other side is that even though they are an investment, and might contain some information we might not need or that doesn't suit us, they are essential for some of us, especially when just starting out, and for some of us they can be a determining factor in whether we succeed or fail in our own practices.

If any others of you use paid advertising to market and promote your practice, I'd really like to start a discussion. I'll start a thread for it. It would be nice to exchage ideas and strategies that have worked for us. Sometimes it's the sharing of one little idea that has the most impact.

Meryl

[cosmictouch]

Hi Meryl,

So glad to hear your practice is growing. I also tried the 60/60 but it didn't do anything for me but bring in clients who only wanted free massage. Not saying it never works, just that it is a risk that is taken when promoting like he advises. That being said, ANY advertising and marketing has risks.... some places things take off and some places the same thing just bombs. You just never know. I am glad you have found the success you were striving for!

I have ordered some of Todd's things and they really didn't fit what I needed, but I must say that he DOES honor his guarantees. I don't feel either he or Eric are fly-by-night, out to make a quick buck types at all. For someone who has ZERO marketing skill or is completely overwhelmed and has no idea what to do, these types of programs can help them get started and open up ideas for them. I would like to add that I am not being paid anything to say this, it is just my personal opinion. If you are a new therapist reading this, you can also find GREAT ideas here as well.

I think I might be the one who revealed this forum to you if you are the same Meryl I had been emailing privately and thru Eric's forum. If so, welcome, if not, glad someone told you about this place. IT IS AWESOME!

Here is to a long lasting and thought provoking posting future!

Have a GREAT day!

[tiger snacks]

I don't think affiliate marketing is the way to go buddy.

[JasonE]

So much marketing hype on the page you linked... I lost track of the message, lost interest in reading to the bottom, and was in no way moved to take action. I hope his books/programs are written better than that. I'm sure there is a lot to be learned, but some of it will fall under the heading of what NOT to do.