Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/142672
you, and they will continue to try deals until they find the perfect fit. Breakage Breakage refers to the many certificates that are sold that will never be redeemed. This number is estimated in the deal industry to be around 12 percent of the total sold. You get to keep the money on those certificates that someone has bought, without doing the massage. If someone wants to redeem a certificate after the expiration of your deal, I encourage you to honor the price they paid for the certificate as a credit toward any full-priced service you offer. This will keep them happy and hopefully result in a new client. What To Offer? To get started, I suggest creating an offer for one of your lowerpriced services, such as a 30-minute massage, or a package of a 30-minute Swedish massage with aromatherapy and a foot bath, for example. Your account manager will try to get you to offer a higher-priced service because they make more money, but my suggestion is to keep it at something that retails for less. That way, even with the price reduction you will not lose much, plus you will still get new clients. Once clients love you, or even at their initial visit, they can then choose to upgrade, or add services or time, and you will not be obligated to split the revenue for it. See if you can create a package similar to this "Pamper Party": Total Package Value—$84 ($54 for a 30-minute massage, $15 for aromatherapy, and $15 for a foot bath). Customers pay $44, which is 50 percent off. When they come back, they know your regular rate is $54 for the 30-minute massage— not a big jump from what they paid for their deal certificate! What To Do Get sample ideas. Look on some deal and see their past offers to get ideas of what you can offer. As you can imagine, massage is one of the most popular services being offered in Daily Deals, so we as massage therapists have the upper hand. Decide how many new clients you can handle. There have been numerous reports of solo practitioners and small businesses being swamped with too much business and ending up with many disgruntled clients who complain in online reviews. Develop your offer. Decide how to position your offer, either as a specific service, such as a $95 hour massage for $49, or a general discount on any of your services, such as $100 worth of services for $50. Define your fine print. I suggest you limit the number of certificates each person may purchase; allow them to purchase a certificate as a gift; put a minimum client age; have a six-month or one-year expiration date; and specify the hours they can schedule with you. If you live in an area with tourists, restrict the deal to local residents. Determine your upsell. Once you have new clients in the door, what will you do to keep them coming back to you? Come up with a really irresistible offer that they can't help but say yes to, and don't limit it to just discounts. Remember, when you knock their socks off with your ability, service, skills, and warmth, these people will hopefully ignore the new deal offers that arrive each day in their email, knowing that you provide not only a good value, but exceptional results. SPH Irene Diamond, RT, is an educator, public speaker, and business coach who enjoys enlightening therapists, fitness trainers, coaches, and other "thera-preneurs."