by Stephen A. Kreger, L.M.T.
Interested in increasing your outcall business? At our center, we only do outcall business with the better hotels and resorts. This maintains a good safety factor and provides a clean and decent work environment.
The great thing I found about outcall work was it paid much better and there was almost no overhead. Even after paying the referral fee, I never left an outcall session with less than $80. Many times it was more.
The concierge or bell captain at a large hotel makes very little in salary, typically $12,000 to $13,000 per year. They rely heavily on gratuities, as well as referral or finder’s fees. This easily makes up 60 percent of their annual income. This is the secret to a lucrative outcall business.
The way to determine what the referral fee should be is to contact several hotels and speak to the concierge. Ask them what they normally get as a fee for booking a massage. In my case, I discovered they were getting $10 per booking, so I doubled it. I also added $10 to my outcall massage fee to cover this. The clients never objected and my cost was covered.
I drafted a letter to each concierge, including my professional experience, contact information and fees, as well as a business card for them to keep on hand. Just to make certain I was called first, I threw in a free session for the concierge after 10 bookings. I also arranged to give them a free session prior to them ever booking business for me. I convinced them they couldn’t possibly recommend my services with conviction in their voice unless they had tried my services first. Not a single concierge or bell captain turned down the free massage. They also kept me so busy at the hotels around Dallas, Texas, that I almost didn’t have time to develop any other business avenues.
Note: I find it best to deliver the letters personally. I delivered them along with miniature pound cakes that I picked up at a local bakery. It made quite the impression.
Stephen A. Kreger, L.M.T., is the president of Island Software Company, www.islandsoftwareco.com.