10 Keys to Building a Successful Cosmetic Medical Business

with Cindy Graf

As a practice management consultant in aesthetic medicine, I've had the opportunity to work with many physicians, healthcare systems and medical spas across the country over the past several years. During this time, I've found 10 key things that successful cosmetic busineses and practices do to be successful. Learn to master these 10 things and you will be financially successful.

1. Understanding the Aging Face - Although this seems simple, when selling cosmetic procedures it is crucial that you keep your client happy and coming back repeatedly. Always start each consultation with “look in the mirror with me”. Sit back and note each imperfection your client points out when looking in the mirror. Match up the tools of our trade with the concerns your client lists - using injectables for dynamic muscle issues, fillers for depressions and troughs, IPL for discoloration issues that are red and brown and Microdermabrasion or chemical peels to exfoliate dead skin. Understanding facial structure, skin tone, skin types as well as putting together a treatment plan to address the concerns of the aging face that fits into the client's lifestyle and budget is the key to building a long-term happy client base.

2. Knowledgeable and Motivated Staff - Your front desk staff, clinicians, physicians and the business manager should all be able to discuss cosmetic treatments with your clients. Each member of the team is crucial to the growth and repeat growth of your cosmetic medical business. Incentive plans that encourage your staff to work as a team to meet monthly and quarterly goals for the business is a sure way to see sales skyrocket.

3. Current technology laser/light growth - The hardest part of our business is keeping up with the rapidly changing laser and light technologies. Platform technology lasers which offer both laser and light hand pieces are the most cost-effective way to keep on top of new procedures. Palomar’s StarLux 500 is cost-effective as as it offers IPL handpieces to treat vessels, pigment, hair and acne while its laser hand pieces cover the laser treatment of leg veins, wrinkles and tissue tightening with minimal to no downtime. As new hand pieces evolve they can be added to an existing StarLux to reduce overhead.

4. Yes, you do need a Business Manager - It doesn’t necessarily need to be a $90K businessman but it does need to be someone in the practice that has the responsibility for setting and monitoring financial goals, marketing and hiring and training the staff for you. The Business Manager should report monthly to the owner to discuss the growth, trends, opportunities and challenges in the business.

5 Select the Right Clinician – The clinician plays a critical role in determining the profitability of your practice and its long term, financial success. She’s the determining factor in whether or not the client initially decides to go forward and have one or more treatments, is satisfied with the results and returns for additional treatments in the months and years ahead. She should be clinically sound, have good people skills, have a strong attention to detail and have strong selling skills.

6. Create an Internal, External and Grass Roots Marketing Plan - How will you market your procedures to the community? How can you use your existing clients that know and respect you to move into cosmetic procedures? Point of purchase posters, brochures and client questionnaires are a few of the techniques used to direct current patients into cosmetic clients. Use multi media approaches on a regular basis to draw new clients to your business. Feature one product/procedure at a time with a before and after photo and create a financially-attractive value offer to buy today to drive sales. There are also many inexpensive grass roots marketing ideas that can be initiated to cross sell cosmetic services within your social and professional areas of influence.

7. Staging $Successful$ Seminars - A successful seminar is one that generates sales the night of the seminarr, raising cash for future marketing programs. Set four midweek dates per year to invite the public and your patients into your office for an informal fireside chat showing “before and afters” of the procedures that you are offering, a value offer to buy special packages that night and a demonstration of a cosmetic procedures (Botox or a Photofacial). Set a goal for the number of packages and skin care products that you will sell. Get the reps involved to donate food or raffle baskets of their products for fun. Pre and post seminar planning ensure a financially successful seminar.

8. Physician-Directed Skin Care Program/Mineral Makeup - These serve two purposes. Both product lines increase patient satisfaction with procedures and provide a commission base to create an incentive for your employees. Product sales should be included in every consultation and treatment for high revenue returns.

9. Master the Consultation Process - As medical professionals, we never thought we would ever be selling anything! Develop a conversational consultation style that focuses on listening to client concerns, putting together a treatment plan that solves her/his concerns and sit back and answer questions that arise simply and directly. Direct the client to buy by uncovering objections to price, procedure and pain. When the package matches the list of concerns and the three P’s are answered there is no reason not to buy. Make it fit into her budget and collect the cash.

10. Ongoing Training for Staff and Physicians . Make time weekly to update and train all of your staff. Keep them motivated and informed on the procedures and advancements in our industry. Building a Successful Cosmetic Medical Business is a 16 DVD video training program developed specificaly for aesthetic physicians and cosmetic professionals and comes complete with Leader and Student Guides. It provides structured, ongoing and new staff training in both the clinical and business aspects of cosmetic medicine which results in increase revenues.

If your cosmetic medical practice is not producing the revenues that you projected in your business plan, take a hard look at the manner in which you are doing business and see if one or more of these integral keys is missing. Adding these tools will enable you to bring your business into the profit-producing business that you desire.

For more information on “Building a Successful Cosmetic Medical Business” DVD series or Workshops to increase your skills in the cosmetic business, visit my website at www.cosmeticmanagement.com or email me at cgraf@wi.rr.com.