Opening and operating a successful medical aesthetics business is not an easy venture. It takes a lot of strategic planning to make your vision a reality. Today, many doctors and other medical professionals such as NPs, PAs, RNs, and entrepreneurs are interested in opening medical spas. Everyone has good intentions, but how does one plan for success? In this Dori Talks, I will help you discover myth and reality, so you can avoid costly mistakes and apply effective strategies, so you can succeed the fastest way possible.
An important lesson to learn from the start is not to reinvent the wheel. For the past 20 years, my team and I have perfected a proven effective business model to help you generate multiple millions in one year with your medical spa.
Discover 10 Myths & Realities to
Succeeding with Medical Aesthetics
Myth #1
Don’t need a plan; I have it all in my head, I know what to do…
Reality #1
People don’t plan to fail – they fail to plan. So yes, a medical aesthetics business plan is very important to set a solid foundation for success. Whether you are just starting your medical spa or have been in business for a while, either way, you must have an annual success plan. A plan will help you manage your business instead of it managing you. A plan to help you implement a successful business model, including, financial management, sales model, compensation plan, marketing strategies, team business training, the delivery of a great guest experience, and more… If you don’t know where to start, ask us about creating a strategic business plan for you to help you succeed!
Myth #2
Operating under the old adage “build it and they’ll come”.
Reality #2
To succeed in business, a major emphasis must be placed on marketing your medical aesthetics practice.
Start by creating a marketing plan. Know your numbers – how many new leads are needed to operate at a certain capacity and how much should each client spend for you to reach your financial goals. We call this the average Volume Per Guest. Some InSPAration Management members have a VPG as high as $2,000 + per client from injectables alone.
You must know your target market and then set a budget to invest in lead generation. Always track your efforts and know your lead cost and conversion rate, from lead to client and then to lifetime client. “Build it and they’ll come” is not a good strategy, replace it with a solid marketing plan!
Myth #3
I don’t need professional branding; my cousin can do my website, menu, and other branding material.
Reality #3
The fact is, many people can attempt to create your brand, but will it work for you, and will it help position you and your team as experts?
Branding and positioning are key to attracting and engaging the right consumers to your business. Often, we see huge discrepancies in branding. The website has one style, and the menu is another, with no branding colors, no consistency in fonts, or a unified style.
When my team creates branding material for clients, they start with a brand board. We select colors, style, look and feel, then focus on building your brand. All of your marketing materials are professionally designed, from creating your logo, to a medical spa website working for you 24/7 generating leads, to attracting and engaging the affluent and enticing them to visit. All your marketing materials must be unified, your business cards, menu, and gift cards all have the same look and feel. Having a great image and brand will make it easier for the consumer to choose you!
Myth #4
I don’t need training material and operational manuals for my team.
Reality #4
True you don’t. But if you don’t you and your team will be reinventing the wheel on daily basis and making costly mistakes. We come across this challenge all the time when we first start working with clients. Often, no one has a success library to help train the team on clinical and business operations. Most don’t have training material because it takes a long time to create them. But here is the good news.
You don’t have to create them, all you have to do is enroll in the InSPAration Management membership program, and you will gain access to the Medspa Biz University where all the training tools are. There you will find manuals, video presentations, scripts and forms, and systems, all proven effective and ready for implementation and success.
Myth #5
I am not worried about the competition; I will be just fine.
Medical spa competition is fierce. There is a medical aesthetic practice on every corner. You want to develop a differentiation strategy. And help the consumer choose you over the competition.
How do you do that?
Reality #5
You do it by differentiating yourself and by practicing content marketing or what we call authority marketing. You differentiate by publishing valuable content to help your community. You can begin writing, speaking, filming videos, providing tips, etc. when consumers find you online and see that you are an expert due to your content marketing efforts, they will see the differences between you and your competition, and they will choose you.
We help professionals differentiate by becoming published authors. We can help you get your name on a book. Visit BecomePublished.com, learn more about the Write Your Book In One Weekend seminar and show your differentiation.
Myth #6
I know how to run a business; I don’t need any help…
Reality #6
Medical schools do not teach you how to run a business. To have a successful medical practice you need a proven effective business model complete with systems, structure, strategies, and solutions. It’s what we call the 4 S’s which equal the 5th S success!
I’ve written several books about the business model we teach. My latest book is called Medical Aesthetics Success – Your Business in the Black. You can get a copy by visiting InSPArationManagement.com. While you are there, we also invite you to check out all the seminars, and business tools we offer to make your life easier and to succeed in the fastest way possible. Also, check out 100s of business videos on the InSPAration Management YouTube channel, subscribe, and gain complementary strategies to help you succeed.
Myth #7
I know how to pay my PA, NP, RN, Esthetician, Patient Coordinator, etc.; it’s not complicated.
Reality #7
Coming up with a performance-based compensation model will make a big difference in whether you are operating in the red or the black and how profitable your business will be. You want your compensation model to reward your team and recognize them for a job well done. You want to pay them their true worth. The compensation should be structured to allow them the opportunity to earn more if they do a great job, and they should earn less if they are average. We offer the Volume Per Guest Compensation Model to make sure your compensation plan is motivational and promotes high team retention.
Don’t make the mistake of paying your team high hourly wages for just showing up to work. Offer a compensation mix that includes hourly, bonuses, rewards, and benefits, this plan promotes a great team culture with a win-win for everyone involved.
Myth #8
Generating revenue from à la carte services will help me grow my medical aesthetics practice.
Reality #8
Yes, it will help you get to the average level. But who wants to be average? To experience exponential growth into multiple millions of dollars per year, you will need a recurring revenue model. As a business owner, it’s wise to look at your revenue in two ways: 1. Brand-new revenue and 2. Recurring revenue. We have clients who generate over $100K per month from just their VIP program and their recurring revenue model. Implementing this model will secure your business and will put you in the black!
Check out The C.O.P.I.E. System and implement your recurring revenue model now.
Myth #9
I don’t need to offer retail products in my medical spa.
Reality #9
This is one of the biggest missed opportunities within the industry.
Many don’t even have retail products to sell, and the ones that do have the products behind locked doors. Big mistake. You can generate up to 50% of your treatment revenue from retail sales if and when you implement the “Don’t Sell, Recommend!” and the P.R.I.D.E. system we offer. Most medspas don’t succeed with retail because they don’t have a system in place. Offering home care products is a must in your medspa, so you can truly help your consumers continue their progress at home, and you become more profitable.
Myth #10
I don’t need a consultation suite; the team does their consultations in the treatment rooms.
Reality #10
You can do it in the treatment room, but ideally, it’s best to have a consultation suite. This is your sales center. It needs to be set up in a way that is conducive to the sales process and to converting guest consultations into high-ticket customized programs. We also teach to have one person who is your “treatment and product specialist” who will perform your consultations. This person can truly make a huge difference in your consultation’s revenue.
You see, most providers are not very good at promoting multiple treatments, therefore, costing you to lose a large sum of revenue. We teach a program called Success with Medical Aesthetics consultations and the S.A.C.R.E.D. system. Clients who implemented this system generate anywhere between $2,000 to $10K plus per consultation.
The big takeaway from this Dori talk is to be careful who you listen to. Don’t get caught up in the myth reach out and let us guide you into a new and more successful reality!
