Med Spa Success Strategies Podcast

Episode: Multi-Location Growth Systems for Med Spas – Interview w/ Corey Beale
Host: Ricky Shockley
Guest: Corey Beale
Date: December 5, 2025

Episode Overview

This insightful episode features Ricky Shockley interviewing Corey Beale, an experienced sales and revenue executive whose background spans SaaS, fintech, and AI-driven companies. Corey shares his unique operator-investor perspective, earned through scaling the MD Aesthetics brand to acquisition. The conversation dives deep into strategies and operational systems for successfully growing and managing multi-location med spa businesses. Listeners gain actionable insights on acquisitions, standardizing patient experiences, leveraging events for marketing, data-driven business management, and preparing for private equity exits.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Corey Beale’s Unconventional Path to Med Spas

• Background: Corey didn’t originally hail from the medical or aesthetics field; he spent 20 years in SaaS and B2B software, including a decade at HubSpot ([01:01]).
• Transition: Opened the first franchise location for MD Aesthetics, quickly joined the corporate team after identifying gaps in systems, marketing, and sales ([02:11]).

Scaling via Acquisition and Integration

• Rapid Growth: MD Aesthetics quickly acquired several locations, requiring systematized processes across marketing, sales, and EMR platforms ([04:56]).
• Integration Challenges:
  • Every acquisition demanded a deep dive into marketing spend, sales efforts, and system integration ([05:13]).
  • Varied service portfolios across locations required tailored integration, balancing consistency and local customization ([06:00]).
• Learning from Mistakes:
  • Early missteps included removing marketing budgets too quickly before understanding their impact ([06:34]).
  • Realization: “You can't just like rip and replace right away. You got to give it a little bit of time as you go.” – Corey, [07:02].
• The Culture Piece: New systems and branding were implemented, but ensuring a smooth transition for patients and maintaining strong team culture was paramount ([07:09]).

Building Consistency Across Multiple Locations

• Variables in Expansion:
  • Geography affects everything: pricing, client base, competition, and service mix – even locations 20 minutes apart can require fundamentally different approaches ([09:52]).
• Pricing Strategy:
  • Tailor pricing if location overlap is minimal; maintain consistent pricing where patient overlap is likely ([10:55]).
  • “It’s very tricky if as your density increases in a region.” – Corey, [10:55].
• The Importance of Documentation & SOPs:
  • Every tiny detail (from front desk checklists to branding) must be meticulously documented for repeatable excellence.
  • “You have to send at least one or two people who know how to do this thing at the level you expect, continue to hold them accountable and have a ton of documentation and it'll work.” – Corey, [15:16].

The Human Factor – Team and Consistency

• Provider Consistency:
  • Core training: MD Aesthetics started “Injector School,” a rigorous, six-month academy to ensure high standards and to source top injectors ([17:05]).
  • “You essentially got a six month interview process with people.” – Corey, [17:05].
• Hiring & Service Selection Tips:
  • Hands-on training is key for small operations.
  • Larger orgs can create scalable internal academies for standardized excellence.

Growth Pitfalls: Why More Locations Isn’t Always Better

• Strategic Expansion:
  • Opening a new location without a detailed plan (“integration setup”) can sink successful businesses ([18:34]).
  • Construction, hiring, decor, operations—every phase needs a pre-set roadmap.

Market Trends: Private Equity and New Wellness Services

• PE Roll-Ups:
  • The “absolute wildfire” of private equity consolidation continues—Corey sees even more aggressive activity than in recent years ([19:20]).
• Wellness Trends’ Viability:
  • Not all new services have long-term appeal or margins (ex: IVs/cryotherapy). Services with visible/tangible results (like injectables, lasers) drive repeat business ([20:19]–[23:34]).
  • “If you stop getting your Botox, you will look visibly different. If you stop going to the cryo bed, no one will know.” – Ricky, [23:41].

Product Mix & Business Resilience

• Injectables as the Bedrock:
  • Most profitable and sticky service line—PEs often seek practices with 60%+ revenue from injectables ([23:50]).
  • Overreliance on a single revenue stream is risky; upselling/cross-selling other services strengthens resilience ([24:07]).

Marketing Strategies – Channels & Events

• Events are Underutilized:
  • Themed events (VIP nights, business partnerships, seasonal offers) can be transformative for visibility and conversions, but require strategic planning ([24:57]).
  • “The more you can do to let them feel it, interact, test it before maybe they slide the credit card through, I think the better. And the events are a great way to do that.” – Corey, [25:53]).
  • Success keys: Thoughtful offers, pre-event promotion, staff training, tailored experiences, and a feedback/debrief process for continual improvement ([26:11]–[27:51]).

Data-Driven Practice Management

• Data Challenges:
  • Standard med spa software is often antiquated and siloed across systems ([03:29]).
  • Growth spotlights the need for unified, actionable data (from marketing to patient retention).
• Essential KPIs:
  • New patient acquisition funnel, existing patient reactivation, rebooking metrics, and source-based ROI ([30:03]).
  • “You want to know all the conversion points along the way…Consult booked, consult shows up, consult pays, do they convert, is that repeatable over time…Hundreds of KPIs you could track. But…New patient acquisition and existing patient funnel [are key].” – Corey, [31:56].
• Reactivation and Retention:
  • Many practices mistakenly assume patients will self-rebook. Automated but personalized reminders drive significant improvements ([33:07]).
  • “Most places…are just sitting on a few really interesting databases. You've got your new folks coming in…you've got your existing patients…another bucket...who haven’t come in in a year…those are still folks to go back to.” – Corey, [33:07].
• People Want Human Touch:
  • Automated messages help, but phone/voice contact is still seen as personal and helpful in service businesses ([34:45]).

Preparing for Private Equity Exit

• The PE Sale Process:
  • Involves deep due diligence: “Every bit of…documentation, process, SOPs…every nook and cranny…will be found.” – Corey, [37:31].
  • Splitting focus between transaction and daily ops can put financial performance (and valuation) at risk.
  • Have a seasoned team or advisors (like Skytail) to help maximize outcome ([35:41]–[39:59]).
• What Drives Value:
  • Tight SOPs, clean documentation, and resilient, recurring revenue models.

Emerging Solutions: Corral Data

• Pain Point: Siloed data and manual analytics slow decision-making ([40:09]).
• Solution: Corral Data integrates EMR, CRM, Ads, payroll, and financials for unified reporting and AI-driven insights.
• Tangible Benefits:
  • “I used to run exercises that took me half a day at MD or more, that I can now do in 12, 13 minutes using Corral Data.” – Corey, [41:01].
  • Bookable demo for practices with 3+ locations, integrates with all major med spa EMRs ([43:42]–[44:31]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the realities of med spa software:
  “It was like being almost back in the world of On Prem, which seemed like a wild thing to come out of SaaS companies and get back into something else.” – Corey ([03:29])

• On acquisition integration:
  “The metrics are so different location by location. The geographies, even if they were 20 minutes apart, could have been using totally different channels successfully in some way and trying to unpack that, while also just roping them in culturally to the business and systematically. It's a lot at once.” – Corey ([05:13])

• On scaling team training:
  “Mike Pedro, the founder, started Injector School. Essentially it was like a six month course…multiple in person visits, dozens of in depth modules...the bar was set.” – Corey ([17:05])

• On expanding wisely:
  “You can't just copy paste. You've got to have the integration set up. Even down to construction plans…from day one to month six…every type of level in the business.” – Corey ([18:34])

• On event marketing:
  “Pre event promotions, how to train people in the locations to promote the events…thinking about maybe some nights are vip, some nights are for new…We made iterations every single time and have a set of goals for the event.” – Corey ([26:11]; [27:51])

• On patient reactivation:
  “If you make a good data decision at 9am you could drive 10, 20, 50k in revenue in a day with an offer, a campaign, something that could go live. It's just a function of understanding the data and where the gaps are.” – Corey ([42:47])

• On what truly matters for patients:
  “If you stop getting your Botox, you will look visibly different. If you stop going to the cryo bed, no one will know.” – Ricky ([23:41])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Corey’s Background and SaaS Transition: [01:01]–[02:52]
• First Franchise and Rapid Corporate Involvement: [02:11]–[02:59]
• Scaling and EMR Transitions: [04:56]–[05:13]
• Integration & Customization Challenges: [06:00]–[07:09]
• Pricing Strategy in Multi-Location Models: [10:31]–[12:39]
• Consistency Through Documentation/SOPs: [13:08]–[15:59]
• Team & Provider Training Systems: [16:39]–[18:09]
• Pitfalls of Premature Expansion: [18:34]
• Private Equity and Market Consolidation: [19:13]–[20:05]
• Viability of Wellness Add-Ons: [20:19]–[24:07]
• Events as an Underutilized Channel: [24:53]–[27:09]
• Data Management and KPIs: [30:03]–[32:07]
• Patient Reactivation and Retention Tactics: [33:07]
• Private Equity Sale Process & Lessons: [35:41]–[39:59]
• Corral Data Solution Overview: [40:09]–[44:31]

Takeaways for Practice Owners

• Don’t underestimate operational complexity when adding locations—document everything, send culture carriers, and ensure systems are repeatable.
• Prioritize data-driven management across marketing, sales, retention, and reactivation for sustainable growth and attractive valuations.
• Invest in thorough, standardized staff/provider training for high service consistency.
• Private equity attention in the space is booming, but tight documentation and recurring revenue are must-haves for maximum exit value.
• Events, when thoughtfully executed, remain a powerful driver for patient acquisition and retention.
• Leverage new tools to unify and analyze business data for faster, more effective decision-making as you scale.

Find more information about Corral Data and connect with Corey Beale via the links in the show notes.