← Med Spa Success Strategies
Med Spa Success Strategies
Stop Selling, Start Educating: Med Spa Consults, Pricing, & Building Trust w/ Raquel Merlini
00:54:13
Loading summary
Transcript85 lines
- [00:03]
A
Hey everyone, I'm your host Ricky Shockley with MedSpa Magic Marketing. And this is MedSpa Success Strategies, the show where med spa and aesthetics practice owners come to discover strategies and tactics that help them better market and manage their practices so they can grow, improve profitability and have greater impact for their teams and their patients. I'm excited today to be joined again by Raquel Merlini. Raquel is a registered nurse and a certified aesthetic nurse specialist with 15 plus years in the plastics industry. As the owner of our skin aesthetics, she specializes in Botox filler, laser resurfacing and skin care, leading with integrity and compassion. A former pro, bodybuilder, triathlete and personal trainer, she also understands the connection between confidence and well being. She mentors aspiring nurses and offers Botox training while her Pay it Forward scholarship supports single mothers and women overcoming challenges. She's passionate about aesthetic education and women's empowerment. I think you're in for a treat with today's episode. Please welcome Raquel Merlini. Raquel, thanks so much for coming back on the show. I had a really great conversation last time, so we're excited to have you back.
- [01:11]
B
Thank you so much for inviting me back. It's definitely an honor not only to be on once, but twice. I enjoyed our first show tremendously.
- [01:19]
A
So excited to be here and our audience as well. So I was excited to go a little bit deeper. I feel like some of these conversations could be like five hours long, so it's always nice to have people back and go a little deeper on some of these things. I've got my questions prepped. We went through them a little bit and they're in somewhat random order. But hopefully this is going to be valuable for our listeners. And so I'll just start with the top. And one thing that I know is just always stressful for practice owners is, and any business owner is dealing with staff turnover. And I know emotionally this can be challenging. Logistically this can be challenging. If you're risk averse like I am and you're like, you feel it's easy to get stressed out if things aren't perfect, like that can be a point of stress and the bigger you get, the more that happens. So how do you deal with things like staff turnover both emotionally and logistically in the business? How do you think about that to make sure it's not like stressing you out once you check out and leave the office?
- [02:12]
B
Well, I don't think that that's your business owner. That's true. That's not possible. You're never checked out, and you're never not stressed. It's just how you handle the stress right in the situation. So one of the things with our skin is because we were previously at a location, and I'll just kind of reiterate or catch the audience back up from our previous, was that I had been with a plastic surgeon for 13 years, and I was training a team. And then eventually my provider was getting ready to retire, and I just didn't align with where the business was going to go after his retirement. So when I had announced that I was leaving, the girls who I had been mentoring for the last five to six years were like, oh, my goodness, you know, you can't leave without us. We'd like to go with you. Well, I had only been planning and strategizing for myself. My location was small. But one of the things that I'm learning is that I'm definitely loyal to a fault. I tend to stand. I tend to stay in relationships that are not always conducive, even to my mental health or my growth. And as now, owning my own practice, we have primarily had the same providers from day one, and like I said, they transferred over. Well, now as a business owner, especially since my previous episode with you, I have had and am experiencing that turnover. So I lost one of my injectors who had been a patient of mine, and she came to me and everything was legitimate that she was saying she recently had a baby, the drive is a little farther. She wanted a little bit more hours than perhaps what she had been doing. And it was just time for her to. To grow and to grow a little closer to home. So she came in and she had a conversation, and it was amicable. Recently, I've had another injector who had been with me for eight years, who started as my medical assistant. And when I, you know, I'm very loyal to my team. I think that when you have many injectors, you want to focus not just on the clinical side, but the injectors don't always. And I am an injector as well as the founder of our skin. So I understand now kind of both sides. Being a business owner for three years is that as a provider, you don't always see everything that goes into operating the business. Right. We're rent, staff, marketing, supplies, insurance growth, and team members, and being a good team member, as well as being teachable and utilizing the resources that are provided. So I recently just had another injector that she just wasn't growing, and it was discussed it not necessarily handled well, but they left and we, in the meantime, have had the blessing of getting another amazing injector. Who, as I digress. And if I'm. I'm carrying on.
- [05:22]
A
No, no go.
- [05:24]
B
So, again, I'm old school and I believe that this industry where everybody wants to be a fly by night, quick injector and instant gratification, and they think that I'm not happy here, so I'm just going to go and jump and go somewhere else. And I see it with a lot of other businesses. I didn't think that it would necessarily happen to me, but one thing I do believe is everything happens for a reason and there's redirection. Right. So I. With the loss of the first injector, I went to my reps, which I think we'll discuss later, the importance of having good relationships with your reps. And my rep said to me, I have an injector. But. And I was like, oh, gosh, what's the but? Right? And so she said, you know who Nora is. However, Nora was working for a very good friend of mine who had been partnered with a different business owner, and that those two business owners kind of had a little bit of a falling out and went their separate ways. Nora was kind of caught in the crossfire. And Nora has been established for eight years. She's got an amazing clientele, great disposition, as well as a good handle on anatomy and clinical skills. So I really wanted Nora, but I had to dig deep. And I said, you know what, out of respect, because I think the industry's small and I think there's right ways to do things, and there's not very nice ways to do things. I called her previous owner, boss, and who's a dear friend of mine, Courtney, and I said, courtney, here's the deal. Nora is going to be available. The other location that you were previously at is closing. I would like to have her be a part of my team. However, if you're not comfortable with that, due to my respect for you as a business owner, I will take that into consideration and possibly not hire her. And Courtney was so magnanimous and so wonderful, and she's like, nora is an amazing injector. I think that she would be the perfect fit for you at our skin and your vision and where you're going, and you have my blessing. And. And so I was like, win. So I called back my rep and I said, go ahead and let Nora know if she's interested, she can reach out to me and we can have the conversation. And Nora did. And literally, since she has walked in the door now, of course, I've seen her at trainings, I've seen her at events. Literally, when she walked in the door, it is like, she's been with me from day one. So she's like, that's awesome. It.
- [07:58]
A
Yeah.
- [07:58]
B
But again, I just think that if people had a little bit more respect for other business owners, it's not like, oh, I'm poaching someone, or, you know, oh, I'm, you know, I'm gonna steal someone. And, you know, I. I just think that there's a lot of that in
- [08:16]
A
this industry, and what comes around, goes around. So that's a dangerous game to play.
- [08:20]
B
Well, I'm a big believer in karma, and I have a. A big faith that if you do the right things, it will come back to you tenfold. So. So we're thriving, and we've got new energy. And I'll tell you the other thing. Being somebody who has been training and educating other providers to have somebody who's been injecting for eight years, I'm excited to come to work again. And she's making me think differently. Like, you know, she's like, how do you do this? And, you know, when you had a complication, how did you manage that? And what are your thoughts? And we're. So. I'm actually collaborating as opposed to being an educator, which is kind of thrilling.
- [09:03]
A
Yeah. That's awesome. And do you. Do you think some of this. I guess business owners, especially. Especially when you. What, you know, is familiar. There's a fear around the loss of a team member. But the reality is, like, I just looked it up when we were talking here. The average injector is with a practice somewhere three to five years. So I think some of us have these in our businesses. We have this romantic vision that, like, these people are best friends. They're going to be with us forever. And sometimes that will be true, but those are the outliers. The reality is, as business owners, we have to learn to navigate and to pivot and to be comfortable. That, like, hey, if somebody leaves, there's somebody else out there that can come take the seat. And who knows, maybe it's going to be even better. And that that gives you a certain amount of peace and just going through it, I think, gives you, like, a certain amount of comfort with almost that being a norm in the future of the business and not it being so stressful, like, as a. A fear that hasn't happened yet. Once it happens, it almost gives you A little bit of freedom.
- [09:55]
B
Well, there's definite freedom and there's definite relief also because again, like you said, you know, when you've got long term relationships, it's, you've gone to the wedding, you've gone to the baby shower, you've gone to, you know, milestones that have occurred in their life. And especially when I've encouraged injectors who were medical assistants to go to school. And then I'll train you and teach you, right? So you're invested and it becomes a little bit more than just employee, employer, relationship. It's a friendship or, you know, there's an emotional tie there. So. But I think that, you know, there are moments where there is a disconnect. I do pride myself on being a good communicator, but there's still feelings, there's emotions. You know, when you're looking as a business owner and the books aren't growing you, you're not hitting production goals, you're not open to learning the business a little bit deeper. And, you know, then you have to confront how loyalty without accountability can actually hurt the entire practice. Right. The other team members that are at the practice and the patients that we serve, you know, feel it too. Because if I put somebody with an injector who they constantly, that patient has to constantly come back for a touch up every single time they're treated, then there's a disconnect there. And when you have the, the hard conversation with the injector and there's still not improvement, then it becomes like, okay, either I'm not communicating or they're not teachable, or they're not receptive. And when you look back after a year of being in that role, like, how can I get you to thrive? And they're not, that's when it's, I think it's, it's, it's difficult.
- [11:48]
A
Yeah. This is a popular topic in some of my circles in our, in our space, like the agency world. And I've got my own views, but I'm interested in yours. There's almost like they feel like it's. Sometimes they're competing, but I think really they blend well together if you're, if we're being honest about the nuance. But there are some people that in business, they say, hey, the process is everything. And so as long as we've standardized it and the system and the training is good, that you can plug almost anybody into that system as long as they're capable and you can recreate someone who's going to do what you want them to do. And so it's all about the process. Almost exclusive, it feels like almost exclusively. And then there are people that say, hey, yeah, that's great, but it's really all about the people. The people make all the difference in the world. How do you go about analyzing the difference between what can a process do in terms of standardizing results versus how important is just the right person in the right seat?
- [12:38]
B
Well, that there's a book called Good to Great and it, it speaks specifically about putting the right people in the right positions. Right. And I think you might have touched on this in the last podcast is, you know, I don't want to set people up for, for failure. So again, when, you know, I don't think that just because they're not performing. Okay, let me find out why they're not performing. Right. But then again there's, you can still care about people while making those business decisions, but at the end of the day, you also have to protect the company and the staff members who are growing and want to see growth. So I think that it's, it's, it is very difficult. Some people, you know, like when you say the perfect recipe, look at the movie Seabiscuit. You had a whole bunch of sub average people that weren't succeeding in anything else. But all of a sudden you've got this horse that's not supposed to do anything, a washed up trainer, a jockey who is just a mess. And then you put this recipe that they all come together and for whatever reason it just works, or Miracle on Ice. I mean, there's so many of those stories, right, that it's just all those puzzle pieces just came together and fit. I think you can have an assembly line, Starbucks or you know, Taco Bell or any of the fast food chains where they've got systems in place. But if you've got one person who's on that board and they're not putting the toppings correctly on and it's repeated and you're handing it out through the drive through and someone's coming back through the drive through and complaining, then you do have to look, is it the system or is it the person that's in that system that's the weak link that's breaking it down. So yeah, and those can be a hard conversation question, but you have to look at the whole.
- [14:36]
A
Yeah, I think that's true. I think it is nuanced. It's like, and that's, I guess taking a step back and looking at it and always thinking, hey, is there something wrong with the process. Did we do something wrong or is this a person issue?
- [14:46]
B
Well, I think that's where self awareness and self evaluation comes in. Right. You know, if you're not able to step back and say, hey, what is this person's perspective? Are they saying it to me maliciously or are they saying it to me because they have a genuine care and they do want me to grow? And I think, you know, I don't do reviews here. I don't know if maybe I should start doing that again. I'm a new business owner. Those are things that I'm going to have to look at. But I'll tell you what, every single time that we have a hiccup, my patient coordinator and I sit down and we're like what can we do in the future and to avoid this? And I think that's where I look at things challenges as character building moments and how can we turn this past, this negative situation into a positive one so that we don't make the same mistake again and we're stronger and our link is a little bit more solid.
- [15:47]
A
Yeah, I love that. Hey practice owners and marketing directors interrupting this episode to invite you to schedule a one on one strategy call with me to discuss how we might be able to improve and level up your your digital marketing efforts. So we're rated five stars on Google, we're HIPAA verified by Compliancy Group and we have a track record of taking clients from 30,000amonth to $120,000 a month and adding multi millions of dollars in additional revenue for some of our bigger multi location med spas from more effective marketing strategies. So on the free strategy call it's really educational. I basically spend an hour going through detailed reviews of all all of our best performing plays that we run for our clients. You have it to take and run with it if that's what you want to do and if you think it might be a fit to work together, then we're excited about the possibility to partner with you. But if you're interested in better, more effective digital marketing solutions for your Med Spa, visit Medspamagicmarketing.com that's Medspamagicmarketing.Com to schedule your one on one strategy call with me. Awesome. All right, jumping here to the consult because we talked about this a lot and I've used some of your thoughts and quotes from our last episode quite a bit in conversations over the last year or so and it just this topic that comes up all the time and it's this difference between Selling, educating, and not doing either. And I find that there's this big, like, it's kind of on a continuum here on a spectrum, and people struggle with this and they struggle to do it consistently, especially as they get bigger from provider to provider. So you'll see these big discrepancies from one provider to the other with like, something like as simple as average initial visit revenue or tick ticket per visit, something like that. And it seems to me that that comes down to people are really seeing this as kind of a black and white, and they're seeing this as either like, okay, I need to be good at sales, which means I'm trying to sell this patient something to get my average ticket up. And if I'm not doing sales because I don't want to be salesy, then they go to the extreme of not talking at all about anything educational, which leads to really low visit ticket per visit revenue numbers. So could you talk about how to balance that? Since I think this is an area where it's clear you really shine. How do you balance this? Where you are doing what's best for the client, letting themselves sort. And you're finding that gray area where you're educating the prospects on the variety of options and services. Like, how do you do that? What does the consult process look like?
- [18:09]
B
Well, what's interesting is, is we've all gone, if you're a nurse or a nurse practitioner, a PA or a do or any of that, what are we taught in medical school? Okay. Or in our education is we are supposed to be educators. You assess and then you educate and then, you know, you give that patient that information. And, and that's supposed to at least have them understand the rationale of what it is that you're doing for that patient. So in the treatment room, and I've heard and I've observed where a provider will just go in and they're like, oh, did you like what we did last time? No. Hi, no, how are you? Like, come on in, sit down. So my approach has always been, I'm building a relationship. It's not transactional. I had a brand new patient the other day. She was down with a consult with the possibility of treatment. And I went in and I sat down on my stool and I started just talking to her like, how are you? What. What treatments have you received before? You know, where are you at in. In your life? You know, do you have grandchildren? Do you travel? Do you. All of these things. So what they don't realize is as I'm asking these questions, I'm also assessing how their face is moving, how the anatomy is in motion. Maybe I'm seeing where they've got the fat pad, you know, descent, where. Where I might need to do filler and where I might need to do Botox. But I'm also getting a feel for. Where's their emotional status? You know, how instant gratification are they? Are they willing to make a commitment? Do they just want to get in and out? You know, what is it that's best for them? So, again, as I'm starting to discuss with them, then I'm like, well, what is it that brought you in today? Like, what is it that you're looking for? You know, maybe it's an aging person, and they're just saying, you know, I don't want to look done. I don't want anybody to know I had something. Oh, okay. Well, we need a bio stimulator. Let me educate you on a bio stimulator. Oh, I've never heard of those. Well, these are the options we have. If you've got your son or daughter's wedding coming up, then maybe we need to do a hyaluronic acid. Oh, what's that? Well, you probably are familiar with brand names. Juvederms, Restylanes, rha. Whatever it is. Oh, I. I didn't know that. I. I didn't know that there were options or differences. Yes, there is. So let me educate you on do we want to go biostimulator way? Because we've got time. Maybe we need to do a blend of both of them. Let's bake a cake. We're gonna stack, do some bio stimulators. You're gonna come back, and then maybe we're gonna layer it with some hyaluronic acid. First, let's get your muscles relaxed so that we can lift, and then we can evaluate after that, like, where our deficits are. So when you're just having a natural conversation with the patient, I'm educating them, and there's no pressure. And I also don't feel I am not a salesperson. I shy away. If. If somebody puts a goal on me and says I have to make $12,000 by the end of my shift, you know, I'm like, oh, oh, my God.
- [21:30]
A
Oh, my God.
- [21:31]
B
Oh, my God. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Because that's just not who I am. I don't want to have to feel like I'm selling. So I worked well under a monetary goal. My goal is let me get the patient in and let me get them booked yeah. And then rebooked. So that's where the value is for me. So when it comes to an education part, as I was educating this patient, she goes, what are you going to treat me today? And I said, well, tell me, what do you have coming up in your life? Well, she had a colonoscopy and in like three days. And I said, no, I'm not going to treat you today. And she said, what? And I said, well, I said, you know, you're going to be face down, you're not going to be feeling good. Neurotoxin takes about two weeks to kick in. You know, it. I don't want anything to go wrong on your first treatment or visit with me that then I have to figure out why did it go wrong. Right. Yeah. So she's like, oh. She goes, gosh, I've never had this experience. I feel like someone's always saying, I need this, this and that. It's gonna be 3, $500, let's bring you up or let's treat you. And not thinking again about what's going on in your life, that I have to watch my treatment. So I don't know. That was a little bit long winded.
- [22:42]
A
No, that's great. I have a few fault because I think this is such an important thing that people struggle with, especially in terms of consistency. So do you have a framework around this? Like a. So like a good, better, best, where when you're presenting these options, you kind of have, hey, here are all of the things that you could do to probably achieve the ideal result if you're okay getting 85% of the way there. This is kind of the lean version of that. Here's the middle ground. How do you present this in a way where you're educating them and then sort of outlining the options and explaining to them, you know, this is your good, better, best, or this gets 80 of what you described taken care of today. And if you want to go like, how do you balance that?
- [23:21]
B
Yeah, well, especially right now with, you know, people are a little concerned with the economy. Shoot. I filled my car up the other day. It was six.
- [23:29]
A
I just noticed that. I just noticed that yesterday it like flipped during the middle of the day. I saw like.
- [23:35]
B
Right. So, you know, I mean, that's, that's definitely challenging. And like we have touched on before. I don't do flashy specials, Groupon style discounting. I do real structured savings that'll respect both the patient's wallet as well as give them a true value of the services. And I think with that transparency and the flexibility, it keeps our practice sustainable. So that the patient again says, oh, you're here for me. You know, some I've had recently, patients have come in and they're like, you know, Raquel, I can't do my full Botox treatment or disport treatment I can own. And I said, well, okay, what can you afford? Well, I have $300 this particular visit. Okay, no problem. What area bothers you the. The most? You look angry Here. Let's just treat this. This area and maybe in three or four months, your budget will change and we'll do your full treatment. So, you know, I never want to shame anybody or, or, yeah, feel embarrassed that, you know, they've got to pick their kids, skates or tutor over. And let me tell you, women, I've had a lot and I've had nothing. And one thing with women, we are going to find where we can scrimp. So if I beat ramen noodles so that I can get my, my color done, I'm going to do that. So, you know, we created our, our skin influence, turning those patients that we've got, like, packages that you can buy into and, and you'll get a little bit of a discount. With the Rskin influence. We've got the Rskin bank where you can call up, like whenever you want and say, hey, you know, I got a 200 that, you know, my daughter gave me, and I want to put this in the bank for my next visit. A little different than a gift card, but kind of similar to a gift card. So we have those, you know, savings like that. But again, I think if somebody said to me, you know, I can put together a whole assessment for facial balancing, and they're like, well, I can't do $5,000. Okay, well, let's target, you know, either upper face, mid face, or let's target the lower face. Get that up to speed, and then you come back in three or four months or when your pocketbook or your, your time aligns and we'll treat the other third area. So, you know, again, I think it's when you build that relationship and your patient trusts you to know that you're not just there for that money grab. Transactional.
- [26:10]
A
Yeah.
- [26:10]
B
That to me is what really is the success between a good med spa and provider in comparison to the ones that just want your money.
- [26:22]
A
Yeah, I totally agree with that. And I know this is kind of controversial in the space, but I can't imagine if you have a sales incentive. You're. You're Going to align the incentive structure so that people start pushing and forcing things that they probably shouldn't be. That's just how it is. Like you can't deny that that's going to be the reality when you put that in place. And I do agree that like just letting people self sort is so important. Educating them and letting them self sort. Like my wife is someone, she'll go to our med spa and she just gets dysport and she doesn't really want to do anything else. So she probably spends a few hundred bucks and that's kind of it. And there are other people that are going to come in and be excited to spend the four grand and they're pumped to do everything that they can possibly do. But so is your, your method is essentially, hey, listen, we're going to do the assessment, we're going to talk about the entirety of what we could do and then budget comes up as a concern. Let's prioritize. So you're kind of working backwards from okay, here's the big if we wanted to do everything to achieve your goals and your ideal result, here's what that blueprint looks like and then you kind of whittle it down from there to what they're comfortable with working backwards. Is that fair to say?
- [27:23]
B
That's absolutely okay.
- [27:25]
A
That's awesome. I love that. So with other providers, because this is again where you see such a discrepancy from provider to provider even within a single med spa, how do you train and, and help them absorb this trait that you have? Because some of it is so inherent and natural. Like that's just your nature to do that and to be educational and to develop the relationships, I guess how do you make sure you're bringing on people that either have that from the get go or have some sort of a knack for that and then how do you train for that? So that, that does feel consistent throughout the practice.
- [27:59]
B
So I'll have to say I haven't really had to train anyone for that. I had the luxury because my previous injectors had worked side by side with me. So they kind of knew my philosophy. Yeah, I think one definitely she had higher ticket sales because she just always did push that. But it wasn't a negative. There wasn't anybody who was ever dissatisfied. You know, I, I remember one time at my previous location, there was somebody there and they were always pushing, pushing and it was, I learned that that patient called up three days later because they were in the moment, they were having an emotional moment and they Wanted everything. And the injector didn't kind of take into that into consideration the emotional and, and explain pricing because I'm big with, you know, you need to know I don't want surprises because some people don't understand how much a syringe is. They might see, oh, well, my friend got a syringe for 399. Why are you 800?
- [29:01]
A
Yeah.
- [29:01]
B
So then they get up to the checkout and they're like, wait, I just spent $3,500 and three days later, that's dangerous. They complained and said I wasn't happy. I had no idea. The provider didn't discuss the price. And at the time, that manager was like, well, you did the trend, you swiped your card and you left and there was no problem when you left. But now you have buyer's remorse. So my previous team, that, you know, that's just kind of always something that we discussed. I wouldn't have somebody at my practice who was just looking to make a dollar.
- [29:39]
A
Yeah.
- [29:39]
B
And I think also that like attracts like. So, you know, when I'm interviewing somebody, I just ask like, what's a usual sales day for you? Do you sell or do you believe in educating? How do you go about it? And you know, so far all of I've been so blocked that it aligns
- [29:58]
A
so that, that I think there's a good takeaway there. It's just bringing in the right people that kind of have that and it just aligns. That seems like that's important and why, why I like picking Raquel's brain just so everybody knows and I don't want to jinx you. Raquel, are you going to be worried if I jinx? I don't know if you're superstitious as of now. You know, as our businesses grow and get bigger, we'll all get a bad review. It's inevitable for all of us. But right now this is Raquel's worst review for her practice on Google. Just so everyone knows, from the moment you walk through the door to the follow up care afterward, the experience at our Skin is exceptional. The entire team is consistently warm, kind and welcoming. Every visit feels organized, thoughtful and truly well done. I always leave feeling cared for and confident. I can't recommend our Skin enough. That's of course a five star review. That's the worst review that her practice has.
- [30:44]
B
I was like, oh God. I, I, that's why
- [30:47]
A
I'm so interested to dig on those questions and to kind of figure out because I think so many of us, especially those of you that are running really big practices. This is a struggle. It's like, how do you set the bar so that you have as many people on your team that are performing as top performers. They're not going in the direction of like avoiding conversations to where their average ticket is $185. They're just doing a really darn good job of building relationships and educating the client.
- [31:13]
B
And you know, how we problem solve here too is my support staff. So, you know, I feel like we concentrate a lot on just the providers, but my support staff here is my right and left arm. I mean they are the. From the time that we send out the notice that you have an appointment with our skin just to. If they have a sick kid or somebody died and they have a funeral and you know they're not going to make their appointment and you know, they're concerned how we problem solve or even if somebody's like, you know, I was treated two weeks ago by a provider in your office, but I feel like I still have movement, you know, you know what, come on in, let us look at you. And if my provider missed an area, because we have photos and, and they show where they inject if they missed an area, well, you know what, I'm gonna absorb that cost. You know, I'm going to gratuitously treat you. I want you to be happy and I want to make it right. If it was an under treatment situation, I'm going to educate you and explain to you well, you're only getting 30 units and you actually could have used 50. You know, I'm gonna make it right for you today. But going forward, you need to put in your head that you're going to need an additional 20 units and it's going to be X amount of money.
- [32:41]
A
Yeah.
- [32:41]
B
If you, if you don't want that treatment, that's fine. But just know that you're not ever going to get the full treatment that you want. So my from, you know, again, I'm not a salon suite. I came from a plastic surgeon's office. We had a medical assistant who, you know, brings you in the room, takes your photos, is already getting you warmed up and comfortable, you know, discussing how's your day to making sure your consents are all signed. What exactly are you here for? So it preps me so I'm a little more, more knowledgeable when I get in the treatment room. And my front desk girl, my patient coordinator, you know, she is, she stands up, she greets you, she knows you by name. Kayla is a gem not only is she beautiful, but she's brilliant, too. So it's, I think our whole experience here, it's. It's focusing on customization, value, smart savings, and knowing that you feel safe when you're here.
- [33:43]
A
Yeah. And. And I love that. Holding this standard of excellence with not just the way that you try to build processes in your business, but, like, the people that you bring on, because it does make everything easier. Instead of trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, you're just bringing people on the team, or you have people on the team that are ready to go, are locked in, are aligned, and are doing a great job with all those intangibles that you're like your front desk that you bring on the right person. That makes a massive difference. And I always say this is a business where it's the difference between being a minus and a plus that does make all the difference in the world to the success of the business. And so, so many people, they're like, as they're listening to these things, all my front desk, they're good. That good is not good.
- [34:24]
B
Good is not good enough. You need to be great. And, you know, Michigan is a melting pot. We have many different nationalities, oftentimes with very hard to understand accents. And a little snippet that happened this week was we had a patient who called. She is Pakistan Indian. She had a very, very heavy accent. And Kayla was answering questions for her, and she kept saying, can you understand me? Can you? And Caitlyn's like, yeah, I totally understand you. No problem. You know, and then if she couldn't, she would ask the patient, you know, like, reiterate how to spell your name or whatever.
- [35:03]
A
Yeah.
- [35:03]
B
And she said, I have to tell you, I just called a med spa that is half a mile away from you. And the front desk was so rude. She kept saying, I can't understand you. I can't understand. You know, do you have someone else who can make this appointment that he speaks English that I can understand? And she said, I finally was like, if I don't even know you, and this is how you're speaking to me. Yeah. Hung up. She went to Google. We come up, you were one of the top three med spas in the area. We come up. And she said, I read your reviews. And she goes, I. I want to schedule with you. And she said, and thank you so much for having. The lady was literally about to cry. She goes, thank you so much for having patience. So, you know, the front desk, their. Their demeanor, are they calm? Are they welcoming, you know, because let's think back to that Pretty Woman scene where Julia Roberts walks into the store and they're snobs because she might. She was not dressed appropriately in their opinion. But you don't know what. What walk of life they are. So it's really important that we treat everybody the same and you get the same respect that you deserve. So, yeah, customer, somebody else lost out on a customer, and I will probably gain a lifetime client because we were patient answering the phone.
- [36:26]
A
Yeah, that's awesome. And another thing there I feel like too, that some people miss is we always think loyalty is related just to providers. But if you have a front desk, a front office staff, and a support staff that are building relationships as well, well, you've created another anchor to increase the chances those clients stay with you even when you might have staff turnover in other places, because that relationship is cemented, as opposed to having a front desk person who's very nonchalant, isn't talking to the client, is just checking them in and checking them out. Having somebody that's got that excellent customer service capability, that's building relationships, it adds that extra anchor to, like, increase client loyalty and retention.
- [37:06]
B
It does. And, you know, it's. It's the closing too, right? Like, so you got your opener, and then you've got that relationship, and then you. You have to be able to close. So one of my challenges with a provider was they weren't always closing, Meaning that when you walk that patient up or when you exit the treatment room, what I think is very valuable is you're walking that patient up, you're already. You should have asked in the treatment. This is with that education and assessment of what's happening in your life. And it was a loophole that, thank God my front desk person was on the ball, because when the provider walked the patient or didn't walk the patient up, exited the room, went right back to the charting room, and the patient walked up to the front desk themselves. And Kayla was checking her out, and she said, oh, you know, your next appointment will be in three months. And she goes, oh, my wedding is going to be in six weeks. Let me look at what my honeymoon is. And Kayla was like, oh, wait, your. Your wedding. You're getting married in six weeks. And she's like, yes. And Kayla goes, you need to come in and get a dermaplane and a hydrafacial. Your makeup is going to go on like glass. You're gonna be smooth. It's gonna be beautiful. And then when you go on your Honeymoon, you know, you're not even gonna need to wear makeup. And the girl was like, I didn't even know that you guys had a hydrafacial.
- [38:29]
A
Yeah.
- [38:30]
B
And. And I'm listening to this and I'm going, wow, what just happened here? But Kayla connected the dots and closed the deal so that the patient knew that we had other services that were not just injectables, and that that patient had a very important event coming up and we could meet another need for that patient. So, you know, again, that's where it needs to be. You need to have synergy throughout the whole establishment and again, know what it is that the patient's looking for.
- [39:10]
A
I think this is kind of a goofy example, but I think still, as you grow and you scale a business, this is something that kind of matters. So in this space, private equity is really big right now, right? Everybody's talking about acquisitions and roll ups and all these sorts of things. And the bigger you get, the more disconnected you get from some of the things that actually move the needle that you can't ever measure. So you're like, you're sitting there as a finance person. There's nothing in your calculation that's really. That's really built. It took, like, analyze the impact of a front office person. The person that's working on the front desk. It's just not there. So you'll blame it on everything else. That will never even come into really consideration for your analysis. And this is silly, but this is something I will literally do. So I have. I go to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts every single day, seven days a week. And there are two ladies that work at the Dunkin Donuts who are just phenomenal. They. I know they're gonna get my order right, but as soon as I pull up to the window, I just say good morning. And they know my voice, and they're like, we got you. Pull up. And I go up. And then. And then I've had other people at that same Dunkin Donuts like, that work, like, a certain shift. Like, let's say it's like the Saturday morning shift when my two girls that I really like are off, and I've had somebody pour me tea. I've had people that were just kind of rude and awkward or, like, did things that were just weird to me. Like, took my phone out of my hand to, like, ring it up. Like, little. But I. So I will literally, on certain days go up. The girls I like, they're not working today. I'm going to Starbucks. And there's nothing in Dunkin Donuts corporate analysis that's going to have a pulse that those two make that kind of an impact in terms of, like, customer loyalty and actual sales data. Because it's a little more intangible. But I think it does matter a ton.
- [40:42]
B
It's huge. So one of the exciting factors of our location, when I was looking at it, besides parking and being in a downtown and not having meters and all of that, but I was like, we have a coffee shop. There's a coffee shop. Like, literally, we can walk right out the door and go down to the coffee shop. I will be dead on the side of the street before I will go back in there and get a coffee.
- [41:09]
A
Yeah, exactly.
- [41:10]
B
Because every time I go in the the lady behind the desk is like, oh, oh, God, what do you want today? I've got two other people before you. Y And I'm like going, it's not that serious. Like, I could give you my order, walk back to my office and come back. It is so stressful for me to even walk in there. I am willing to pay the door dash guy an extra 15 to door dash that.
- [41:36]
A
I mean, that's so cool, right?
- [41:37]
B
Yeah. Or get in my car. So it again, it's your staff. You can have the best coffee in the world. But if your person that has to make the coffee and ring you up is cuckoo for cocoa pops, I'm not doing it.
- [41:53]
A
Yep. I've got plenty of businesses around our town that I feel like that's true. Like, I just don't go back because the people that work there is always just not a good experience or it's inconsistent. Yeah, people matter a ton. Hey there. Wanted to briefly interrupt the episode to make a quick ask. If you're a podcast listener, it would mean the world to us if you'd leave a review for the podcast. Podcast, whether that's on itunes or Spotify, it's something I hadn't really remembered or thought of asking for. But it does help us show up more frequently so that we can reach more people with the information that we're providing. So it mean the world to us if you'd leave a review on itunes or Spotify. If you're listening on audio, if you're watching on YouTube, make sure to hit the subscribe button so you're in the loop for future videos and you don't miss any of the content that we're putting out. Totally switching gears for a few more questions to wrap up. One is I had Jacqueline Luongo on and we Talked something about. We haven't talked on the podcast very much. Vendor relationships.
- [42:44]
B
Yeah.
- [42:44]
A
And so I figured I'd pick your brain on this. How do you go about navigating and taking advantage of vendor relationships? Like, how do you make sure that you manage those in a way that creates maximum advantage for the practice?
- [42:57]
B
So I am, I feel like I always say I'm blessed, but I am so fortunate and blessed. I have amazing, amazing reps. They really do want to see us succeed. They've been an amazing resource. In previous years, I've said, listen, my injectors don't even need to inject, but if there's space, you know, can. Can they go and observe? Even if it might be a little bit above their skill level, can they still go and observe? Because, you know, they're, they're learning techniques, they're getting a little bit more education, so. And again, what I used earlier in the podcast was when one injector was leaving, I reached out to my rep and I'm like, listen, do you have anybody who, you already know my culture and what it is that building, do you have an injector who's going to align with my vision that you can recommend to me? So I think the vendor relationships are, if you're fortunate enough to have them. My reps have always gone above and beyond for me. They've advised me, they've given me wisdom, sometimes maybe even, you know, a little more than, than what they should in, in certain sense. But, you know, they also help provide. You know, I would say, listen, I've gotta have a training. Is there a possibility that we can work out a deal for product? Right. Because, you know, when you do a training, you're going to use five or six different syringes, and is that going to be money out of my pocket or is that going to be, how can I recoup that? Right.
- [44:38]
A
Yeah.
- [44:39]
B
And they're always like, listen, if it's a training, and especially because I've been an educator too, if, if it's a training and it's going to benefit and you're going to have more sales because your staff is educated.
- [44:50]
A
Yeah.
- [44:51]
B
Which is going to increase sales, then they're willing to do that. So it definitely, especially, I think, in, you know, of course they've got their bottom lines, you know, too. And, and I think it does help with the performance, though, having good relationships with the vendors.
- [45:10]
A
And what you just said was one of the things that popped up is like asking, making sure that you're fully aware of the things that they could be supporting you with. Because some people just don't ask. And you're missing out on opportunities like that. Oh, I haven't doing. I'm doing training. Like, would you. And now you have something that you might have, like you said otherwise, eaten out of your pocketbook, where you can actually get additional support. So sometimes asking it feels like that's something a lot of people just kind of whiff on. They just don't think to ask.
- [45:36]
B
Yeah. You know, they. There's so many different tools that your provider or that your reps can give you. You know, I was. One of them was the assessment. You know, I kept saying, I feel like my one provider is not getting the assessment to be able to build and grow. Maybe they're missing. And my allergan rep was like, you know what? We have somebody that'll come in, do an analogy, do a whole mock assessment and treatment, and then sit with that provider and help guide them so that maybe they just need to strengthen that skill and feel comfortable.
- [46:10]
A
Yeah.
- [46:10]
B
And, you know, I mean, those tools are available. They've got apps, they've got sites that you can go to. So. And then even guidance, like, you know what. What conferences do I want to go to? You know, where should I put my money? So. But I have amazing reps. I mean, I'm on some discussion boards where I see. Haven't heard from my rep in six months. You know, calling, calling, calling, not getting a call back. So, yeah, I am very, very lucky here.
- [46:41]
A
Yeah. Well, that's awesome. That's. Those are good little tidbits. Can we rapid fire? Do you have time to rapid fire three quick things that I pulled from Instagram?
- [46:47]
B
Sure.
- [46:47]
A
These are three super quick ones. Just if you have an extra bit of commentary. I thought they were like, good shares. So if you have a little bit of extra commentary, I'll rapid fire through these final three things. So the first one, we've talked a lot about positioning. Who am I for? How do I speak to my ideal client? What are we going to be known for? And how do we make sure that we speak to people that we're going to align with? You mentioned that with team. One of the things you talked about on Instagram is essentially addressing the here's what we do and here's who we serve. You said at our skin, we're not chasing drastic. Were creating refined, not overfilled, not frozen, not what did she do? And so I think something as simple as letting people know your treatment philosophy and what you're trying to do for outcomes is pretty important because I've had other people like that, you know, they're, they're kind of known for the overdone look. So was that intentional? And do you think that is important to kind of identify that, hey, here's who we are, here's how we treat and if that's what you're looking for, we might be a good fit?
- [47:43]
B
I think it's key because again, if you're trying to get that square peg into the round hole. Right. It's just not going to work. I'm not that provider for you. I say no to patients all the time. My staff isn't overdone. If I, if I start to think they're playing around a little bit too much. Hey, you know, back off the lip filler or back off Botox. I'd like to see some animation. You know, I think that we live by the standard that we're also trying to project. So for sure, I, I, I like the natural look. I think it's important. And that's where, you know, I want to put, put all of my, yeah.
- [48:23]
A
And something as simple as letting that be known, I think is, is key. One other thing that can be a challenge in this industry is commoditization. Right. Like, so you have another post here where it said the real magic isn't the syringe, it's the assessment. I'm studying your anatomy, your collagen story, your movement patterns, the way you smile. A cookie cutter treatment plan. Not here. Your face is unique. Your plan should be too. Anything that you do beyond that to like, intentionally make sure that you're selling the skill of yourself and your other providers as a point of differentiation so it doesn't become an apples to apples on just like, hey, we do Botox.
- [49:02]
B
Yes. Well, I mean, I think that's one thing with the Instagram and social media presence. Right. Just conveying that. Yep. I, my referral program is outstanding. We get so many referrals from other patients who might be at a yoga studio and they're like, oh my God, you look so good. What did you do? You know, and so we have a lot of great testimonials from patients who, you know, they're like, oh, I thought so and so never had anything done. I couldn't believe she told me she's been coming to you forever. She looks so natural and so refreshed.
- [49:34]
A
Yeah.
- [49:35]
B
So I do think, you know, you need to keep articulating that and conveying that via social media. It's kind of hard until you come in to be able to understand that philosophy. Yeah, physically. But again, you know, I'm an aging female myself. I'm in my mid-50s, so you know, I just try to express that to them and even my younger injectors, like I said, when, when we're sitting down and speaking with the patient, we're already assessing all of that movement just by making small talk of you catching me up with your life.
- [50:08]
A
Yeah.
- [50:08]
B
So yes, they're good at that as well.
- [50:11]
A
Yeah. And if you live, if you say it and you live it out, it starts to show up everywhere like you said. So the evidence starts to pile up. It's on social media. I go comb through the Google reviews, I start to see those things popping up. So it allows people to, to self identify with like, hey, if this is what I'm looking for and this is what they're talking about on their website, this is what I see in their before and afters, that their social media evidence supports it and so do their Google reviews. You create that alignment that leads to somebody scheduling an appointment with you. And in a competitive industry, I think that is critical. Last little one here, which I know some people can shy away from. There's a version of this business where Raquel's social media is nothing but Raquel and you're the face and you know, everybody else is the support staff and the supporting roles. And that's always true. Your name's on the business. But I've noticed you do have a lot of videos where you've intentionally brought in other providers and tried to make them co stars on the show on social media. Why is that important to do and why were you intentional about doing that and I'm sure will be in the future?
- [51:11]
B
Well, again, I mean my name is on the door. However I'm. And this was one of the situations with past employees is you. I believe that you need to support the others that are on your team. And just because you have a strength doesn't mean that that's a weakness for me. Right. It doesn't mean that your way is the right way. It's just a different way. You know, I think it's important to that other people are recognized for their talents. And again, my patients trust me. So my word is, is my words important to me and they will see that if I believe in somebody else and I'm showcasing them, then that must mean that they are matching our reputation and that they themselves are good so, or great or you know, worthy of being here. And you as a patient can feel secure sitting in their chair. So that's why I showcase. I think it's important.
- [52:10]
A
Yeah, I totally agree. So if you're shying away from that, encourage you to do it, Lean into it. I know the stressful thing for business owners is you get somebody, you do that, and then they leave and you got to do it again. But that's just the nature of it. There's. There's a radio show I listen to just for entertainment purposes, and they're in, like, the finance space, and it was one person that was the radio show. And they've been really intentional about diversifying the cast of personalities. And guess what? If you look at that personality roster, it's totally different today than it was five years ago. But it still allows you to make sure that putting other people at the forefront, allowing others to be stars of the show, will build diversification of risk and help you grow the business. So I think they. They go hand in hand. So that's. That's a good little tidbit. Well, Raquel, thank you so much for joining us. Where can people learn more about you, what you're up to? We'll make sure everything's in the show notes as well.
- [52:58]
B
Yes. So the business Instagram is our skin aesthetics, and then my personal one is our skin admission. That's a little bit more of my personal injecting a little bit more of my personal life. But our skin aesthetics is the business one and our website is our skin dot net. And then of course, you can go. We put Google on Google. We've got stories. Because I guess that's a new thing. You would be more familiar with that which important. And our Google reviews. And we're in Birmingham, Michigan, and we would love for you to look us up and visit our treatment room.
- [53:39]
A
Yeah. Well, Raquel, thank you so much for being on the show. We look forward to having you on again. We'll make this like an annual thing, hopefully.
- [53:44]
B
Yeah, that'd be wonderful.
- [53:46]
A
Thanks so much and have a good rest of the week.
- [53:48]
B
Thank you. You too.
- [53:50]
A
Thanks, everyone for tuning in. This podcast is a production of medspa Magic Marketing. If your med spa or aesthetic practice is in need of digital marketing services, help with advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Google lead generation, and booking more appointments, please visit Medspamagicmarketing.com.