5 Steps to Selling $300 of Retail in Your Next Treatment
Once you start to delve into the numbers, it becomes apparent that having cosmeceuticals as the catalyst for significant growth of your practice really doesn’t take a whole lot.
Now, don’t take that to mean it doesn’t take any effort because it certainly does, we mean is it doesn’t take a lot of dollars. For example, if you want to make $6,000 in cosmeceutical revenue per month, and your practice is open five days a week, that means you only have to sell $300 a day in cosmeceuticals, which, in the big picture, feels and sounds very doable. And that’s because it is. Here’s how to make that daily dollars goal a reality in just a matter of one treatment:
Step 1 - Build Trust
The saying is true, trust is the foundation of any strong relationship, and that goes for your clients, too. When building trust with your client, the key is customer service.
When you carry out top-notch customer service, you turn a “cold” consult into a warmed up client that’s ready to convert because they trust that you’re not just after their money, but their best interest.
Some ways you can demonstrate exceptional customer service is by taking time in the form of having a friendly conversation before jumping straight into business, taking adequate time to listen, and being thoughtful and helpful in your responses. Surprising and delighting your clients by going the extra mile to follow-up, giving samples, or doing whatever makes sense for your business is also a surefire way to impress.
Keep in mind, trust can be built right off the bat, but it often takes a few touch points to really solidify that trust. So, know that you have to stay the course to see the payoff of 1) a loyal client and 2) a loyal client that will buy more than just a treatment.
Step 2 - Give the Best Consult of Your Life
Consults are what kick off your relationship with your client, and are your first impression, so you have to make sure you nail this piece to set up yourself up for success with sales.
In a great consult, you’ll want to take in all of the client’s concerns, offer a very accurate skin diagnosis (the use of visual imaging here makes a huge difference because your client can see all of their sub-surface damage), and a strong recommendation for skincare.
For a consult to result in a cosmeceutical sale, you’ll need to set the expectation for your client/patient that to get the results they desire, they’ll want to combine their treatment with the proper skincare products.
It’s also important to note that if your patient is having a more aggressive treatment such as needling or lasers, they’ll be required to use your post-care product recommendation, so set that expectation by asking the patient if they prefer to hear their product knowledge during the treatment or after.
This step also reinforces that your client is going to be educated (another key step to successful cosmeceutical sales) and that by using the products you as the provider recommend, they’re protecting their investment.
Step 3 - Stick to Solutions
As the provider, it’s easy to step into your expert role and forget to relate to your patient. However, one of the most crucial steps in building trust is in making your patient feel comfortable with having a conversation with you because they feel like they understand you, but more importantly, that you’re making an effort to understand them.
You can do that by providing solid solutions centered around the patient's concerns and fighting the urge to focus too much on what you see. As you continue to build trust and you’ve helped your client solve the most relevant issues for them, you’ll be able to expand your conversations more into the problems you see as important from your perspective.
Step 4 - Educate, Educate, Educate
Taking time to educate your patient will not only help build trust but also assist in overcoming objections your patient may have during your consult or after their treatment. Because when you educate your client, you have the opportunity to solidify your expertise and explain why you’re doing what you’re doing both with your treatment and product recommendations.
One of the best methods to use in regards to educating on cosmeceutical products is features and benefits. For example, rather than recommending a product that “contains retinol” for your patient's concern over signs of aging, you’ll find a more engaged response of you educate your patient on a product that contains retinol, which stimulates collagen and increases cell turnover, meaning it will immediately address their concerns of wrinkles and pigmentation.
See how that response shows them that you know what you’re talking about and you’ve tailored your recommendations and proposed solutions to their specific concerns and aren’t just giving them a blanket recommendation?
Step 5 - Recommend 3 Products
Three products. No more, no less. If you recommend more than three, it’ll be overboard, and you’ll lose your client by throwing too much product at them. Start with a good antioxidant, retinoid, and sunscreen, everyone needs those. And these are products that are game-changers for the skin and work more effectively than products such as lip balms and cleansers. By garnering excellent results for your clients with those products, you’ll create more opportunities to sell additional products in future appointments.
Bonus Tip: Manage Objections
Now we realize these steps make it seem simple to get a “yes,” (and sometimes that yes will be incredibly easy to get) but even if you do all these steps, you’re still bound to encounter some objections.
To get over those objections, you need to manage them, and you’ll do that by clarifying your client’s concerns and offering specific solutions to those concerns. Again, this may not dissolve your client’s objection today, but you’re setting the stage for making future sales consistently.
Once you put these steps into practice, you’ll quickly see that:
1) Securing $300 in cosmeceutical sales becomes easy once you get into the groove of your sales process.
2) If you can do this successfully with one client, there’s no reason why you can’t do it with two or three of your patients per day.
Do the math on that, and suddenly, with persistence and process, you’ll be bringing in an additional 5-figures a month and 6-figures a year for your practice.
And the sky’s the limit on how you can use that revenue to fuel your growth.
