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Make It Impossible for Patients to Say No

Make It Impossible for Patients to Say No

Make it impossible for patients to say no to you by using Nordstrom’s risk reversal strategy. If you buy anything at Nordstrom, you know that if anything goes wrong with it or you are unhappy in any way, they will take it back…no questions asked.Make It Impossible for Patients to Say No

In fact, Nordstrom’s guarantee is what built their iconic business. The confidence of knowing that they will take back anything is what sets your mind at ease buying from Nordstrom. And, they are definitely not the cheapest place in town and they are not offering discounts at every turn.

What consumers really want is to make a smart buying decision. We all have “stuff” we bought and wished we hadn’t or we felt pressured into and now we’re stuck with it and live with regret. That makes consumers wary of doing it again and wasting money.

This fear is huge in cosmetic rejuvenation. It’s a much bigger deal when your body is at stake so cosmetic prospective patients are afraid to make a decision. They’re scared they will not get what they want and then regret it. So they’re on the fence for years deciding if they should or shouldn’t move forward with plastic surgery and then once they decide they should, now they have to decide “who” to choose to perform the procedure.

So knowing that about consumers, it would behoove you to figure out how to calm their fears so they choose you. The more you remove the risk (called risk reversal), the more consultations you will convert because you are lowering the hurdle of entry (which is fear) for the cosmetic patient.

There is an interesting psychological factor with humans. They want you to be more at risk than they are. Cosmetic patients are scared ofmaking the wrong decision.  And if you overcome that concern, you win over your competitors.

The best companies and marketers out there use risk reversal to make it easy for the consumer to buy.

But transferring the risk from the patient’s shoulders to yours is a very touchy subject for plastic surgeons.

Most surgeons think they will go broke if they offer some sort of guarantee so hear me out.

Think about what you currently do when a patient comes back to you after a procedure and is livid and upset by the results they got. You, too, can see it’s not the optimal result and this patient isn’t crazy so don’t you do a touch up? Or even go back in to perform a revision at no charge? Or, if it escalates, don’t you even refund them their money after they sign an agreement not to disparage you?

So if you would do it anyway, why not get credit for it and use that risk reversal to convert more consultations, especially when the patient is deciding which of you or your competitors to go with?

Most plastic surgeons are scared to give guarantees because they think their patients will take advantage of them. Well, it will happen on occasion. But most cosmetic patients are honest and ethical if you choose wisely. And those patients that take advantage of you, would have done the same thing even if you didn’t have a guarantee.

By the way, you are not advertising your guarantee. You are only using it in the consultation with the patient who is on the fence and close to making a decision but the fear factor is preventing them from saying yes.

Here A Few Particulars About Risk Reversal

1. Be definite. Don’t just say “our services are guaranteed.”

Take time to show your patients what results they should expect. Walk them through it and carefully explain and educate them on the emotional and physical benefits you offer. Here is a sample script:

“If you don’t look at yourself in the mirror and feel more confident and secure after this procedure, then I want you to come back and ask for a refund. That’s how strongly I believe this procedure will work for you.”

2. Make your guarantee for the longest time period possible.

Since cosmetic results can take months and even up to one year for the final results, make sure the patient is aware of the time frame. Interestingly, the longer amount of time you make your guarantee, the lower the amount of refunds.

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Watch Your Numbers After Instituting Risk Transference

When a practice begins assuming the risk for the patient it is not uncommon for them to see double or triple the amount of scheduled surgeries.

With those kinds of numbers it makes the handful of people who take you up on your guarantee well worth it. You will have a whole lot more cosmetic patients use your services because of this unique feature.

Look, if you are confident in your abilities like I know you are, and you are selecting patients that make sense, then they should be getting the results and outcomes they want. State your guarantee in the strongest possible, legally permissible terms.

As prospective patients are weighing their options and comparing surgeons, think about the difference your guarantee will make in their minds. If you want to help propel uncertain patients “off the fence” this will do it.

When you use this risk reversal strategy, the revenues you gain in booked surgeries will far surpass the revenues you will lose. I guarantee it 😉

Discover more tips, tactics and strategies to book more surgeries by joining me in The Converting Club for Coordinators.

The Converting Club for Coordinators

TESTIMONIALS

5/5
"Catherine outlined a plan that put key metrics in place, gave us a clear plan to follow throughout the year and trained our staff to increase their conversions by at least 10%. Since engaging with Catherine, I’m happy to report that revenues are up 15% over the last three months - 22% in the last month alone! I highly recommend Catherine’s consulting services to any practice looking for “best practice” additions to their operation."
Robert Sigal, MD
Robert Sigal, MD
"I have finally tapped into the most efficient way to grow my cosmetic practice and that is to “fish in the pond of my own patients”. When patients return to my practice, over 85% will purchase another service, product, or procedure. Not only was it worth over $200,000 in revenues this past year, it also reminds my patients I’m still around so they don’t wander off to my competitors. Catherine’s group has far exceeded our expectations and goals we had set up for them to achieve."
Victor Ferrari, MD
Victor Ferrari, MD
"Our consult conversions were running at 40-50%. Then we attended Catherine’s online training and implemented her strategies. They immediately increased conversion rates to 75-80%."
Anthony Corrado, MD
Anthony Corrado, MD
"I know how to run a profitable practice; however, it was not without major staff issues, inefficiencies and unproductive drama. With Catherine's guidance, I reorganized staff, set up processes for them to carry more of the workload and hold them accountable so I have more time to focus on patient care. The changes we put in place and the staff training to convert more callers and consultations will easily increase my revenues by 15% as well as save us time, money and costly mistakes. "
Evan Sorokin, MD
Evan Sorokin, MD
"Working with Catherine and her team has been very profitable. We’re only half way through the year and I’m up $200K and I’m booked out for the next 2 months even though we typically go into our slow summer months now. Her recent promotion brought in an extra $63,782 with more surgeries scheduled. I never realized how much money was sitting in my patient list but I’m a believer now!"
Robert Langdon, MD
Robert Langdon, MD
"Catherine Maley has one of the best Marketing Minds in the aesthetic industry, bar none. She understands the aesthetic patient and she also understands the challenges and frustrations we face as aesthetic surgeons. You will benefit from Catherine's tools whether you are new in practice or a seasoned professional.Turn to Catherine for guidance - she knows what she's talking about."
Edwin Williams, MD
Edwin Williams, MD
“Catherine’s Cosmetic Patient Marketing Service has been a great addition to our practice-building overall plan. While we still invest in our online presence, we also found immense value in the internal marketing efforts. We especially like that all results are tracked so we know we are getting a great return ... last year it was 1,148% and no staff time was used. That’s a much easier way to grow my cosmetic practice.”
Mark Mason, MD
Mark Mason, MD
"Catherine Maley turned our practice around. We converted more consultations in one week than we did in an entire month. Our practice went from a painful 50% no show rate to a remarkable 85% show rate. Even more impressive was our close ratio - from 35% to 80% and still increasing. We would recommend her to any practice that’s looking to not only increase their profits today, but sustain a healthy flow of income for many years to come. Thanks Catherine!"
Sam Assassa, MD
Sam Assassa, MD
"Catherine found me the best patient care coordinator I could have asked for. She worked out a payment plan that was fair to me and motivating to my coordinator. She also provided training tools to help my coordinator convert better, even though she was already experienced. The results have been phenomenal. So good, in fact, that my income increased 250% and I’m booked out for 3 months. Don’t waste any more time or money doing it yourself. Outsource to someone you trust!"
Andrew Lofman, MD
Andrew Lofman, MD
"Since we’ve been working with Catherine and her team for the past 5 months, we’ve brought in $79K in surgeries and have booked an additional 17 surgical procedures and 20 non-invasive body procedures since then. This does not include the additional new patient referrals and revenues we are seeing from the on-going nurturing of my current patient database."
Verne Weisberg, MD
Verne Weisberg, MD
"I had given my staff the goal to convert at least $35K per week in surgeries AND I gave them the tools to help which was Catherine’s Online Learning Center at More Patients Academy. They watched Catherine’s modules and implemented her strategies and converted $80K! That equaled a 2,550% ROI. Nice!"
Adam Stein, MD
Adam Stein, MD
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Catherine Maley

Catherine Maley

Catherine is a business/marketing consultant to plastic surgeons. She speaks at medical conferences all over the world on practice building, marketing and the business side of plastic surgery. Get a Free Copy of her popular book, Your Aesthetic Practice: What Your Patients Are Saying View Author Profile.

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