Ep.65: What’s Holding You Back From Growing?
Surgeons from around the world tell me regularly how much pressure they feel from the relentless competition, fickle cosmetic patients, staff issues and running a practice by “winging it”.
They don’t have a strategic plan to scale and they are not set up to exit when the time comes.
Tune in solid advice on how to unleash your practice’s full potential
FREE Advice Call with Catherine
Podcast – What’s holding you back from growing?
Surgeons from around the world tell me regularly how much pressure they feel
from the relentless competition, fickle cosmetic patients, staff issues and
running a practice by “winging it”.
They are tired of the revenue roller coaster. Some months they are too busy
to breathe and other months, they panic wondering why their schedule isn’t
full like it was.
Same thing with staff. Just when they get the right team in place and feel
confident their practice is running smoother than ever, here comes the turnover….again.
Why is this so difficult?
Because that’s business. When you realize you are running a business and it
just happens to be “the business of surgery”, you think, be and do differently.
For example, every business needs these basics:
A great team
Systems and processes
Marketing plan for more leads
Strategic plan to stay competitive
Too many plastic surgeons are NOT running their practices like a business so
they jump around reacting to the market shifts, hiring staff sporadically
and “winging it”.
They don’t have a strategic plan to scale and they are not set up to exit when
the time comes.
It’s never been more important to treat your practice like a business if you want to
enjoy peace of mind knowing your practice is a well-oiled machine that runs smoothly
with or without you there.
So, I’m going to lay out what you need to grow in today’s crazy marketplace.
Let’s start with the good news…
You’re probably closer to winning than you might think.
Consider this….
You already did the hard part.
You put the blood, sweat and tears into the tough training, setting up your practice and building a reputation.
You already are dedicating energy, time and money to improvement.
You may not realize it, but that already makes you part of a fraction of 1% of the entire world who even has the discipline to do what you’ve done already.
It might seem like you’ve tried everything and failed but, in reality, you’re most likely at the 85-yard
line.
Speaking of football, everybody knows and agrees that having a GOOD coach is critical to success:
You already know…..
How valuable it is to know what successful practices do to rise above their competitors;
- How a new perspective can shed light on the practice gaps you’re not seeing;
- How having a road map to lead you through the maze of practice-building
saves you countless hours and wasted time and money-making mistakes…
So here are 3 steps you need to address in order to grow your practice:
Step 1: Get crystal clear about the problem by identifying the issues.
Be specificand be very clear exactly what it is you want.
– Do you want to attract more cosmetic patients? If so, how many and by when?
– Do you want better conversions? If so, by how much and by when?
– Do you want better online reviews?
– Do you want more word-of-mouth referrals?
– Do you want more professional staff representing you? If so, how many and in
what positions to make the biggest impact on your bottom line?
Step #2: Identify What Does Not Work and Stop Doing it.
The idea that one thing is going to work for everyone is just silly.
Every single aesthetic practice is different.
They think differently. They have different needs.
That’s why you need a tailor-made plan specifically for you that makes the most sense. Think about this…
We make plans, we get motivated, we start taking action and then we stop.
Have you tried every ninja shiny object Internet trick and you STILL don’t have the results you want? Guess what?
That probably isn’t the answer….or the entire answer.
Have you tried mass advertising campaigns aggressive advertising salespeople pressured you for, saying this will make you a celebrity?
Again, That probably isn’t the answer….or the entire answer
It doesn’t mean the Internet and sales people are bad, it just means it’s not for you.
Sure, they’ll help a little but that’s not enough. Something is missing.
They are NOT going to take you to the 100-yard line or else, you would already be there.
Step 3: Understand You Can’t do it Alone.
Think about it, as a cosmetic surgeon in private practice, you most likely feel alone a lot of the time.
Like you are the only one who really cares about the health of your practice.
Like nobody around you understands the pressure of running a cosmetic surgery practice in today’s world.
You are not supposed to be alone.
We are all supposed to collaborate and work together to solve problems.
Very few breakthroughs in the history of mankind have ever been achieved by one person alone without help.
Even Einstein had help (his wife was a very good mathematician he consulted with a lot).
If you now see it would be helpful for you to collaborate with someone who “feels your pain” and has the answers, then here is what you want to look for when consulting with them:
You don’t want fluff or any filler.
You don’t want untested processes and “theory” strategies – just the actual tested and proven strategies used in real life.
Because here’s the thing….The tools are simple to learn.
Learning them is not the issue.
It’s applying the materials that can get more tricky. It’s when you take the ideas and put them to work in your own practice that you might have some bumps in the road.
Usually, it’s just a few tweaks that get you from missing the mark or the exact results you’re wanting so setting up processes and tools grow your successful aesthetic practice on solid business principles.
So you need a system for feeling peace of mind every day, consistently.
I’m not talking about feeling better for a few minutes.
I’m talking about feeling better all day and every day.
Your new system doesn’t eliminate negative emotion from your life (you would never want that anyway since you want to grow). It simply teaches you how to manage it in a way that doesn’t compound it.
If you have already learned the “How to Build a Cosmetic Practice” concepts and read books on the subject, but aren’t seeing the huge benefits yet, this is specifically for you.
Getting outside consel is for plastic surgeons who….
– have a lot working for them but know they could be running a more streamlined and
profitable practice;
– it’s also for those who need a map of clarity so they have peace of mind knowing all systems (and staff) are
working for the “good of the practice” and not just selfishly for themselves;
– and for those who know the gaps in their practice are costly them dearly.
So, here is what you want to work on to scale and grow your practice, with or without outside help:
First, you want to become more conscious in your practice. You need to see how much control you have over the experiences you encounter every day.
This is really important, because if you think your day is just happening to you, then the feeling of powerlessness you experience will prevent you from making the changes and distinctions you’re missing.
Second, you will gain peace of mind knowing you now have a plan to follow to get you where you always envisioned yourself to be: successful, profitable and confident.
So here is what to work on:
First set the stage:
Know your vision and goals to benchmark
Your current assets to build from
Your image-building strategies to Pre-Frame YOU as the BEST CHOICE
Now, The infrastructure:
How phones are handled
Software used to track and report your results
Processes and protocols
Then, The People:
The right people in the right positions
The right people trained to represent you professionally
The right people who can convert callers and consultations
Staff incentives and motivation
Then, The Processes:
The handling of leads
Following up AFTER the consultation
Protocol for before/after photos, reviews and referrals
And lastly, The Marketing:
Your website and Internet presence
Year-round marketing plan
Social media plan
Internal Marketing plan
External Marketing plan
So, hopefully after hearing this, you can now see more clearly what’s holding you back from growing.
Because once you identify the practice gaps you’re missing, that’s half the battle.
Please go through the list again and take some time working ON your practice
Rather than IN it.
It’s well worth the time and effort if you’re ready to run your practice like a business
and, of course, I’d love to work with you to make this process a whole lot easier so
please call my office or send me a message from my website at catherinemaley.com.
Ok, that’s it for this episode and please do me a favor and
Subscribe
Review
Feedback
DM catherinemaleymba
Transcript:
Beauty and the Biz
Ep.65: What’s Holding You Back From Growing?
Catherine Maley, MBA: Hello, welcome to Beauty and the Biz where we talk about the business and marketing side of plastic surgery. I’m your host, Catherine Maley, author of your Aesthetic Practice and consultant to plastic surgeons to get them more patients and more profits. And this episode is called What’s Holding You Back From Growing? Surgeons from around the world tell me regularly how much pressure they feel from the relentless competition, the [00:00:44] cosmetic patients, staffing issues and running a practice by winging it. They’re tired of the revenue rollercoaster. Now some months they’re too busy to breathe but then other months, they panic wondering why their schedule isn’t full like it was. Same thing with staff, just when they get the right team in place and feel confident their practices running smoother than ever, here comes the turnover. Again, why is this so difficult? Well, it’s because that’s business. When you realize you’re running a business and it just happens to be the business of surgery, you think, be and do differently. For example, every business needs these basics, a great team, systems and processes, marketing plan for more leads, strategic plan to stay competitive.
Too many plastic surgeons are not running their practices like a business. So, they jump around reacting to the market shifts, hiring staff sporadically and winging it. They don’t have a strategic plan to scale. And they’re not set up to exit when the time comes. It’s never been more important to treat your practice like a business. If you want to enjoy peace of mind, knowing your practices a well-oiled machine that runs smoothly with or without you there. So, I’m going to lay out what you need to grow in today’s crazy marketplace. And let’s start with the good news, you’re probably closer to winning than you might think. So, consider this, you already did the hard part, you put the blood, sweat and tears into the tough training, setting up your practice and building reputation. You already are dedicating energy time and money to improvement. You may not realize it, but that already makes you part of a fraction of 1% of the entire world who even has the discipline to do what you’ve already done. It might seem like you’ve tried everything and failed but in reality, you’re most likely at the 85-yard line. And that’s everything I know about football. So, everybody knows and agrees that having a good coach just like in football is critical to success. You already know how valuable it is to know what successful practices do to rise above their competitors. And how a new perspective can shed light on the practice gaps you’re not able to see because you’ve got blocks. And also having a roadmap to lead you through the maze of practice building saves you countless hours and wasted time and money-making mistakes.
So here are three steps you need to address in order to grow your practice. Here’s step number one, get crystal clear about the problem by identifying the issues, be specific and be very clear exactly what it is you want. Do you want to attract more cosmetic patients? If so, how many and by when? Do you want better conversions? If so by how much and by when? Do you want better online reviews? Do you want more word-of-mouth referrals? Do you want more professional staff representing you? If so, how many and in what positions to make the biggest impact on your bottom line? Now, here’s step number two, identify what does not work and stop doing it. The idea that one thing is going to work for everyone is just silly. Every single aesthetic practice is different. They think differently. They have different needs. That’s why you need a tailor-made plan specifically for you that makes the most sense. Think about this. We make plans, we get motivated. We start taking action and then we stop. Have you tried every ninja shiny object internet trick and you still don’t have the results you want? Well, that probably isn’t the answer or the entire answer. Now, have you tried mass advertising campaigns aggressive advertising sales people pressured you for saying this will make you a celebrity? Again, that probably isn’t the answer or the entire answer. It doesn’t mean the internet and the sales people are bad. It just means it’s not for you. Sure, they can help you a little bit but that’s not enough, something is missing. They’re not going to take you to the one 100-yard line or else you already be there. Now, here’s number three. Understand you can’t do it alone. Think about it. As a cosmetic surgeon in private practice, you most likely feel alone most of the time. Like you’re the only one who really cares about the health of your practice, like nobody around you understand the pressure of running a cosmetic practice surgery practice in today’s world. And you’re not supposed to be alone. We’re all supposed to collaborate and work together to solve problems. Very few breakthroughs in the history of mankind have ever been achieved by one person alone without help, that even Einstein had help. His wife was a very good mathematician he consulted with a lot. If you now see a be helpful for you to collaborate with someone who feels your pain and has the answers, then here’s what you want to look for when consulting with them. You don’t want fluff or filler, you don’t want untested processes and theory strategies, just the actual tested and proven strategies used in real life. Because here’s the thing, the tools are simple to learn. Learning them is not the issue, it’s applying the materials that can get trickier. It’s when you take the ideas and put them to work in your own practice that you might have some bumps in the road. Now usually, it’s just a few tweaks that get you from missing the mark or the exact results you’re wanting. So, setting up processes and tools to grow your cosmetic aesthetic practice on solid business principles. So, you need a system for feeling peace of mind every day consistently. And I’m not talking about feeling better for a few minutes, I’m talking about feeling better all day and every day. Your new system doesn’t eliminate negative emotion from your life. But frankly, you wouldn’t want that anyway because you want to grow. It simply teaches you how to manage it in a way that doesn’t compound it. So, if you have already learned how to build a cosmetic practice concepts and you’ve read books on the subject but you’re still not seeing the huge benefits, this is specifically for you. Getting outside consult is for plastic surgeons who have a lot working for them but know they could be running a more streamlined and profitable practice. It’s also for those who need a map of clarity. So, they have peace of mind knowing all systems and staff are working for the good of the practice, and not just selfishly for themselves, and is for those who know the gaps in their practice are costing them dearly.
So, here’s what you want to work on to scale and grow your practice, with or without outside help. First, you want to become more conscious in your practice, you need to see how much control you have over the experiences you encounter every day. Now, this is really important because if you think your day is just happening to you, then the feeling of powerlessness you experience will prevent you from making the changes and distinctions you’re missing. Second, you’ll gain peace of mind knowing you now have a plan to follow to get you where you’ve always envisioned yourself to be successful, profitable and confident. So, here’s what to work on. First, set the stage, know your vision and goals to benchmark, know your current assets to build from as well as your image building strategies to pre frame you as the best choice. Now you want to work on the infrastructure, how phones are handled, which software is used to track and report your results, your processes and protocols. Then it’s about the people, you’ve got to get the right people in the right positions, the right people trained to represent you professionally, the right people who can convert callers and consultations. And then you’ve got to figure out some staff incentives and motivation. Then you work on the processes. And that’s the handling of leads following up after the consultation as well as protocol for before and after photos, reviews and referrals. And lastly, it’s the marketing, your website and internet presence, your year-round marketing plan, your social media plan, your internal marketing plan, as well as your external marketing plan. So hopefully after hearing this, you can now see more clearly what’s holding you back from growing. Because once you identify the practice gaps you’re missing, that’s half the battle. Please go through the list again and take some time working on your practice rather than just in it. It’s well worth the time and effort if you’re ready to run your practice like a business. And of course, I’d love to work with you to make this process a whole lot easier. So please call my office or send me a message from my website at catherinemaley.com. Okay, that’s it for this episode and please do me a favor if you haven’t already, would you please subscribe to Beauty and the Biz and give me a good review if you feel so inclined? And please, I’d love to get your feedback and your questions so you can always leave me a message again on my website at catherinemaley.com or you can DM me on Instagram at Catherine Maley, MBA. Thanks so much and talk again soon.
