How to Win Over Cosmetic Patients (Ep.162)

How to win over cosmetic patients

Catherine Maley, MBA: Hello, and welcome to Beauty and the Biz where we talk about the business and marketing side of plastic surgery, and how to win over cosmetic patients.

I’m your host, Catherine Maley. author of Your aesthetic practice – What your patients are saying, as well as consultant to plastic surgeons to get them more patients and profits. Now today’s episode is called How to win over cosmetic patients. So the cosmetic patient today has a lot of choice in service providers as well as technical solutions to their problem.

So they often go on several consultations before deciding how to move forward. now while you may see that as unnecessary, since you’re as qualified or more so than your competitors, prospective patients do not. They want to do their due diligence since this is a big decision for them to make, since it’s going to affect them physically, emotionally, and monetarily. It also effects how easily it is to win them over as cosmetic patients.

Actually think of it this way in regards to how to win over cosmetic patients. These are oftentimes your best patients. Since they’re not deciding by price alone, they are taking in all sorts of other factors above and beyond price. That’s where you can shine and beat out your competitors because here’s the secret to positioning yourself as the best choice for preferred cosmetic.

You want to address their emotional, personal and logical needs when trying to win over cosmetic patients. So when done, right, you’re checking off all their boxes in their decision making process. So here’s what I mean. Let’s start with the emotional needs of a cosmetic patient. They’re looking for that surgeon, staff and practice. That makes them feel comfortable moving forward.

They feel comfortable when you’ve built rapport with them. So they feel a connection to you. Actually, rapport building is one of the most important skills you can develop to be successful today in aesthetic medicine, because this entire industry is built on feelings and is key to winning over cosmetic patients. Cosmetic patients are unhappy with their appearance, and that makes them feel less than and diss.

With themselves and their lives. Now they believe they’re going to feel a lot better. They’re going to feel a lot more confident and much more sure of themselves when they look better, but they also feel hesitation and fear, fear of spending the money, fear of pain and fear of regret. If they end up unhappy with their results.

So there’s a lot of emotions to deal with. So building rapport helps them open up to you, share their feelings, and that’s when you can help them navigate through this journey and in turn, helps you to win over these cosmetic patients. So here are three simple ways to build rapport. One is touch, be sure to shake hands with your patients, perhaps touch them appropriately when examining them and then touch them on the shoulder on the way out.

So they feel connected to. The rule is to keep it above the elbow. then there are commonalities. We like people who are like us. So search for commonalities, look on the patient intake form and comment on the patient who referred them or the neighborhood they live in or their occupation. You’re going to learn so much.

Perhaps your kids go to the same school or maybe they’re a social media influencer yet just never. then there’s mirroring you want to mimic the patient’s body language as well as their tone and speed of voice. So if they talk fast, you talk fast. If they talk loud, you talk loud. If they’re shy, meek and quiet, you tone things down.

You also want to sit eye level with patients, so you’re not towering over them. You want them comfortable not intimidated. Now, if the above is done correctly, patients are going to feel understood, heard, and respect. They will feel that connection to you because they feel like you understand them, their needs, their wants and their fears. This will help in winning over cosmetic patients.

Then there are the personal needs of cosmetic patients. Now it’s fine to speak in generalities at the beginning, but now that you and the patient are better acquainted, it’s time to be specific about this particular patient’s desires and how you can help them get what they. And you do that by listening, ask an open-ended question.

Like what can I help you with? And then be quiet and let them tell you now that sounds easy enough, but it’s so tempting to interrupt because you know, better, you’ve been through this before, but that’s not the point. The patient who feels heard first will then be more open to hearing. And the more the patient can visualize their own specific results, the better.

So you want to start by showing the prospective patient’s social proof of other patients. Now that would include before and after photos on an iPad, the patient can scroll through and videos explaining procedural FAQs and video testimonials from other happy. Now add in computer imaging. Patients love computer imaging in my book, something like 96% of them wanted it because they can see for themselves how they will look and that gives them more confidence and courage to move forward, which in-turn, helps you to win them over.

Now you may resist the time and expense that goes into this technology and fear. This will come back to haunt you, but that’s typically not the case. Once you see it as a helpful converting tool and embrace. So will your prospective patients and your conversions will increase. Now another powerful strategy is to look the patient in the eye and reassure them by saying, Sarah, you are the perfect candidate for this procedure.

Now the patient will feel they’re in good hands. That you’re confident. They’ll be happy with the result and that you have the experience and self-assurance to give them what they want. That transference of confidence is what encourages the patient to move forward. Lastly, there are logical needs. Now you’ve covered the prospective patient’s emotional and personal needs and this is key on how you win over cosmetic patients.

So now logical needs must be addressed. There’s a saying, that’s very true. And it goes like this. We make decisions emotionally and then back them up logically. Right? Isn’t that the truth? Think of all the times you bought. So. Because it made you feel a certain way, but then you had to justify spending the money to someone else or even to yourself.

So the same thing happens with cosmetic patients. This patient has already chosen you emotionally because you’ve built up trust and a connection with them. So they’re ready to partner with you. However, there’s a good chance the patient needs to justify why they chose you to their friends and. Who may be giving them flack. This is another possible roadblock on how to win over cosmetic patients.

Now don’t leave this to chance. Give your patients logical proof. Why you’re the best choice. So they’re equipped to defend their decision, develop brag pieces to position you as the best choice. Now, examples would include. You’re board certified and explain what that means. The number of years in practice, the number of surgeries you’ve performed, the number of reviews you have, the zero lawsuits.

You don’t have awards and accolades from third parties that you’ve been given any pro bono work, showing that you care. About other people and then PR, or maybe you’ve worked with some really well known patients or celebrities and so on. So do you now see how you want to address the emotional, personal and logical needs of prospective patients?

So they choose you over your competitors, once you’ve won over them as a cosmetic patient. Please get together with your team and talk about how you can better tap into these patient needs to increase your conversions and decrease, hearing the dreaded. I need to think about it.

Okay. Thanks everybody. We are going to wrap it up now for Beauty and the Biz and how to win over cosmetic patients.

And if you have any questions or feedback for me, you can go ahead and leave them at my website at www.CatherineMaley.com, or you can certainly DM me on Instagram @CatherineMaleyMBA.

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And we will talk to you again soon. Take care.

-End transcript for the “How to Win Over Cosmetic Patients” Podcast.