Is There a Light at the End of This Long Dark Economic Tunnel?


For the past few weeks Acara has received a much higher than normal number of inquiry calls from people seeking to open a medical spa or add cosmetic procedures to their medical practice.

Are people beginning to believe there is a light at the end of this long dark economic tunnel we’ve been doing business in?  Not sure, but to me, it seems to be a small yet encouraging indication of the business confidence in the world of aesthetic medicine.

Tomorrow I am hosting a webinar “Opening a Successful MedSpa or Cosmetic Medical Practice“.  For all of you thinking about embarking on a new business or business expansion, please join me.  It will be approximately 1 hour and there will be a Q&A session at the end.

FXA

Water Assisted Liposuction


One of the many technologies on the market for liposuction is the Body-Jet.  Even though it has been around for a few years it seems to have taken on some recent momentum.  One of the reasons is the success many physicians are having using it to harvest fat for fat transplant i.e. natural breast augmentation.

Dr. Robert Langdon, Medical Director & Owner of The Langdon Center in Guilford, CT was just featured on WTNH, the local ABC network affiliate station.  Read and view more…

FXA

p.s. I know many have heard be tout the wonders of Acara’s press release distribution.  A recent press release sent by Acara for Dr. Langdon was the catayis for this special news report.

Customer Centric Telephone Answering


I recently did a blog post on running a Customer Centric Aesthetic Medical Practice or Medspa.  I talked about how all your business decisions need to be made with the customer in mind.

I made a call today to a cosmetic medical practice and the phone was answered in a brusque voice, “Doctor’s Office”.  Here is a classic example of a non-customer centric business decision.  Essentially, the decision was made to answer the phone as simply as possible with the least amount of effort.  There is no greeting, no personal introduction and no gracious offer i.e. “how may I help you”.  Just a curt, easy to remember, easy to manage approach (a staff member will never forget the correct way to answer the phone in that office…just 2 words “Doctor’s Office” thus nothing to manage).

Can you tell that this is a pet peeve of mine?  Small example of a big problem!  If the aesthetic medical practice that I go to ever did this, I’d spend my money elsewhere.

FXA

Zerona vs Zeltiq: Melt or Freeze Your Fat!


I read an interesting article in the New York Times a few days ago.  It was discussing Zerona and Zeltiq.  Zerona is the low-level laser device that “melts” fat and the Zeltiq is the Cryo device that “freezes” fat.  The article was essentially a mixed review discussing how some people have achieved successes and others have not.

The one missing discussion in the article is that (this is specific to Zerona, since I have experience with Zerona in a few of Acara locations) there was no discussion around how these types of programs have to be lifestyle driven in order to achieve success.  As with Zereona, if you are willing to drink 2 liters of water, walk 40 minutes and take a Niacin supplement every day for 4 weeks in combination with your Zerona treatments, then you will see results.

Everyone asks the question: is it the lifestyle changes or the Zerona that “melts” the fat?  Well, does it really matter?  If by paying between $2,250 and $3,000 for 6 Zerona treatments you feel forced into changing your lifestyle thus losing 3 – 12 inches, then I’m not sure why anyone would care…Zerona or walking or water or Niacin: be happy with 3 – 12 inches.

The locations offering Zerona that are successful have someone on the team that is a great life coach.  When you have a team member that understands that this is not about performing a few procedures and the patient has less wrinkles or age spots its about coaching, coaxing, reprimanding, mentoring someone through a lifestyle process then it works.  Not all practices can accomplish this successfully.

Another approach to Zerona (or possibly Zeltiq) is to do it in combination with a Medically Supervised Weight Loss program.  We have one location that doesn’t charge for the MSWL program if you sign up for Zerona (they do charge for the food supplments).

Just a few thoughts on melting and freezing fat…for you to chew on over the weekend.

FXA

Selling, the Highest Form of Customer Service


I looked online for a definition of “selling” and here is what I found.  Selling: to persuade or induce others to buy.

This definition is simple and understandable but it does not reflect what truly occurs within the best medical spas and aesthetic practices throughout the world.  I believe the Acara definition does…

Selling: the act of discovering client needs and identifying the most appropriate solutions.

It is based upon this definition that I always say “selling is the highest form of customer service”.

If you are not working diligently through a consultation and diagnostic process to discover what your client needs then you are doing a “dis-service” to your clients.  Selling, as in accordance with my definition, is truly the highest form of customer service.

To learn in detail about Acara’s Sales System, join our Sales Guru, Sandi Unkur starting next Tuesday February 9th for three consecutive weeks as she conducts a 3 session training:

Sales & Consultation Secrets: Training for the Aesthetic Medical Professional

FXA

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