News You Can Use

Should you offer free treatments? Something I hear fairly often is that an office is not using their lasers or other equipment as much as they would like. If it was me and I had a device that didn’t use costly disposables, I would try to have it running all day long whether I was getting paid for it or not.  The point being I would be demonstrating for prospective patients. If you see that a patient might be interested in a treatment you offer but not sure about it, offer to treat one of their hands for free, or an armpit for hair removal, etc. This will help eliminate any fears or concerns they might have you’ll be surprised how many times it will result in them booking treatments not only for that but other procedures as well. Call or email to discuss some other ideas to expand your cash-based services.  I’m available for on-site visits to train the staff on laser treatments, fine tune your marketing efforts, and help you generate more revenue!  

What's better: IPL or laser? This is a question many people seem to wonder about. Traditionally it's depended on what you’re treating.  However, with some of the newer technology the gap between IPL and lasers has narrowed substantially over the years. Intense pulsed-light systems hit the market in 1996 and no one really knew what exactly they were good for at the time.  The first one on the market (the Photoderm AKA the "PhotoBurn") was touted as being a miracle device that could treat all colors of tattoos, leg veins, pigmented and vascular lesions on all skin types and more.  The problem was the manufacturer and the physicians were still trying to figure what to use it for and what the settings should be.  During that time many people ended up with rectangular burns on various parts of their bodies.  It wasn’t until a physician in California coined the phrase “PhotoFacial” and started offering 5 moderate treatment sessions about 3 weeks apart for treating dysc

Appreciation and gratitude   I was at an office one time where the doctor made a big deal out of listening to and rewarding his staff. They would have a meeting every Friday morning to review how things were going, what concerns they had, any suggestions, patient comments, and what could be done to improve efficiency.  He made sure they could say whatever was on their minds and took everything into consideration.  If changes needed to be made, they made it happen. Once a month during these meetings, he would hand out bonus checks to those most deserving and praised everyone for their efforts. The attitude of everyone in that office was great.  It’s amazing how far a little extra attention and appreciation will go. What can you do today to show more appreciation and gratitude for those you work with and those you serve?

The "business" of lasers Many physicians and medspa owners are challenged with how to get the most from their lasers and related aesthetic equipment and offerings. I’m available to come to your office for a day to review the “business" of lasers regarding your services. My visit will focus on: Review of the current state of your lasers, equipment, offerings, treatments, and marketing Fine tuning treatments for better results Promoting your services more effectively Analysis and comparison of your equipment verses others in your area Training and motivating the staff Creatively branding your treatments and services  Updates on trends and technologies Providing tips on how to be a better educated consumer when purchasing equipment Addressing any equipment service issues you might have I’ve worked with medical lasers and related aesthetic devices for over 20 years. I’ve been in hundreds of offices and had countless discussions with physicians, office staff,

Choosing the right equipment Many physicians are confused about what type of equipment is best when they want to add additional services to their practice.   When trying to decide, focus on the following issues: Specific types of treatments you want to perform Skin types will you be predominately treating Who will be performing the treatments Return on investment projection Age range if buying used Purchasing budget range Many times the first step is figuring out the budget.   I’ve worked with several physicians who say they want a specific type of system and then after tracking one down they find out it’s not in their price range.   Figure what price and age range you want to stay within and then get approved for financing if needed (I can help with this). This is important because you’ll be able to move more quickly on a prime used system or put you in a stronger negotiating position with a manufacturer for a new system. If you’re limited on

Bass boat Several years ago I was a distributor for a company selling microdermabrasion systems. One day I went to a small town of maybe 9,000 people in southern Louisiana to demonstrate it for a family practice physician who was wanting to expand his services and offer skin care treatments.  His main concern was that the folks there were not going to be willing to pay for a cash-based treatment like this.  I was sitting in the waiting room with the device waiting to go to a treatment room to set it up for the demo when a very nice middle-aged woman sitting across from me asked what it was. I explained how the crystals would get sucked through an opening in the handpiece to exfoliate and this treatment along with a good topical product would rejuvenate the skin. She asked how much the treatment would cost and I said most offices were charging around $125.00 per treatment and most people usually got one a month for 3-4 months and then did a maintenance every few months