Price and Value: How to Sell Treatments

Before offering any cosmetic service, you need to answer 6 fundamental questions:

No. 1. WHO are our patients who will benefit from this procedure?

No. 2. WHO are our competitors?

No. 3. WHY do our patients need this procedure?

No. 4. WHAT motivates patients to undergo this procedure with us?

No. 5. WHY may our patients choose a competitor: another procedure or another clinic?

No. 6. WHAT should the doctor or clinic do additionally to ensure that the sale of the service takes place?

Based on this, in order for the patient to tell you: “YES!”, you must perform the following steps:

• demonstrate the capabilities, strengths and advantages of the technology/drug/device/product;
• help the patient realize the potential of the procedure to improve the quality of his life;
• create a suitable emotional atmosphere during interaction.

Doctor = NON-salesman!

Why can some cosmetologists successfully promote and sell aesthetic services, while others cannot? One of the reasons lies in the field of psychology and is that the specialist is hampered by internal attitudes. It’s as if the doctor’s head turns on a “stop light” even when he just needs to tell his followers on social networks or patients during consultations about his favorite procedure.

Agree that medical workers often have negative associations with the word “sale,” such as:

• "selling is bad"
• “You are selling, which means you are selling”
• “I don’t want to be a huckster”
• “You can’t earn a lot of money by honest work”
• “a good doctor should not be a salesman”
• “I only want to carry out procedures, and not engage in trade...”

But in fact, patients think completely the opposite about cosmetologists, namely, that cosmetologists are:

• doctors who give YOUTH and BEAUTY;
• real RESCUERS against acne and wrinkles;
• specialists who master the MAGIC OF REJUVENATION;
• FAIRIES – WIZARDS – and in fact, “fulfillers” of people’s desires to preserve young skin longer and avoid the unpleasant aging process;
• PSYCHOTHERAPISTS who restore attractiveness, and, as a result, a positive attitude towards oneself and high self-esteem;
• doctors who are able to change a person not only externally, but also internally, help to become more self-confident and HAPPIER.

Thus, a paradox of negative and positive attitudes arises, since it turns out that the doctor’s opinion about himself and the patient’s opinion about the doctor are diametrically opposed in content (“huckster” and “fairy”).

How can a cosmetologist combat negative attitudes? You can use a simple method of psychological self-help: think about the question: “What am I doing good as a specialist when I offer and perform cosmetic procedures?

1. For the patient? (for example, I restore youth, remove wrinkles, increase self-confidence, etc.)
2. For myself? (for example, I demonstrate my professionalism, share my experience and knowledge about the best procedures, talk about my favorite techniques, increase revenue, earn money to fulfill my dreams, etc.)
3. For the clinic? (for example, I present new products, strengthen the reputation of the clinic, bring money to the cash register, etc.)

And then formulate and write down 10 reasons for each point. Believe me, there will be many more pros on this list than cons. The purpose of this exercise is to further reveal the mission of the cosmetologist profession and form a positive attitude: “I am a doctor, a specialist who gives people youth and beauty through excellent procedures!”

Sell to yourself first!

In order to promote and sell this or that aesthetic procedure well, you need to love it yourself, and faith in its effectiveness is important.

The problem for many cosmetologists is that the value of certain types of services is not always fully realized by the specialist himself. What risks may arise in this regard?

RISK #1: A doctor who doesn’t believe a service is worth the money is unlikely to be able to sell it effectively.

RISK No. 2: if the doctor does not create the value of the service, then almost any price will be compared not with the value of the service, but with an analogue or with an amount that the patient would not mind spending.

How to create and increase the value of a procedure/product in the “head” of a cosmetologist? In our practice and at master classes, we use the following psychological technique - we ask doctors to honestly write down at least 10 reasons: “Why would I do this procedure for myself/my mother/friend?” This allows you to quickly remove internal resistance and once again realize the advantages of this technique. In addition, the formulated list of 10 points is a ready-made text for a post on social media. networks of a doctor or clinic, which can serve as a “trigger” for subscribers to become interested in the procedure.

How does a patient determine the price of a procedure?

The average person intuitively uses several methods:

- by comparing prices in different clinics;

- with an amount that you don’t mind spending;

- with the cost of the procedure, which, in his opinion, is similar to yours.

But these options do not always “play” in our favor. Moreover, this is rather a losing situation for us, since the patient will begin to compare as best he can. But everything will change dramatically if you connect the value of the service and create a feeling of usefulness, importance and necessity of the procedure in a person’s head.

The law of sales is that VALUE always increases the PRICE of a product, so a winning tactic will be to control the opinion of subscribers or patients: talk in clear language about the advantages of the procedure, the main differences from analogues, report some unique properties and capabilities, share information about your skills in performing the procedure and how satisfied your patients are, etc.

Show your patient the benefits!

The value of the procedure should always outweigh the cost to the patient. We are talking about benefits, the formula of which is understandable to every person at the level of common sense:

BENEFITS = VALUE - COST

What are the benefits? Several main types can be distinguished.

• FINANCIAL (return on investment rate) – when the patient clearly understands the obvious benefit in money: saving money, getting more procedures for the same money, etc.
• STRATEGIC – provide improvements in the long term: higher quality, shorter terms, simpler option, better effect, etc.
• PERSONAL – associated with the level of peace of mind, pleasure, pride of ownership, self-confidence, a sense of success, increased self-esteem, etc.

How to explain financial benefits to patients? What arguments and formulations should you use? Here are a few examples that are relevant both for online communications and for personal communication with a patient.

1. Our clinic has reasonable prices, average for the market.
2. There is a nice discount on this procedure until the end of the month.
3. Gift with purchase. When performing laser resurfacing, you receive biorevitalization absolutely free.
4. Discount for the first visit.
5. A course of procedures at a competitive price.
6. If you pay in advance, the price of the procedure is lower.
7. No hidden fees. You won't have to overpay.
8. Installment or credit is available.
9. Opportunity to participate in a lottery or competition.
10. Loyalty system (cashback, cumulative discount, etc.)

The benefits must be proven!

Modern patients are demanding and spoiled people who need reliable evidence of how your procedure will solve their aesthetic problems and improve their quality of life. And not in some philosophically abstract way, but with the help of specific arguments and facts.

In neuromarketing, there are 4 main ways to convince a person to make a further purchase.

All of the above techniques can be used when promoting aesthetic services, both online (in photo posts, on videos, during live broadcasts, etc.) and offline tools.

For example,

- the patient tells his story: why he turned to the doctor, what procedures were performed, how quickly the result was obtained, etc.;

- the doctor, as an expert, provides information about a common patient problem or some complex clinical case;

- the doctor and the patient discuss together the resolved aesthetic situation, what helped to achieve success, what difficulties there were, etc.

- the cosmetologist performs the procedure for the patient and at the same time presents the benefits of the procedure;

- the patient shares his impressions after the procedure (what it felt like, was it painful, was the cosmetologist’s hand “light”, etc.);

- the doctor briefly retells some scientific research, provides statistics, facts and indicators that can impress the audience;

- a specialist, sitting at the table, expresses his opinion about some procedure and its capabilities, shows the packaging of the drug or the device.

Justify economic efficiency

It is typical for each person to strive for the highest efficiency; for this, he maximizes benefits and minimizes costs, and, therefore, at least in a simplified first approximation, calculates the so-called economic efficiency - this is the ratio of the result obtained and the costs.

One of the most revealing procedures in this regard is laser hair removal. Let's look at an example of how to justify economic efficiency.

CONDITIONAL CALCULATION

Laser hair removal of the upper lip costs 2 thousand rubles in the clinic.

Approximate frequency of execution: 1 time every 1.5 months.

Number of procedures: 6-10

Total: 12-20 thousand rubles. for the full course

The period for achieving the effect is 9-15 months.

Bonus No. 1 (additional argument): with each procedure, unwanted hair becomes less and less, and then its number is reduced to zero.

Bonus No. 2 (additional argument): the comfort of the procedure is above average.

The result is stable: complete hair removal after the course.

Post-effect: no further procedures are required, NO costs.

Waxing of the upper lip in a beauty salon costs 1 thousand rubles.

Frequency: 1 time per 1 month.

Number of procedures: 12 times a year.

Total: 12 thousand rubles annually.

Minus: the level of comfort for the patient is below average, the sensation of a burning touch on the skin.

The result is unstable.

Risk: lifelong procedure, dependency, ongoing costs.

The comparative analysis is presented graphically in Fig. 1.

Conclusions:

• Laser hair removal pays for itself in about 1 year.
• Wax does not pay off and requires constant investment.
• Laser hair removal is economically beneficial for the patient, since he pays once for the course and gets the result.

There are no analogues!

Many experts say that analogues from a sales point of view are a myth. There is no drug or device that has an absolute analogue.

There are always differences due to:

• supplier reputation,
• number of years on the market,
• production conditions,
• quantity and quality of research conducted,
• consumer properties,
• country of origin,
• security,
• etc.

Accordingly, and from the point of view of directly carrying out the procedure itself, there is no absolute analogue: there is always a difference in what qualification the specialist will carry out, according to what protocol, in what clinic, with what level of service, what post-procedure recommendations the cosmetologist will give, whether he will answer questions outside admission framework, etc.

How to communicate the price of the procedure?

Quite often in correspondence in direct messages such a dialogue occurs

PATIENT: Good afternoon! How much does lip contouring cost?

DOCTOR: Good afternoon. 25 t.r.

PATIENT: ... (doesn't write anything else)

This example illustrates a typical communication error when a cosmetologist answers very briefly and immediately names/writes the price without indicating the benefits of the procedure. In this situation, there is a risk that communication with the patient will be lost, the procedure will not be completed, and, as a result, benefits will be lost.

What logic should you follow when answering a sensitive question about money? If the cost of a service is average in the market or higher, then you should not indicate it in the first sentence, so as not to scare away a potential patient. First, it is advisable to briefly talk about the advantages of the service/drug/your qualifications, thereby increasing the value of the procedure, and as a second step it makes sense to name the price. And at the end of the message you can invite for a consultation and/or ask an open question.

Correct dialogue option:

PATIENT: Good afternoon! How much does lip contouring cost?

DOCTOR: Good afternoon, Lyudmila. Thank you for contacting me with this question. Lip correction is one of my favorite procedures, which I have been successfully performing on my patients for 10 years. I was trained by an international expert in the field of injection cosmetology. My basic principles are harmony, naturalness and maximum safety. That is why I use only high-quality products from the {name} line, because the health, beauty and trust of my patients are above all else for me. The cost of the procedure is from…. thousand roubles. depending on the volume of the drug.

PATIENT: Thank you for your detailed answer. In principle, I'm interested. I will think.

DOCTOR: We can discuss all the details during a free consultation. I will be glad to invite you to our clinic. When is it more convenient for you?

PATIENT: Next week.

As you can see, this dialogue did not end with one phrase. The doctor convincingly, without psychological pressure or manipulation, managed to talk about his principles of work and, thereby, aroused trust. Next, he competently justified the pricing for the lip contouring procedure. Result - the patient agreed to come for a consultation.