By Terri Ross, Terri Ross Consulting

Every aesthetic practice strives to produce great results for patients and have long-term retention rates.

I wish I could tell you that I have magic fairy dust that can be sprinkled on your practice to guarantee success, or that there is one magic formula to magnetize patients and keep them coming back for more.

What I can do is share my roadmap, the "7 Fundamental Components to a 7 Figure Practice," which will help you determine what you want to be known for and how to ensure you'll get there while providing a high-quality, positive patient experience.

1. Vision/mission—Who do you serve? What kind of patients do you want walking through your door? What is your ideal demographic? What are your core values as a practice? Do you have a mission statement? These are all questions to take into consideration so you can determine your ideal client and the level of customer service you provide.
2. Branding/messaging—What does your brand represent? What image does your logo, website, collateral material and office project? Are you a comprehensive practice or do you specialize in a niche market? What is your unique value proposition (UVP)? What makes you stand out from your competition? Why would someone choose your providers or practice over another down the street? Projecting the right image and being able to clearly communicate your UVP and credential both your practice and providers is critical to instilling patient confidence. Patients want to know they are choosing the right place to have their services, procedures and treatments performed.
3. Systems—Choosing the right software systems and technology are key to long-term successful growth. Effective patient management software that enables you to measure key performance indicators is crucial to evaluate where your leads are coming from, your patient conversion rates, profit margins and a host of other important data. Do you have call tracking software in place to evaluate your phone conversion process? What consultation software tools might help boost your conversion rates?
4. Services/treatments—Treatments and services offered fall into six general buckets: laser skin resurfacing, body contouring/fat reduction, skin tightening, injectables, aesthetician services and female/male rejuvenation, with a growing trend in integrative medicine. Taking a hard look at the financial data and choosing the most profitable treatments that yield the best patient results in each category can make a huge difference in the success of your practice.
5. Marketing—Your number one marketing tool is your website. It is either working for you to generate hundreds of new leads each month, or it is ineffective. Your target marketing spend should be about 10% of your total revenue. Your website should be designed with search engine optimization in mind and written and developed by a company with experience in the aesthetic space.
6. Team—Hiring the right team can make or break your practice. Your front desk staff, who answer the phone and greet patients when they arrive, are probably the most critical positions. They will make the first impression to a prospective patient. The experience they provide and the way they make the client feel will either turn them into a patient or turn them away.
7. Training—I cannot emphasize enough the absolute necessity of training your staff. Whether you do it internally or invest in external sales and customer service, training is by far the biggest gap in the industry. The Practice Foundational Elements (PFE) System I teach focuses on training your team in the art of phone skills, converting web leads, consultations that convert (mastering communication, personality styles, handling objections and closing a sale), developing comprehensive treatment plans for patient retention and, perhaps the most overlooked of all, following up.

If you would like more information, need recommendations for my vetted resources, or want to book or learn more about my onsite sales training, please click here.

Terri Ross brings more than 20 years of sales and management experience to the field, having worked with leading-edge medical device companies such as Zeltiq, Medicis, EMD Serono, Merck Schering Plough and Indigo Medical, a surgical division of Johnson.

Ross' vast knowledge and experience as a sales director managing upwards of $20M in revenue and successful teams has allowed her to become a renowned plastic surgery management consultant helping aesthetic practices thrive.

To optimize revenues and business performance, Ross' practice management consulting services help physicians evaluate practice processes including, but not limited to, overall-operating efficiencies, staff skill assessment, customer service and operating efficiency strategies. The goal is to develop a comprehensive plan of action to improve productivity, quality, efficiency and return on investment.