By Terri Ross, Terri Ross Consulting

As a leading sales training expert in the aesthetic industry with vast experience as a medical device sales director managing successful, peak performance teams and generating upwards of $20 million in revenue, one of the questions I get asked most frequently when I conduct staff trainings and seminars across the country is, "Terri, what is the number one thing we can do to increase our practice's revenue?"

Can you guess what it is? Increasing pricing? Cramming in more patients per day? Shortening your consultation allotted time? Selling more expensive product lines or adding more retail products? Hiring more staff?

Those are usually the guesses I hear when I'm out speaking on expert panels at industry events or conducting onsite sales training in cosmetic surgery practices and medical spas around the country.

However, investing in powerful sales training for your team is the most overlooked strategy to increase your practice's revenue, conversion rates and retention rates—whether you are in the process of launching your practice or are wanting to scale your current practice.

Understanding the Patient Journey

Sales and customer service are at the core of any successful business. The aesthetics patient is smart, savvy, educated and has a lot of choices when choosing one practice over another. Having a well-trained, knowledgeable and professional team is the difference between "good" and "great."

It is critical to understand the importance of the patient journey and how each phase represents a distinct opportunity to provide high-quality patient care and ensure a positive, memorable customer service experience.

Approximately 52% of patient leads come from finding your website online, 25% are referrals from other patients, and the other 25% come from social media, other referring sites, other physicians or paid advertising.

A patient's first point of contact with your practice is the initial phone call. This is your first and probably most important opportunity to make a great first impression.

Here are some questions to consider when evaluating how your staff is answering phone calls:

• What kind of tone and attitude are they conveying with their voices?
• Are they knowledgeable? Can they answer all of a prospective patient's questions?
• How well-trained are your team members on all procedures you perform and the products you use?
• Can your staff easily explain why your practice stands out from the competition? In other words, can they answer "Why choose us?"
• How solution-focused is your staff and how well-versed are they on the outcomes and benefits of each procedure?
• Can your staff confidently navigate questions regarding pricing and potential objections?
• Can they engage in dialogue to ask questions, rather than simply answering with a yes or no?
• Are they making sure all of the prospects' questions are answered?
• Are they engaging in active/intuitive listening—hearing potential concerns behind the surface question?
• Are they offering to schedule a consultation appointment to every caller?
• What is their conversion rate for turning phone leads into consultation appointments?

I'e created a free e-book resource that specifically focuses on this subject. Click here to download your free copy of The 13 Critical Components of a Successful Phone Call. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to set up a strategy session with me on this critical aspect of the art of sales.

Scheduling a Consultation

The goal of each patient inquiry should end with a call to action. Potential clients want to know the next step to take, even if they don't verbalize that. Your team should always offer a clear path and call to action to schedule an appointment for a consultation.

The initial phone call is critical to book a consultation, which is an opportunity to convert a patient to a paying procedure.

Here are some questions for evaluating your staff's ability to capture all the relevant information needed:

• Are they gathering complete patient information, including name, referral source, best contact information, email, phone number, procedures they are interested in, address, zip code, date of birth, gender, concerns or any specific notes?
• Are they following up with appointment reminders via text and phone calls?
• Do they explain your cancellation policy and fee?
• Are they taking credit card information to keep on file to reduce no-show rates?

If you are like most physicians, you are so busy working in your practice and using your gifts to perform highly skilled procedures that you may often overlook the critical component of working on your practice and training your front office sales team.

That is why it is vital to give your own practice a checkup. Scheduling one to three more patients a day for consultations could translate into $50,000 to $100,000 more a month.

Isn't that worth the investment in sales training?

Even if your practice has not launched yet, now is the time to invest in expert sales training to start out on the right track.

Your front office team can easily be trained to be your most efficient, revenue-generating sales force, and as a clinical provider, your consultations can improve drastically for a better patient experience.

Remember, I'm here to help you make your practice thrive. If you would like to schedule a call to see how expert sales training can generate more revenue for your practice, please fill out this discovery questionnaire, and I will be happy to connect with you.

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.