How to Double Your Per-Appointment Revenue (Part 1)

Andrea (00:04):
Well, hi there. I am Andrea Watkins, and if you're listening to this while juggling three patient calls, checking in a couple patients, taking a payment, selling skincare, and trying to catch your doctor in between procedures, you might be working in an aesthetic practice.

Blake (00:18):
And I'm Blake Lucus, and this is PracticeLand. This is not your doctor's podcast.

Heather (00:25):
Welcome back to PracticeLand. I am Heather Hughes Hardy, registered nurse, retired PCC, and you're sometimes host here on the podcast. And today I am joined again by the beloved guest here in Practiceland, Jenna Hennig, experienced nurse injector, an aesthetic sales specialist who has worked in almost every seat in the practice from patient concierge to social media marketing, to clinical nurse, and now a renowned provider and trainer. Welcome back, Jenna.

Jenna (00:50):
Thank you. So happy to be back.

Heather (00:51):
Absolutely. Now, Jenna, you told me that there are two easy peasy, tiny little things that any aesthetic professional can do to boost their revenue generation by 200%. I know I want to know what these tactics are, and if you're listening and you do too, don't worry. Jenna promises not to gate keep it. And today she's actually going to be walking us through exactly what to do, why to do it. And every little part of how to see it through patient after patient to 2X your per appointment revenue, Jenna, loop us in, what are these two easy-peasy, tiny little things?

Jenna (01:26):
Yeah. It's super simple if you just think of it as protect and secure. So number one, you want to help your patient protect their investment with skincare between appointments. And then number two, you want to use payment planning to get service today and then that way they can pay later or make it fit in their budget.

Heather (01:42):
So what makes these the top tactics?

Jenna (01:44):
So these are the quickest and easiest and most easily integrated things to make the biggest difference. And I noticed this when I started really tracking my numbers a year ago, I would say. And I mean, I was doing fine. My schedule was fine. I wasn't being intentional. And so I was like, what if I just went about this a completely different way, shifted a few things, was really intentional about these two items? What would that do for my numbers? And I truly tracked month over month and the revenue for my month sword, my revenue per appointment sword, my revenue per patient sword. And it really just protects you as a provider in the sense of you're not just seeing patients as a revolving door, you're actually nurturing and you're investing in your patients and it's going to give them a better result.

(02:33):
So they then trust you to care for them further later on. But also you're maximizing your time and in maximizing your time, you're maximizing their investment and the results that they're going to get.

Heather (02:46):
Okay. So skincare and payment planning. It sounds pretty simple, but I have to say, and you might agree, I feel like this is something that providers and allied staff alike struggle to consistently execute. Why do you think that is?

Jenna (03:02):
Oh gosh. I think there's a lot of reasons. There's always so much going on in the process that I think it's something that's very, very often forgotten. But even if it is something that you are trying to integrate, it's a hard thing to integrate without feeling salesy or pushy. So that's the number one concern that I'll typically hear from people is like, "I don't want to sound salesy." And it's like, okay, well, we can definitely talk about that because that is not something you ever have to worry about if you're doing it in the right way. The other thing is not being confident in their offerings or their ability to recommend options. If you don't know what their patient's options are, and if you do not ever recommend something that you don't truly think is going to help them. So if you're like, Oh, I know you should probably do retinol.

(03:43):
I'm like, I think we have this one. It might be good for you, but I don't really know, but I think you should probably do retinol. If you don't do your research and know what you have to offer and know why it's going to help them, and then that really alleviates that whole salesy feeling too. Treating it as an afterthought or like someone else's job to go over it. If you always leave it to someone else, then it likely will never get done and you're losing that opportunity. So please don't do that. And then feeling like you're too busy or like, "Oh, I'm doing well enough. I don't need to add this extra step." One, that hurts the patient's result. And then two, I mean, it's all about a comprehensive plan. So it really adds the value to your treatment and your consultation.

Heather (04:18):
When you were first sitting down and you were looking at your numbers, what are the little things that they need to sit down and be like, "Okay, I need to start tracking." You mentioned your monthly revenue, but you mentioned a few other smaller breakdown numbers that you started paying attention to.

Jenna (04:34):
When you're looking at your success metrics, there's a few different things you want to pay attention to. For me, what I did was total sales and I wanted to look at margin too because there's a lot of different things that come into play there. So that's really helpful to know as far as your value that you offer to your practice. And then revenue per hour, because that is the literal amount that you're getting paid per hour for what you're doing, revenue per appointment and revenue per patient. And the reason why I like to break it down in those different categories is say that I'm tracking my patients and I'm like, "Oh man, I saw 10% less patients last month, but my revenue increased." There's a reason why that happened. Those are more engaged patients. I did a better job of my consultations. What was I doing during that time that allowed me to increase my revenue even though my volume went down or maybe I had longer appointments.

(05:25):
It just gives you a lot more information as far as what's working well. And then if you do see a drop in your revenue per patient and you're like, "Oh man, I was really busy. I wasn't focusing on my rebooking or whatever else." It gives you the information that you need to make sure you're staying on track and you're always growing and always being able to serve your patients in the best way that you can.

Heather (05:41):
That makes a ton of sense. Maybe one day you see five patients, another day you see 10 patients and what it's boiling down to. So that kind of gives you some visibility to your capacity, right? But I also like that you said per appointment and per patient, because you might think that those might be the same things, right? But if you have higher retention and you're seeing one patient three times in a month, your per patient revenue's going up and then what are they spending at each of those appointments? That's all one patient with multiple appointments booked. So I really like that you're breaking it down and you're slicing it different ways to really look at it. I feel like this might need to be two parts. So maybe for right now, let's focus on the skincare piece first. And tell me, when should the skincare conversation come into play?

(06:28):
Who owns it? You mentioned it, some people think, oh, maybe it's somebody else's job. Let's think about it from the patient journey standpoint and when does skincare come into play?

Jenna (06:40):
So it's kind of funny that you say this because I'm always fighting for the opportunity because I am not, as a provider, the first one who gets to be at the forefront of this. So every single person has an opportunity and I'm usually third in line or even fourth in line sometimes to be able to take that opportunity. So some examples are if you're the one scheduling the patient, then you could say, "I'm getting you all pitched with nurse Jenna. I know she's so excited to see you. I do see that you bought XY product about three months ago or you needing your refills. I'd be happy to pull some aside so they're ready to go for you when you come to your appointment." Boom. Not only is that a sale for you, they're also like, "Oh, you would do that for me. You're going to pull it for me and whatever else." And then when they're coming in to check in and you're checking them in and that's a great opportunity to have one of your favorite products out there and be like, "Hey, I have you all checked in.

(07:26):
Before you go sit down, I would love to give you a sample of this product." Complimentary, it's one of my favorites and you just opportunity to kind of talk to them about that. If they're sitting in the waiting room and there's a bit of a wait and you strike up a conversation, that's another great time to do it. If you're one of the assistants and you're rooming a patient, that is one of the best times because you're already literally collecting a bunch of information to tell the provider and they know that you're doing that. So as you're collecting that information, you can just go ahead and ask them, "Perfect. And what are you currently using for skincare?" Or if you know that they're a regular skincare product buyer from you, you can say, "Oh, perfect. And I was just reviewing your invoices. It looks like you're due for a refill on this product.

(08:03):
Would you like me to grab that for you? " But that's the perfect time to go ahead and introduce that aspect. Then the provider comes into the room, another perfect opportunity for you to just go over everything with them. And every single appointment, my patients know that I'm going to ask them, "And what are you currently using for skincare?" And then once you're done with their treatment, when you're walking the patient out, that's another great opportunity for you to just check in with the patient and be like, "Okay, perfect. I'm getting you scheduled for your next appointment. How'd your appointment go with the provider? Oh my gosh, your skin's glowing. Have you ever tried this product? Or did they mention any products to you? Do you have any questions about those?" And you're just bringing it back up because maybe I did tell them something like, "Jenna, I don't want that.

(08:40):
" And then you ask, I'm like, "Yeah, she told me I need to start retinol. Oh my gosh, which one did she recommend?" This one. "That's actually the exact one that I use and I love it for X, Y, Z reason. Have you ever tried one before? Strike up the conversation. "So again, everyone, anybody can bring this up. And if you just do it in the sense of making them feel like you're wanting to help them, nobody's going to be like, " Stop asking me about my skincare. "Or if they do make a note and then don't ask them anymore.

Heather (09:07):
I love that you got so granular with it because that was going to be my next question of like, okay, you tell me all the spots I should say it. Now, what do I actually say? So it's so helpful, but I'm curious too, if everybody's integrated and they're like, " Great, everybody's on board. They're all asking about skincare. How do you make sure that this information is not just collected, but also utilized? "Because we've all had our fair share of patients where maybe someone starts the conversation, but there's no clear handoff. And when the next person asks, that's when the patient is like, " Well, I already told someone this. Why don't y'all communicate? "How do you make sure if you're asking at the front desk that the provider's looped in on that or what does that look like to you or what should it look like to you?

Jenna (09:53):
I feel that the best way to do it is just communication. So if you have a front desk individual who checked a patient in and they mentioned that, " Oh yeah, I got this really bad sunburn or whatever else or they talked about a product, the person at the front desk can then text the assistant taking the person back or go tell them real quick or whatever it may be, verbally tell them, Hey, I was just speaking with this patient. They had X, Y, Z concern, or they're interested in X, Y, Z product. "The assistant can then delve further into that with the patient in the room. They can then relay that to the provider. When the provider walks the patient back up, they're going to the front desk," Hey, I have X, Y, Z patient. They are going to purchase XYZ product for X, Y, Z concern with whatever bundle that you're giving them.

(10:32):
"But the whole way you're communicating with the next person in line to care for that patient, so that way they're getting a very cohesive experience. And then it's also an opportunity to build like, " Oh, I know you were talking with Heather at the front desk and you mentioned that you were really struggling with some dryness, so she actually grabbed a product for you that I think would be wonderful. Tell me a little bit more about your skincare routine because I think there's a couple other products that we can maybe simplify your overall routine with that might be actually harming your skin. We can simplify it and make it a little bit easier so that you're really nourishing your skin. "And then that way they're like, " Oh, they told you that? Okay. "And they feel more cared for too.

Heather (11:06):
I like that. Let me find where I can add to simplify. I feel like that is such a smart way to get into it with them, but this kind of sparks the question for me, who really should be recommending a product for a patient? Are the allied staff just meant to get that information to the provider? Or it sounds like maybe they can be recommending and selling all on their own. What are your thoughts around that?

Jenna (11:31):
I think that there's a lot that goes into it. It depends on how you've educated your staff and what your flow looks like personally. I mean, if somebody is coming in and there's a general product that's good for all skin types and they're not expressing a specific concern, if it's a sunscreen or something simple, I think that's totally appropriate for a front desk to recommend. If you're having a conversation as a front desk individual and they're like, " Oh my God, I've been struggling with acne for so long. I tried Proactiv and it worked for a while, but then it bleached my eyebrows and speaking from personal experience and then it becomes a more complex thing, then that's an opportunity to credential be like, oh my gosh, I'm actually going to go mention this to Jenna real quick. I know you're about to see her in a little bit. This is one of her favorite skincare regimens to put together. She actually has struggled with this in the past as well.

(12:22):
So I'm going to make sure that she discusses this with you and your appointment because I really want to make sure we get you a regimen that works well for you. So it is important to know when to hand it off because the last thing you want is somebody recommending something that's not good for their skin and then they come back upset wanting to return a product. And then even though they're not the person prescribing or if someone is recommending something that's not the best fit for them, it does reflect on the practice overall. So knowing when you're outside your range of knowledge base to be able to hand that off.

Heather (12:51):
You've mentioned a few different times we're talking skincare, but we're also talking treatment plans, right? So the patient is not only being prescribed a treatment plan when they're coming into the office, they also get skincare to go along with that. But walk me through like, okay, so a patient comes in with that complex concern and maybe it is fine lines and their go- to thing is Botox for that. How do you turn that into just from a Botox appointment to a comprehensive treatment plan?

Jenna (13:26):
So there's a few different ways. There's a few questions I ask every single patient when I walk into the room. And so I think one of the biggest disservices you can do for your patient is walk in and be like, "Okay, you're here for Botox." And then boom, boom, boom, same areas as last time. Okay, great. And treat them and walk out.

(13:43):
What I typically do is I'll walk in, I'm like, "Okay, great. I see we're doing some neurotoxin today." And I hand them a mirror and I say, "Just to make sure we're still on the same page of helping you achieve your total aesthetic goals and keep you where you want to be, is there anything you see right now when you look in the mirror that you would want to see differently being at your aesthetic goal?" And then usually they'll bring up, "Well, can you put some Botox here because this line really bothers me. " Or like, "I don't know if you can put some here, but that's really been getting on my nerves." And they'll bring up other things and usually they're tying it to whatever you're doing that same day, but it allows you to open up the conversation of like, "Oh yeah, absolutely.

(14:15):
I see what you're talking about. " And honestly, those are some of the most common concerns I hear from patients. Here's what we do for them. The other thing I'll ask them related directly to skincare is as I get ready to start their treatment and I'm like, "Okay, and my usual question, tell me what are you using on your skin right now?" And that's another way of asking it where it's a more open-ended ongoing question, "What are you using right now?" And that way they're not like, you ask me every time, what do I do in my routine, have there been any updates? And it's a more evolving question. And then they can tell you and you can say, "Oh, well, based on what you told me earlier about how you're bothered by this or that, I think this product that you're using maybe make that a little bit worse.

(14:53):
And there's a couple products I'd like to add in or sub out or simplify or whatever to be able to address the direct concerns that you just told me without me having to really probe you for it.

Heather (15:02):
So this kind of leads us to that financial piece because you're highlighting here something really important in that it's the provider's job to make the best recommendation for the patient's expressed needs or desires, but there is a financial cost associated with everything. And again, we've established that what sometimes prevents staff from making these recommendations is a fear of being salesy or pushy, and then we start to worry about the patient's pocketbook.

Jenna (15:33):
Totally. This is one of the biggest blockers I hear from people in the industry.

Heather (15:37):
When you think about your role as a provider, what really is the ethical right choice here? Do you refrain from recommending what you feel would work best and meet the patient's needs out of concern for their finances or do you just completely remove that from your mindset and treat it as purely prescriptive conversation and leave the finances to the patient or is it somewhere in the middle?

Jenna (16:01):
I know that we've had a lot of conversations about this, so I'm curious to know what you think about it.

Heather (16:05):
I love it. Well, I have a pretty strong personal opinion that makes me probably fall right in the middle. And as a nurse myself, it is my opinion that it is our job as clinicians to serve our patients holistically. And that means making the best, most comprehensive recommendations while also having respect and attention to their finances as much as the patient wants us to.

Jenna (16:31):
I couldn't agree more.

Heather (16:32):
Jenna, this has been so enlightening, but I know we are running a little bit tight on time. And so I'm curious, would you join us back again next week just to jump right back in and maybe tackle the second half of this, the 2Xing your revenue and two easy steps?

Jenna (16:45):
Oh my gosh, I would love to.

Heather (16:47):
Okay, perfect. Well, let's tie this up for now on a pause for part one of this easy two part process, what would you say is the key takeaway here when it comes to the skincare treatment planning piece?

Jenna (17:01):
Skincare is non-negotiable, and if you feel like it's hard, find a few products that you really believe can help people and tie it into every single treatment plan and tie it into maintenance. That's the thing. Maintenance is key. These products are helping you maintain your investment.

Heather (17:16):
Amazing. Well, Jenna, thank you so, so much. We're excited to have you again next week, but in the meantime, where can we follow you online for more?

Jenna (17:23):
Yeah, you can find me on Instagram or TikTok at Austin Beautyboss, and then I'm on LinkedIn as Jenna Hennig.

Heather (17:30):
Perfect.

Blake (17:33):
Got a wild customer service story or sticky patient situation? Send us a message or voicemail. If your tale makes it into our she did what segment, we'll send a thank you gift you'll actually love. Promise, no cheap swag here.

Andrea (17:45):
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