The Compliance Conversation – Consistency Brings Skin Care Results

Creating a skin care treatment plan is a licensed professional’s responsibility. Part of our job is setting expectations with clients on engaging with your services. Having a process that holds your client accountable will increase your revenue, reduce cancellations and restore joy in your treatment room. Below you will find my 5 step client consultation process that rewards compliant clients with more than just excellent results.

Step 1: Spa Policies

From the first interaction with a new interested client, you should define and list clear boundaries for public access. Spa policies are not intended to correct problems in your operations; they are designed to PREVENT them.

At a minimum, you should have the following policies in place and displayed on your website, set up as an automated email for all appointment confirmations. Additionally, I recommend that my consulting clients have their policies sent as a digital contract requiring signatures from clients so that you have proof of their acknowledgment of your policies.

Contribution by Richard Merrill

Top 10 Spa Policies To Include

1. Online Booking Policy / Credit Card Authorization Policy
2. Cancellation Policy
3. Late Arrival Policy
4. Children Policy
5. Cell Phone Policy
6. Refund/Exchange Policy
7. Right to Refuse Service Policy
8. Duty to Inform Policy
9. Scope of Practice Policy
10. Gift Card Policy

Step 2: The Skin Care Consultation

This is your opportunity to solidify a relationship with your client during the consultation. To garner their trust, you must speak and respond to their primary concerns and provide solutions to just that. The preliminary consultation may be a 15-minute phone call to determine the initial treatment and to secure the first appointment.

Your consultation process should answer three vital questions:

1. Will your treatment plan get the results I want?
2. Will I enjoy the experience?
3. Can I afford your services?

If your consultation does not conclude with clear answers to these three questions closing the sale and getting the commitment will be a much more complicated process to complete. 

PRO TIP: Convert your consultation process into a conversation. Rather than handing your client a clipboard or requiring a digital form to be submitted, plan for ALL of your treatment times to include a 15-minute pre-treatment conversation to speak with your client.

Step 3: The Skin Care Treatment Plan

Once you have completed the initial treatment, it’s time to introduce your client to your professional recommendations, which should include BOTH services and home care. Shifting your mindset away from the sales process and presenting the treatment plan as professional recommendations will boost your client’s decision-making process. This adjustment allows your client to make a formal decision about if the treatment plan is something they are prepared to commit to while giving you the necessary data to know how to budget your time for future engagements with this client.

My recommendation for first-time guests is to recommend a minimum of 6 treatments and five home care products. These initial treatments should be planned 2-3 weeks apart so that you can stay in touch with your client as they incorporate your recommendations and make adjustments over time. In addition, this treatment plan builds a strong rapport between you and your client. 

PRO TIP: You should have every client purchasing a minimum of 15 products. I recommend five products at each appointment. Then, when they reach their 4th appointment, they should re-purchase their initial products from the first appointment and continue the retail cycle. This process spreads their investment over a series of treatments, respects their budget, and prepares them to become long-term retail clients even when treatments fall out of their budget.

Step 4: Overcoming Objections of The Skin Care Treatment Plan

Hearing a client decline your professional recommendations can be frustrating and make us feel like we need to reduce our standard to maintain them as clients. However, did you know that when a client tells you “no,” this indicates valuable data!

No has one of three meanings:

1. I need more information – The client is not confident they will achieve results
2. Now is not a good time for me to invest – The schedule does not permit them to invest in your treatment plan
3. I don’t have the funds to invest today – They are not an ideal client for your business

How can you respond to these objections?

1. Feel, Felt, Found Method: I understand how you feel. Others have felt the same as you. We have found that committing to one another was the best solution to achieving your desired results.
2. During your consultation, you stated that you wished to achieve ___(Enter Desired Outcome)______. Would monthly visits of advanced treatments be better for your schedule?
3. On a scale of 1-10: On a scale of 1-10, if money were not a concern, how likely would you be to invest in achieving your desired outcome today.

Overcoming objections is about gathering the correct data from your potential client to reassure them they are making a sound investment in achieving their goals with you. For example, you may wish to offer single treatments and an alternate home care plan but remember those two components work together to achieve results and should be required of your long-term clients. This does not mean we don’t allow one-off clients to book, but it lets us know their commitment level so we can plan and budget for our growing business.

Step 5: The Fortune is in the Follow-up After Skin Care Treatments

Once you have your client committed to a treatment plan, it is essential to stay in touch with them out of the treatment room. General announcements such as service promotions and product promotions can be scheduled in your email service provider. But automation should never replace real human contact. Schedule an hour in your week to send follow-up phone calls to check in with your client’s progress. A single phone call can exponentially increase your client’s investment in your business.  

PRO TIP: Calculate this time into your cost per treatment to ensure you are compensated for your administrative tasks and maintaining strong client relationships.

In Conclusion

The goal of having this standardized operating procedure pre-planned according to the clients you choose to service is to save you time and increase your financial success as a service provider. As we learned through the closures caused by COVID-19 retail sales can be the lifeblood of our business. This process helps you categorize your clients into one of three categories:

1. Service + Retail: This is the faithfully compliant client looking to achieve tangible results. We will cater our careers to support and gain tremendous success with this client.
2. Retail Only: This client wants to maintain results on a budget and is the most significant financial reward your efforts can achieve. Once they are compliant with home care, they are a form of residual income for your career.
3. Service Only: This client may be looking for a spa experience or fast results but may not be compliant with your recommendations resulting in an inability to achieve desired results. When this client appears, support them but know they will not be your best client.

When you know what category your client falls into, you can confidently make recommendations that cater to their need, reclaim your free time and reduce your stress.

For more support in customizing your business operations to accommodate the compliant client, schedule a complimentary Complete Planning Session with Richard Merrill Consulting today at www.RichardMerrillConsulting.com