Aesthetic business development and revenue generation expert Vanessa Bird explains how to make conversions count.
Doesn’t everyone know how to turn enquiries and leads into bookings? Ask any clinic and the answer will probably be yes.
However, dig a litter deeper, identify quieter times, idling devices or even empty diaries and the answer becomes a resounding no.
The main driver for growth in a successful aesthetic clinic is new patients. Perhaps patients refer friends and family, or maybe you invest in pay-per-click advertising, social media campaigns or SEO?
Whatever your preferred method, when done successfully, they generate enquiries and leads for your clinic.
Enquiries and leads should then easily convert into consultations and bookings, keeping the clinic diary full and generating revenue you can reinvest back into your business for growth.
Yet not everyone has success with this, and often clinic owners are left feeling frustrated and out of pocket have spent a lot of money on advertising and marketing campaigns.
So, how do you develop the necessary skills needed to maximise conversions, get a return on your advertising investment and ultimately drive growth for the clinic? You learn how to improve your conversion rates.
A mindset shift
It all starts with mindset and attitude. People tend to have two main fears when it comes to dealing with enquiries and leads.
Let’s start by looking at the ‘fear’ of selling or being seen as pushy. We often think of selling as a very negative, unethical thing, mostly because we only tend to remember bad experiences of being sold to. What people fail to realise is that we are being sold to, in one way or another, every single day of our lives and a lot of the time, when done well, it’s extremely enjoyable.
Think of a time when you have purchased your dream handbag, car, or holiday. You will have had a conversation with the assistant, told them what you want and then they asked you a few more questions before helping you select something that was perfect for you.
The result? You walked away incredibly happy having enjoyed every second of buying something. That is also selling and it is a very positive experience.
The second fear people have is the fear of speaking to someone they don’t know and feeling like they are ‘bothering ’ that person. Having to contact someone new can feel quite challenging.
The good news is, you can change your mind set on both of these thoughts by following the guidance below. By reframing selling as helping, and by using some effective, no-pressure techniques, you can increase the likelihood of converting enquiries into bookings, helping people access treatments that change their lives
Update your team
First and foremost, what is generating leads and enquiries for you? It is vital that every single member of your team is aware of any promotions or advertisements you are running at any one time.
Unless your team are prepared, how can they successfully answer enquiries or calls with confidence from people who have seen your advertisement or noticed a promotion?
Ensure your team are up to date and use weekly meetings to make sure they know how to answer questions about the treatment, the payment options or even the terms and conditions of the advert. There’s nothing more frustrating than enquiring about something only to find the clinic team don’t know anything about it. It doesn’t make the clinic look professional and it’s very unlikely these poorly-handled enquiries will convert into a consultation.
Knowing the details of campaigns, adverts or promotions means your team can effectively deal with enquiries, which automatically makes them appear more credible in the eyes of the prospect. The more credibility you have, the easier it is to convert leads into bookings.
Speed matters
Leads have a limited window of opportunity after their initial interaction/enquiry.
According to a study on lead response time done by the Harvard Business Review*, many companies are too slow following up on leads. The study outlined that companies that responded to leads within the first hour of receiving them were seven times more likely to have a meaningful conversation than those who took longer.
The average lead response time is over four hours, highlighting a significant opportunity for you to stand out from your competition by prioritising a fast response time.
The ideal time for contacting a lead is within five minutes of receiving it, so the longer you wait to respond the more likely the lead will lose interest or find a competitor who responds faster. Become more responsive and enhance your conversion rates!
Why qualifying interest levels matter
If you’re using a lead generation company, you may have been told that any leads generated have automatically been ‘qualified’. This means the person enquiring or responding to the advert or campaign has been screened and deemed to fit the profile of your ideal customer.
However, not all Lead Generation companies are equal. If you’re promised a guaranteed number of qualified leads per day for a low fee or your ‘money back’, think twice about investing your hard-earned cash as they are unlikely to qualify the leads properly, leading to frustration and failed attempts at converting them.
Always ensure you use a reputable and experienced Lead Generation company who have many years’ experience working in aesthetics and understand how to qualify leads properly. If you’re not using a lead generation company and your website SEO is working well, you’re running campaigns or receiving word of mouth recommendations, it’s important to know how to qualify the leads they generate.
Failure to do so could mean you waste valuable staff time and effort following up people who never really intended to book in with you, nor could afford your treatments.
Try and qualify leads within the first couple of minutes of a call. A simple way to do this is to use the cold, warm and hot grading system.
Cold leads show minimal to no interest when you reach out, whereas warm leads are potential patients who show interest in your treatments.
Hot Leeds are genuinely interested people who are actively seeking out a solution to a perceived problem or need.
How can you quickly tell the difference? By how they respond to you when you are reaching out to them.
Cold leads may have initially shown interest by filling out a form or clicking on an advert, but may seem disinterested or even surprised when you contact them. Assess these quickly and if there is no actual interest move on. Don’t spend too much time on this type of lead or enquiry.
Warm leads have gone a step further, having signed up for a newsletter, filled out a form or downloaded a fact sheet. These people are worth developing as they are usually in the research and comparison stage. Spend time based on their level of interest. If they are indecisive, suggest a follow-up call or email.
Hot leads are very open in their intent to move forwards, asking specific questions about treatments, pricing or availability. These people should be your priority. Provide detailed information and book them in.
By grading leads based on their level of interest or engagement, your team can prioritise their efforts and focus on those people most likely to convert.
Avoiding time wasters
To avoid time wasters, look out for the following red flags:
- They are unresponsive and don’t respond to calls or emails.
- They are overtly price-sensitive and ask price-focused questions only.
- They are unaware of you or your clinic and appear to have done little research.
- They have vague or uncertain goals meaning they probably lack genuine intent.
- They are reluctant to commit which indicates low interest or readiness to commit.
Asking the right questions
Before you can ask the right questions, you need to listen! This is important so you can understand them better.
Listening helps you gather information about their needs and preferences and shows you are genuinely interested in helping them. Use open-ended questions that allow you to dig deeper and fact-find, encouraging them to open up to you.
Great questions include, “How do you feel we can help you with this?” Or “Would it be helpful if I explained this in more detail?”
Don’t be afraid to ask them what kind of research they’ve done, when they are looking to have the treatments and if they have any further questions.
Don’t forget to personalise your approach by addressing them by name and referencing any previous interactions you’ve had with them. Tailor your message to their specific situation, pain points and preferences. This will show you’ve taken the time to understand their needs and it increases the likelihood of them engaging and booking in.
Dealing with objections
Don’t be afraid of objections; they are very common during the enquiry stage. It’s essential you understand how to handle them confidently and effectively.
Listen actively to their concerns and ask probing questions to uncover the underlying reason behind their hesitation or objection. Sometimes they aren’t ready, they lack information, they don’t think you have a solution, or maybe they misunderstood something.
Always acknowledge their objection as a valid point-this makes them feel heard. Never interrupt and use clarifying questions, so you truly understand why they are hesitant.
Once you understand the reason behind their objection, you can use relevant features and benefits about the treatment tailored to their wants and needs. This builds trust and demonstrates your commitment to their satisfaction.
Price and deposit objections
Let’s get down to price, as this is the most common objection. When you don’t know much about the clinic, the practitioner or the treatment, the only way you can decide is to buy on price.
Remember, people may not understand why you have higher pricing, so it is important to educate them. Price is rarely the real issue and the best way to avoid this is to build value throughout your communication.
Educate the patient about what they are paying for, including, safety, experience levels, pre-post care and anything else that may be included. Make sure they understand the true value of what they are getting and not just the price tag of each treatment you offer.
Break pricing down into tiers, giving plenty of options before recommending they book in for a consultation to receive a personalised quotation. If you offer payment plans, now may be a good time to mention it.
If you are really struggling, consider booking specialist sales training to help you team build confidence when handling price objections.
Close the loop
Once you have overcome their objections it’s time to close the loop by ‘selling ’ the next step. One key thing to remember is that in many instances, the next step is booking them in for a consultation rather than trying to sell them a course of treatments.
It’s easier and more comfortable at this stage to pay a deposit for a consultation than hand over thousands for a treatment. Make sure you’ve agreed on what’s been discussed before attempting to close the loop.
Try the following phrases to move easily towards the booking confirmation: “Shall I check the diary and see what’s available?”, “Would you like your consultation with a nurse or a dermatologist?”, “We’d love to get you booked in while this offer is still available. Would you prefer a morning or afternoon appointment?”
In conclusion...
It is important to be in the mindset of helping to be successful at converting enquiries and leads into bookings.
Make sure every person in the team knows the details of all current promotions, packages or adverts that are currently being used to generate enquiries and leads.
Respond quickly, as this increases the likelihood of converting them into bookings.
Use effective listening and questioning techniques to dig deeper and personalise your solutions to the wants and needs of the person enquiring.
Don’t be afraid of objections; they are a great opportunity to highlight the features and benefits of your clinic and your treatments.
Demonstrate value at each stage of the conversation as this minimises the likelihood of price objections, and if they do occur, remember, price is rarely the real issue.
Close the loop with confidence by moving them onto the next step, which is booking a consultation rather than trying to sell over the phone or by email.
Incorporate regular lead conversion training into your team meetings and remind them of the promotions you have running.
The more successful you are at converting enquiries and leads, the busier you get, and the more revenue you generate, but most importantly of all, you’ll be able to help more people achieve results that truly change lives.
