Posted on November 6, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
The importance of the Team Meeting cannot be overemphasized in running a successful business. It is essential to insure that your patients are receiving the highest quality of care and your creating a sustainable business through maximizing your greatest asset, your team.
At a minimum you should have monthly team meetings. A typical agenda should always include the following:
- Report of the state of the business: last month sales as it compared to your budget and previous year.
- Goal setting for the upcoming month.
- General Housekeeping items i.e. remember to close the staff room door, how to use the new time clock, etc.
- Training component: arrange for a vendor training/re-training or do a clinical training on a new procedure.
- Communication: upcoming advertising, website updates, next month’s promotions, changes to the incentive program, etc.
For a stabilized business we recommend monthly meetings but if your business is in transition: turnaround, relocation, etc. then your team meetings should be bi-monthly.
Each meeting should be opened by the leader of the group i.e. physician owner, medical director or CEO (remember you are the cultural leader) and then portions of the meeting can be handled by management i.e. practice manager, sales manager, controller.
Work hard to make them interesting and always provide information that is important for everyone to do their job successfully, that way you will have better attendance. Remember, even though you make the meetings mandatory, someone could always call in sick.
FXA
Filed under: Human Resources | Tagged: medspa consultants, medical spa consultants, cosmetic medical practice human resources, cosmetic medical practice consultants | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 3, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
When your reception team has great telephone skills they are your strongest sales force, brand champions and your business’ greatest public ambassadors. Recognizing this fact, many years ago, I decided to analyze what are the elements that create great telephone skills.
That was when I developed PIVT: The 4 Basics to Successful Telephone Skills. PIVT is an acronym for the 4 basic (yet necessary) phone techniques that make for a great phone presence. PIVT stands for:
P: Pace
I: Inflection
V: Volume
T: Tone
It sounds simple, but in order to do it right, your reception team must first practice and then always be aware of their PIVT. This is the level of detail you need to instill in your team in order to build your business better.
FXA
Filed under: Human Resources, Operations | Tagged: cosmetic medical consultants, cosmetic medical practice phone skills, telephone skills medspas | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 31, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
We live in the “Instant Age” with e-mail, tweets, wall posts, IMs, text messages, and voice mail. It is fast and exciting to be able to communicate so quickly and efficiently with each other and our customers. The only problem is that it tends to condition us to think that everything should be so instant in business.
Brenda Palumbo, Acara’s VP of Operations is always the first to remind me that a sustainable business is built over time and grows incrementally. Overnight success is for movie stars and hot trendy restaurants not medical practices and medspas. Just because we use many of the immediate forms of communication developed in the Instant Age it doesn’t mean that our businesses will be (nor should be) “instant”.
When implementing our marketing programs the prudent business owner needs to be watchful of the trends over time. Whether your business is currently failing, in need of a business boost or attempting to reach the next level there is no instant fix to the problem, a problem that most likely took many months if not years to create.
Like the turtle, slow and steady wins the race…even in business.
FXA
Filed under: General Business, Turnaround | Tagged: aeshtetic medical success, business strategy, cosmetic practice success, medical practice consulting | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 29, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
One interesting aspect of analyzing so many cosmetic medical practices throughout the country is that we are able to observe and compare the various company cultures and their impact on the success or failure of a business.
One important point that everyone in business needs to understand is that the leader of an organization drives the company’s culture. Interestingly enough, the leader that is identified on an organizational chart (oftentimes a physician owner) is not necessarily the real leader of the organization. I’m sure you’re wondering what I mean by that statement.
Well, it is important to realize that every company has a formal organizational structure and an informal organizational structure. The one that counts is the informal structure…that’s what drives the business. For example: just changing company policy on paper will not necessarily have any impact unless the informal leader not just the formal leader embraces the change.
Too often we see leadership abdicated to individuals that may or may not have the best interest of the practice at heart. Team members, especially in these economic times, will usually place their personal interests above those of the company and that is understandable however, it is essential that on-site ownership hold the key leadership position with the team.
It’s ok to share this leadership with a manager but never wash your hands of this one very important responsibility.
Understand that when you embrace your role as the leader of your business, you will have the impact that you want and you will dictate the company culture. It will become a reflection of who you are as a leader. This means making the tough decision along with the fun ones.
FXA
As an aside to this post: Always align your management compensation including salary, benefits, commissions, incentives and bonuses with the interests of the practice. This will insure that their personal interests are aligned with your business interests.
Filed under: General Business, Human Resources | Tagged: cosmetic practice managent, leadership | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 16, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
My apologies for being quiet these past 30 days…it’s been that long since my last post. Acara has been busy business boosting (our phrase for increasing revenue and profit) many Cosmetic Medical Practices throughout the US.
I’m going to take a moment to brag; and since it’s bragging about my team and the great work they do, I don’t feel too guilty. In the past 21 days 3 of our clients have held educational events (which we planned and supported as part of their marketing program) that achieved between $20K – $50K in sales. In one case increasing the monthly revenue by 4 times their average.
We are able to accomplish these types of results because Acara has one of the best teams of operations, sales and marketing experts in the country with experience boosting business for over 60 cosmetic practices/medspas.
Now, I have to tell you, that we know our limitations. We are only the provider of the success tools. What really boosts business is the physicians’ and their teams’ passion, drive and ability to implement the Acara tools. When our clients embrace everything that we preach and provide they succeed.
Thus, congratulations are due to our clients for their great performances these past 21 days! It makes the entire Acara team proud to see their successes.
FXA
Filed under: General Business | Tagged: cosmetic practice success, medical spa consultants, medspa success | 2 Comments »
Posted on September 10, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
It looks like Syneron and Candela, two of the top cosmetic laser companies in the world, will become one. Not sure wh
at this will mean to physicians and medical spas but I will be watching as it all unfolds and keep you posted. The deal isn’t anticipated to close until the end of the year so this will be of interest in 2010.
Check it out here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090909005641/en
FXA
Filed under: Equipment | Tagged: candela, cosmetic lasers, lasers, syneron | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 4, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
Most of the time when a new medical device is being added to a Practice, the physician and team do a tremendous amount of research on the technology, the efficacy and the outcomes for the procedures. But what doesn’t happen is the research to determine if they will be successful implementing and launching the new servcies into their market. An
expensive piece of equipment is not a “field of dreams”, an “if you add it they will come” approach will only produce minimal sales results.
When launching a new service it is necessary to conduct a certain amount of internal and external analysis.
The internal analysis should includes:
- Checking facility requirements (space, electrical, lighting, HVAC)
- Insuring your ability to secure financing
- Reviewing staffing and training needs
- Assessing your Practice’s ability to develop and launch a marketing plan
The external analysis is somewhat more complex and should include:
- Identifying the size of your market
- Conducting competitive analysis (including pricing review)
- Assessing your market’s potential
- Estimating sales projections
In today’s ever changing world of cosmetic medicine, the Acara team truly believes that an Aesthetic Medical Practice or Medical Spa needs to stay on trend and thus be adding new services on an as needed basis. For sustainable success, it is important to be the “first mover” in your market with new services. Don’t be the “competitive responder”, the practice that is adding the service because everyone else is now offering it.
There is inherently more risk with this approach but as they say in business “the greater the risk the greater the reward”.
FXA
Filed under: Equipment, General Business | Tagged: Acara, medical spa consultants, medspa business, medspa consultants, medspa consulting, prolipo plus, sciton, spa consultants, spa industry, zerona | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 26, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
I know what I’m about to say sounds like a sales pitch for a bank, but honestly Acara has no connection to any bank, we are just excited about Bank of America’s financing program for physicians. 
Bank of America has a financing package that is very attractive for Medical Spas and Aesthetic Medical Practices. It is a simple interest loan (with a quick approval and short form application) with attractive interest rates that are much better than any lease available.
The real beauty about it is that you can finance equipment purchases either for 5, 7 or 10 years. Unlike a lease, if you want to pay it back early, there are no prepayment penalties. If you attempt to pay back a lease early the lease company charges you the monthly lease amount times the number of months remaining on the lease. Thus extreme pre-payment penalties.
If you’re seeking to expand your practice or medical spa with new technology or develop a new location, call me and we can discuss Acara’s services, and I would be more than happy to connect you to a Bank of America contact.
FXA
Filed under: Equipment, General Business | Tagged: aesthetic medical practice, aesthetic medical practice financing, medical practice financing, medspa development, medspa financing, open a medspa | 2 Comments »
Posted on August 21, 2009 by Francis X Acunzo
Every Aesthetic Medical Practice and Medical Spa needs to have an experienced Health-care Attorney to support their business. With the ever changing regulatory environment, the difficulties of navigating today’s employment laws, and the complicated corporate structures it is essential to have expert legal advice available to you at all times.
Here is a short list (though not a complete list)
of what you need legal support for:
- Insure that you have the correct Corporate Structure that meets all laws and regulations
- Preparation of Partnership Agreements, and Buy/Sell Agreements
- Review of your Employee Handbook to insure compliance with federal and state labor laws
- Advice on Employee issues i.e. disciplinary actions, terminations, new employee policies
- Developing your Employment Contracts, Confidentiality and Non-compete Agreements
- Review of Advertising and Promotions to insure regulatory compliance
- Review of all Real Estate Leases
- Review of long-term contracts including but not limited to: equipment leases, service agreements, etc.
FXA
Filed under: General Business, Legal & Regulatory, Risk Management | Tagged: aesthetic medical practice legal, medical spa consultants, medical spa consultants - acara, medical spa legal, medical spa regulatory, medspa consultants, medspa consultants - acara, medspa legal, medspa regulatory | 3 Comments »
Posted on August 13, 2009 by debraroberts
Today successful cosmetic practices and businesses need a complete approach to online marketing. A website just doesn’t cut it anymore – you need a well planned strategy to reach and retain your target audience.
The Social Media World of a Cosmetic Practice or Medical Spa
Follow Acara’s Essential Marketing Steps:
- Attract: Drive quality patients to your website.
- How? SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click advertising), Directories, Customer Reviews, Blogging, Social Media, PR, Video
- Retain: Keep the conversation going after prospective patients / clients have left your site.
- How? Email Marketing, Social Media, Video, PR
- Convert: Get visitors to take action while on your site.
- How? Phone Number on Every Page of Site, Lead Capture Form
- Measure: Analyze your traffic. Adjust and improve as needed for optimal results.
- How? Track with Google Analytics
What works for you? Share your tips… and feel free to contact us if you need help with your online marketing strategy.
– Deb
Filed under: General Business, Marketing | Tagged: aesthetic marketing, dermatologist marketing, internet marketing, Marketing, medical practice marketing, medical spa marketing, plastic surgeon marketing, Social Media, website traffic | 1 Comment »
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