Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, we're talking with Brandy Hart from Dallas, Texas, where she has a medspa that specializes in helping people with Botox, fillers, facials, and all things beauty.
We had a really great conversation. They're a relatively new company, they're growing quickly and are really doing a great job of getting and building an enthusiastic clientele, so we talked about some referral and 'before unit' strategies to bring in new people in an affordable way. A way that treats the leads as a capital investment.
You've probably heard me talk about this way of thinking a lot, and this is the perfect example of how it applies, so you're going to really enjoy this episode.
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Transcript - More Cheese Less Whiskers 195
Dean: We've got Brandy. Hello, how are you?
Brandy: I'm doing well, how are you?
Dean: I'm fantastic. I'm here in Florida, hunkered down safe from COVID, and ready to hatch some evil schemes.
Brandy: I like that.
Dean: How about you?
Brandy: I'm here in Dallas at the office, also ready to hatch some evil scheme.
Dean: Okay, perfect. So, tell me about what you've got going on, and the story, and then what we're going to focus on.
Brandy: Okay, so I've been in medical aesthetics for eight years, and before I was just... I was in California. I moved to Texas a few years ago to marry Dr. Bacchier, who is a neurosurgeon who said when I got... And I'd never ran a business before... When I got here, he said, "Let's open a spa."
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: And I said, "I don't know anything about running a business." And so he had someone running the business who was not doing very well, so then... And I was just going to do the treatments, lasers, whatever, and then I'll put that in. That didn't go so well, so six months down the line we got rid of that guy, now I'm doing everything. But I have never run a business before. However, things are good, going much better than when the other guy was running it.
Dean: Oh, that's good-
Brandy: So-
Dean: ... okay.
Brandy: ... so I guess... But I'm still not even making my expenses very much. So I'd like to at least start by hitting my expenses, and then making a profit. Of course.
Dean: Okay, that sounds like a good plan. What kind of - you do, or what's your - on the menu for you guys?
Brandy: So we do injectables, which are like, we do Botox, fillers, I do have a full-time injector who's freaking amazing, which I jumped at a few months ago. We do chemical peels, we do lasers, microneedling, all that stuff that makes you look prettier, younger, all those good things.
Dean: That's good. Okay.
Brandy: But so do... but there is a med spa on every corner in Dallas, Texas. So we also have to... But we are really great in what we do.
Dean: Yes. Okay. And what's your most popular procedure?
Brandy: The facials, which are med spa facials, they're not the relaxing type. So the facials and the Botox are the two most popular.
Dean: And is... yeah, so the facials, it's funny. So my girlfriend has a studio here in Winter Haven called Amazing Brows and Lashes, and she's started adding facials to their mix, now she has a Nano Facial machine and Hydra... Hydra-
Brandy: Oh, she has a HydraFacial, okay.
Dean: She's doing both -. So-
Brandy: You're cutting out a little bit.
Dean: ... this -... Oh boy. It's my... we're getting a hurricane here in Florida, so-
Brandy: Oh, no.
Dean: ... I may have some wifi issues, but hopefully it won't be too bad. Can you hear me now?
Brandy: Yes.
Dean: Will you let me know if I start... if I cut out?
Brandy: I will.
Dean: Okay, good. All right, so there we go. So how many clients do you have right now, if we just take the whole thing, we'll divide into the before unit, the during unit, and the after unit for you. So how many... Have you been in business for a long time, or when did you-
Brandy: Yeah, well we won't even be in business for two... We'll be in business for two years next March.
Dean: Okay, perfect.
Brandy: Was it two?
Dean: So-
Brandy: Let me check. I think I've got about 600 clients?
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: Let me check. Okay. I did not know you were going to ask me this question.
Dean: Oh, come on now.
Brandy: I had no idea. Okay.
Dean: So when we look at-
Brandy: Yeah, let's just say around 600 clients. Let's say around 600.
Dean: Okay, great. And if you look at we're coming up to the end of July here. So if you look at the revenue for July, how much of the revenue came from people who were already in that 600? How much of your day-to-day business is repeat business?
Brandy: You know, a lot was new clients. Actually a lot of them were new clients, because Annette brought on a lot of new clients this month. She's our injector. So-
Dean: Okay.
Brandy:... if I could... Yeah. So I'm not... Okay, let's see here... I'm going to say about 50% new clients came on this month.
Dean: Okay. All right. So that's good to know that about half of your business is coming from repeats, which is... Because that helps you-
Brandy: We have a great repeat business, yeah.
Dean: Okay, perfect. And so, how often are people getting the injectables? About quarterly or?
Brandy: So injectables, we have them coming in. So what I do when people leave is we immediately schedule them another appointment. For facials, one month out. For laser treatments, one month out. For injectables, if it's Botox, three months out, and for the fillers, six months out. So we can always schedule them another appointment.
Dean: Okay. And they all was kind of... So part of this whole business is really about building your lifetime relationship with these people.
Brandy: Right.
Dean: Right. And so, that's all part of it. You've got a very... most of the revenue is going to be in the long-term, the longer that you go with somebody. Right? Which is good news on the front end, because you can afford to spend, to invest more to get new people to come in knowing that you're going to convert them to the long-term. Right? So that's a really great thing.
Now, when you look at your methods of bringing people in in the new people, what have you been doing to get the new people?
Brandy: So all my clients that come in, we haven't spent a dime on advertising, mainly because we don't have money to spend on advertising. We're not even hitting our expenses. So their referrals, their... I do have some people that are influencers who I get free treatment for, which I guess I jumped out of spending money on advertising because they're getting free treatment. Then they refer people to me. Also, our Instagram has been a pretty big deal, we've been getting a lot of new clients from that. But our main business is from referral.
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: And meeting new clients.
Dean: That's perfect. And what are you doing to encourage that, to orchestrate that?
Brandy: They get 25 for... If you refer someone, you get a $25 credit on your account to be used toward in any service.
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: And then we also do where we have a relationship with a really high-end spa in town, where we give all their stylists a discount on our services. They get a great discount, and then they refer clients.
Dean: Yes, I got it. Okay. So if I refer someone to you, let's say I'm coming in and I'm getting... monthly facials, so them getting fillers and whatever. And then I refer someone to you, I get a $25 credit in my account-
Brandy: It automatically, we type it into our system, who we... that the person was referred by so-and-so. And as soon as that person that was referred sends money, it automatically a $25 credit goes into their account.
Dean: Okay. And what does the person who was referred get? Do they get anything for their-
Brandy: - we have new client specials.
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: So if you're a new client you get... I mean, we have amazing new client specials, either 199 for 20 units of Botox and a complementary facial, because once I get them in for the complementary facial, I usually get them on the facial membership. Or we've got the filler special, same thing, complementary facial, I get them for the facial, and get them on the facial membership. And then so the facial is I guess another form of... I know once they get one, almost always they end up getting a membership.
So that's one of the ways we have the new client special. Or, they get $50 off any service, but normally they're going to take the filler or Botox special.
Dean: Okay. And that's, so, one of the interesting things to encourage these kind of things is to almost encourage your clients to gift people. One of the things we've used a lot is gift cards where... So if you're willing to give somebody $50 off on something, $50 off is different psychologically than giving somebody a $50 gift card. And-
Brandy: Oh, I like that.
Dean: Right. But it has the same thing. It also gives your clients the chance to be a hero. They get to give somebody a $50 gift card that's not a $50-off coupon, which obliges them-
Brandy: I like that.
Dean: ... to spend more money. It's like, "Oh, I just got a facial, but now I could give somebody the $50 gift card that makes them look like a hero." Which is really what encourages people to refer in the first place. Right?
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: So if you think about that, that if somebody... if you were to... One of the things, so I have a client, The Mosquito Authority, and they do mosquito control. So they'll come to your house, they'll spray your... treat your hard, and you'll have no more mosquitoes. And then they come back every three weeks to keep all the mosquitoes away. And one of the things we've done is give people a golden ticket, we call it. Where we send a little note with three golden tickets in it and say...
If you're a new client, soon when we come and treat your yard and you come on board, then we send you a note that says basically, "Hey Brandy, let's face it. We've spoiled you. Now that you've had a taste of mosquito-free living, you don't want to be anywhere where there are mosquitoes." So here's three golden tickets to give to any of your friends or wherever you go so that everybody could be mosquito-free. And then it's the... the certificate is for a free mosquito treatment. Which, no cost, no... it's not a coupon or anything, somebody can just come in and use it for the treatment.
But it's a wonderful way to, we call it one of our "yard multipliers." Right? So if I think about that you're for new people that come in, when they join a membership program, for instance, that might be a neat thing is that you give them a thank you note, and give them three gift cards to give to their friends, which would really encourage them.
Brandy: I actually love that idea.
Dean: Yeah, because it's clean. And it encourages, you're not turning them into sales people, you're turning them into gift givers, right? Everybody loves-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... that. Right.
Brandy: I love that-
Dean: And then-
Brandy: ... idea.
Dean: ... the economic difference is zero, because you were willing to give them $50 off anyway. Right? So-
Brandy: Right.
Dean: ... yeah, so it's no change, and I think it would improve your... increase even the number of referrals that you get. But there's also-
Brandy: Yeah, I actually love that idea.
Dean: ...it's also a really great front-end strategy that we, with LUPA, we for... And it's still the front-end thing that we use, they'll build a list of ladies within a 10-mile radius of her studio by offering a $100 gift card for microblading. And so when somebody downloads the gift card, it's like they're putting it in their hope chest kind of thing. You know? They may not be... It's very different than $100 off, if you do microblading before August 15th, or whatever. Right? This is something that sometimes people download the gift card, and it may be a year before they come.
But she's built a list of thousands of ladies in Winter Haven who now are 35 to 65-year-old ladies, who are beauty-interested. And then when she gets a new nano facial machine, or the new hydro machine, she's able to... Every week she sends out an email to this list of thousands of ladies. And every time she sends it out, they get bookings. So you're building this list of prospects when you're doing something like that.
Brandy: Yeah, I love that.
Dean: How many... Do you have a list of unconverted prospects, people who have inquired, who are doing any lead generation, or it's all just referral?
Brandy: Do you know what? We do, as soon as... Well, we have... Yeah, because our system does that. So basically when someone requests about our services, they have to put in their email, they have to do all that. So we immediately put them into our My Aesthetic Pro System, as soon as they inquire about us.
Dean: -Okay. And-
Brandy: But yes, we do.
Dean: ... so how many of those would you have? I mean, how many people would you have-
Brandy: I know that we... well we just kind of group it in with clients-
Dean: Oh okay, so-
Brandy: ... so-
Dean: ... you've got 600 records in your database, some of them-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... are clients, some of them are prospects. I got it.
Brandy: Right. And-
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: ... so whenever, we send out a monthly newsletter, so we just... It goes to everybody.
Dean: Yes. I get it. Okay. And it's monthly that you send out by email?
Brandy: Yeah, we send out a monthly newsletter, and we send out a monthly birthday saying where they get, again, they get $50 off if it's their birthday month and they come in during the month.
Dean: Got it. I gotcha. Okay. And again, so you might be interested to experiment with some of these... with the gift card ideas. Because $50 off-
Brandy: Yeah, I really like the Gift a Friend, I think that's amazing.
Dean: Yeah. Because $50 off doesn't sound like a gift for somebody's birthday.
Brandy: Right.
Dean: Do you know what I mean? It's like there's a different thing. Even though the gift card, the only places they're going to be able to use it is in your spa, and the only place it has value is there. It has no cash value, it's just for services with you. So yeah, but the impact of it is pretty amazing. So this is good. I mean, you've got a... I don't think that beauty category is going away.
Brandy: No.
Dean: It's -.
Brandy: Actually, our last... our best two months in... well, our best month ever was last November. But I mean the two best months we've had were June and July, which is during COVID, based in this June-
Dean: Right.
Brandy: ... this July, which are typically the worst months ever in a med spa.
Dean: Yes.
Brandy: But yeah, we had our two... our second and third-best months.
Dean: - That's awesome.
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: And so when you look at the... when you look at going forward here, one of the things that's going to be pretty important that I would encourage you to do is to get a handle on some of these metrics, to get a handle on-
Brandy: Yeah, I think you're right, obviously.
Dean: ... who's in what category, right?
Brandy: Okay.
Dean: And something that you said that kind of... I want to refrain for you a little bit. Because you said, "We haven't spent any money on advertising yet. And because-
Brandy: Well, what-
Dean: ... we're not meeting our expenses-
Brandy: ... you know what we did in the beginning-
Dean: ... kind of thing.
Brandy: ... and it didn't get us anything. We're spending $2,500 a month on a PR company, we didn't get anything, like nothing.
Dean: Right. Right.
Brandy: So it's all these regular forms of advertising have not seemed to be working-
Dean: Right.
Brandy: ... so... yeah.
Dean: Okay. So yeah, that's what I was thinking, like if you... Because we know this formula now, in terms of... If you can generate... We were getting gift card downloads for a $1.50 or $2 at the most for people to build this list. You target the radius around your spa, the age group that you're most interested in. And when you know that if you're offering, like what we did with LUPA, somebody downloading a gift card for microblading, which is a 4 or $500 service, that $100 off is $100 gift card is the same as 20% or 25% off. Right?
But the psychology of it sounds so different. And all we're doing is exchanging and turning an invisible prospect into a visible prospect. Because anybody on that list would not download that gift card unless they had an intention or an interest in getting microblading. So if you did that same thing with $100 or a $50 or whatever it is gift card for Botox or for a facial, or microneedling, or whatever it is, whatever the topic is, you're only going to build a list of people who are interested in that thing.
And so then that list over time has incredible value, it's one of your greatest assets. And if I can get people to think about lead generation, not advertising, lead generation, as a capital investment, it's a whole different... It's a game changer. Because you are used to capital investment, how much is... I know that these machines that LUPA buys are expensive machines-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... too. Right? But you look at that as a capital investment, knowing that that is going to give you the capability to do these treatments that are going to get you a return on that investment. Right? And so lead generating, if you think about it, that if you could buy right now for $2,000, a list of 1,000 ladies in Dallas within 5 or 10 miles of your studio, or your spa, that are interested in Botox, that would be a valuable investment. Right?
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: And so, yeah I agree that just spending money on advertising, to try and get your name out there and stuff is not the same. But when you frame it into lead generation as a capital investment that you're building this list, if we could build you a list of 1,000 or 2,000 ladies that are there, it's an annuity. It's like that's what drives... I mean, we haven't run the gift card ad all year, but every week outgoes LUPA's emails that have a super signature at the bottom of the emails that always make offers to people.
And so she's able to everything every time she sends them out, we were able to... She gets bookings. And that makes a big difference, right? Because now you control the list. That would be a big competitive advantage that I would be looking for, for you, is to control, to be able to send emails to exactly the right ladies.
Brandy: Yeah, I agree.
Dean: Yeah. So that's pretty exciting. Let's talk a little bit about maybe even orchestrating more referrals there.
Brandy: Okay.
Dean: So how do you get the sense that it's working now? What's a typical scenario of how a referral might happen for you?
Brandy: One thing I'll say is we are amazing at what we do. So a typical referral is somebody comes in here and they end up telling their... I met our injectors second-to-none, our facials are incredible. The lasers we got are top of the line. So basically people come in and they tell their friends, like almost all of our clients are from referrals. So I think it's working pretty well because we up are 200% from last year at this time, and we've been through tornadoes, and-
Dean: Yes, and COVID.
Brandy: ... growth and COVID. So I mean it is working, but I want it booked all the time when I come in. And our injector did just start two... well, we got her full-time just a couple of months ago, but same with her, almost all of her business is referral. I mean, it was amazing. So it's been our best thing, this work actually. And not so much because they're concerned about the $25, it's because they just want us... because we do a really great job.
Dean: Yes, exactly. And that's part of the thing, is I would really almost... yeah, downplay the $25 in a way, that it's not about that. Because sometimes that can be a work in a counter-way that it puts a bounty on their friends in a way, right? That that's kind of a... It takes the thing where what they really want... You look at the whole difference, knowing if somebody was to give somebody a $25 gift card, that's their reward in itself, right? Is getting this psychological... Now that person, they've given something of real value to that person, and it's a big thing.
One of the things that just about the memberships is LUPA has some membership levels where people can share a membership. Some of the ladies might not want to come in every month for a facial, for-
Brandy: We have that, you can use it.
Dean: ... yeah.
Brandy: Send gifts, yes. You can gift one of your services.
Dean: Right, exactly. Okay, so that's good. And that makes people feel good that they don't feel like they're locked in. Or LUPA will let people share it with someone in the actual... almost like a half-membership, you can the gym sell at every-other-month membership, but she'll let two people split a every-month membership. But they have to bring the person. You know?
Brandy: Right.
Dean: So it's... Yeah, so it's still the same thing, because it doesn't make any difference. It's still the same number of facials that they're doing. But it helps push people off the fence or whatever, even after they've hemming or hawing, or if they're not immediately taking the membership. You know? Let them share it with someone. And think, "Oh, okay. Yeah, let me call Jenny. She... Yeah, okay. Let's do that."
Brandy: Yeah, I actually love that. I think that's like a... I love that just because then it gets more people in, and I think people love that, to be able to gift a facial or whatever, a treatment to one of their friends, I think that's a great idea.
Dean: Yes. Okay, because that's... One of the assets that you have is-
Brandy: Right.
Dean: ... of excess capacity. Right? Like if you look at, you're saying you're not fully booked, your incremental cost of doing a treatment is very little compared to what the cost or what you charge for it. Right? So-
Brandy: Right.
Dean: ... the asset that you have is that's valued at the full retail value of it, of what they would pay for. But your actual cost on it is a fraction of that. So using it as an entry point is a great investment. It's multiplying your... leveraging your dollars too, so you get the most when you're doing advertising. So one of the things that is kind of going out to encourage more referrals is to imagine the scenarios where these referrals might be happening. You know?
And I've done a lot of work around referrals in that the way that all referrals happen is through conversation. And that in those conversations, three things have to take place. They have to notice that the conversation is about whatever topic it is, that they notice that it's about Botox or fillers or facials or beauty or whatever it is. They have to think about you, and then they have to introduce you to the person that they had the conversation with. That's how referrals happen. So you imagine they come, they go out for lunch after coming in for a treatment or whatever.
They meet their friend and they say, "What are you doing? Your skin looks radiant." Right? That's probably how it ultimately happens, and they'll go, "Oh, thank you. I just got a facial at the medi spa." And that's happening a lot but they're not telling you that they had that conversation. And maybe that person will call in and make an appointment, but they may not. There's a big difference between them telling somebody, like you probably hear people tell you, "I tell people about you all the time."
And then you look at their-
Brandy: I did, yeah.
Dean: ... you look at their roster, you look at their record, and it doesn't seem like anybody has come in saying, "Jenny told me about you."
Brandy: Right.
Dean: But they're saying it. "I tell people about you all the time, I'm your biggest advocate." Right? "I'm your biggest fan, I tell everybody."
Brandy: Yes. Yes. We were paying a PR person that said that. We saved them a lot of money.
Dean: Right, but then you looked in your chairs, and there's nobody there from what that is. So what we want to do is make it so that those people, that there's the connection there. So if you say to somebody, one of the quick things is to imagine these high probability conversations that people might be having. Right? And you start to imagine, and I will say to people, "Imagine if you could plant a chip in your client's ears. And when they hear, when the chip hears certain trigger words, it sends a beacon back to head office back to you, and you can listen in on the conversation and whisper in their ear how to turn that into a referral." Right?
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: That would be a very valuable thing. But what we need to do is think is, "What would we program the chip to listen for? What would be the conversations that your clients are probably going to be in?" Like you imagine, where are they having these meetings? Where are they having these conversations? They're at yoga or they're after yoga having a smoothie or a side bowl or something after, because they're sitting there, they're talking about something and Botox comes up. Or, facials come up. Or, any of the treatments or things that you do would come up.
Or they're at lunch, or they're on the playground with other mothers, or they're talking to their friend on the phone. Or whatever it is, you start to imagine all the places where Jenny might be in a conversation. And what those conversations are likely to be, and then you start to imagine, "What would I have, what could we do that would make that more likely to turn into a referral?" So we use a monthly postcard that we send to people, and on the back of the card we have some referral programming. And that's exactly what it is.
Our minds are very programmable, susceptible to messaging. Right? And so when we say to people, "Hey Brandy, just a quick note, in case you hear someone talking about fillers this month," or what would be a thing that would be at certain times of the year? What kind of treatment-
Brandy: Well now - and Dallas are getting ready for all their holiday parties, they're going to start getting ready for all their holiday parties in September. So that, and of course always in Dallas, it's Botox, fillers, anything to make you look younger, so yeah.
Dean: So you talk about that, so you're giving them talking points in a way. Right? So you're saying, "Just a quick note, in case you hear someone talking about Botox, we've got a new something." You may not know that the new thing or the new whatever or something to do with it, I don't know anything about Botox, so.
Brandy: Yeah, the new client special, which is amazing.
Dean: Whatever it is.
Brandy: Showing people who were talking about Botox, and then mention our new client special, which would be... Yeah.
Dean: Well, instead of saying, "Mention the special," which is turning them into a sales person, say... what if you said, "Give me a call or text me, and I'll get you a $25 or a $50 to give them to come in to try."
Brandy: Oh, I like that.
Dean: Right. So now they get to look like a star. Right? They get to be the giver of something wonderful. And-
Brandy: Yeah, I love that.
Dean: Right. And they get to feel like they're important over there. That if they... So one of the things, if you were to say to your clients, "Hey, put this number in your cell phone, and whenever you hear someone talk about... " If they just got a Botox treatment or whatever, somebody asked you about it. Just text this number, if you can have it set up at your... Do you have a receptionist who manages-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... the phone -? Okay, so on the computer screen, you can get a cloud-based texting service, so that people, yeah. So you get a number like that. So just text this number, text me here, and I'll get you a $50 gift card to give them.
Brandy: Okay, I like that.
Dean: So now you're imagining now, so they leave, they go to lunch, they're having a conversation, and they say, "Oh, let me get you a gift card. You've got to try this." And then they text and say, "Hey, this is Jenny, can you text me? Can I get a gift card? I've got a friend who would like to come in. Can you text them right back? Here's the digital gift card that they can now forward to their friends." Now you know that Jenny had somebody. So now you can connect and follow up with Jenny and say, "Hey, who was your friend that is giving the thing, so we can text them?"
Brandy: Yeah, I love that.
Dean: Right, you're connecting the dots. Right?
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: Rather than Jenny coming back in and saying, "I tell everybody about you," but yet, you've got that in you, referrals.
Brandy: And actually you have something to actually give them.
Dean: Yes.
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: And it's net-net no different than what you would have her tell them about, which is your $50 off new client special.
Brandy: Right.
Dean: Right. So that's a... that little subtle shift can be a game-changer, because it'll multiply probably by a factor of five, the number of referrals that you get.
Brandy: Oh yeah, I'm sure.
Dean: Yeah.
Brandy: Oh, I love it.
Dean:So that's good, so the idea would be that each month you could do that same thing. And I look at it as an investment again. Right? Like if you look at it if you had... if you created a beauty series of postcards where it was on one side was valuable beauty tips or beauty information, or something like that, just to send to your... you know, the paying customers. Not everybody, the ones that have given you money, the ones who are in your active client list.
So let's say there's 500 of them that if you're spending $500 in a month to send out those 500 postcards to those people, programming them to pay attention to for one specific conversation, that's going to have a tremendous ROI.
Brandy: Yeah, totally.
Dean: Yeah.
Brandy: I love this, I'm writing things down, sorry.
Dean: Of course, of course. But the good news is we're recording too, so you can listen-
Brandy: I can listen to it again.
Dean: ... you'll listen again and again, because I know 80% of it you're in a trance when your mind goes off on something thinking how it applies. But yeah. You get to listen to that.
Brandy: I like that.
Dean: Right. But that, and to really measure that, like you really want to embrace this idea that you are really running three different businesses, right? You're running your before unit, your during unit, and your after unit. And if you treat them like separate companies in a way, separate divisions with their own sort of metrics and their own PnLs in a way, it helps to really shape it. Like ultimately when you start thinking about your goal for the company? How much revenue could you do in the space that you're in now?
Brandy: Well, I'll just say I used to work in a spa in California that had two injectors, and two aestheticians, and they were doing $155,000 a month. We're not even close to that. And they're overhead with 20,000. So we can do a lot.
Dean: Right.
Brandy: I mean, we should be making a lot of money. We should be... we could do a lot. We should be making a profit.
Dean: Right, okay.
Brandy: We should be paying our bills.
Dean: Yes.
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: So I think that's part of the thing, when you start to look at and measure how are people doing, how is this going in the after-unit? Because that what we're looking for is your return on relationship. Right? So you're saying, "The number-one job of the after-unit is to keep the people that we have coming back again and again and again."
Brandy: And we actually, we're really good at that.
Dean: Yeah?
Brandy: We're really good at that. It's getting the new people in. So even though we get these referrals-
Dean: And then our number two-
Brandy: ... it's not enough.
Dean: ... our number two is to multiply them. That's really the thing, right? And that's where these orchestrated referral strategies happen.
Brandy: Right. I love that.
Dean: Yeah. And it's not just passive and hoping that it happens. Which it sounds like in your during unit is the actual experience that people have is really... is great.
Brandy: Right.
Dean: Yeah, but one of the things that you want to look at there is, what is the... how are we multiplying these new clients, right? When somebody comes in for the first time, what is our... what's our scorecard thing look like for what you could possibly do with someone. You know?
Brandy: Well we do have-
Dean: Like-
Brandy: ... 121 five-star reviews.
Dean: Ah, that's awesome.
Brandy: So I think they're pretty happy when they come in.
Dean: Yes, of course. But I'm talking about the ultimate, the services and the packages and the... when somebody comes in for Botox, let's say what their entry product, their entry is, if they're coming in for an injection, then what next is you're automatically booking them for the next thing. But then what about... for them coming in for a facial, or doing the microneedling, or-
Brandy: Well, when they come in for facials... Yeah.
Dean: Yeah.
Brandy: So with that, we try to get them on the monthly. And then they can also upgrade to more advanced treatment, like the microneedling, like the lasers, or they could do that as a membership. But we're always talking to, like, crossing our services over, talking to them about the other services. So most of our clients, even if they for awhile do one thing, they usually end up trying something else in our box.
Dean: Yes. That's great. And that's what it's all about, right? It's getting those experiences so that you're building everything. And then the fastest way of course to grow is to control the before unit, where your... Right now there are some fixed number of... What's the ideal age range for you?
Brandy: I would say probably 34 to 54.
Dean: Yeah, right. So if you look at the 34 to 54-year-olds, there are some fixed number of them within 10 miles of your... medi spa, right? How far-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... if you were to plot out your... if you were to plot out your... the 600 people, the ones, or however many of them that you have addresses for, how far do people travel to get to you? What would be a... where would 80%-
Brandy: I mean like average?
Dean: ... of them... Yeah.
Brandy: 10 miles.
Dean: Yeah. So you take that radius, and then we just need to get you 10-mile famous, right? In that-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... that you're by far the number-one medi spa on the minds of people in that 10-mile radius. That's all that matters. You don't need all of Dallas, you don't need all of Texas. You need the... you need just that one.
Brandy: Even a five-mile radius, like-
Dean: Right.
Brandy: ... where we're at is amazing. Even five miles would be perfect.
Dean: Perfect. So if you look at that, and if you were to start with the offering the gift card to build the list of people, right? So you're not advertising, hoping that somebody's going to come in. You're advertising with just 100% intention of lead generating, not stimulating people to buy right now. You're doing it to lead generate first. And then of course get whoever's ready to come in right now to come in.
Brandy: Right.
Dean: Yeah. And so there's the thing, the difference is when people often run $50 off, or $100 off things, that they'll advertise that, and they'll use it as a stimulus to try and encourage people to come act now because you're saying, "$100 off before August 15th" or whatever, right? To put a deadline on it, so that people jump into action. And so you'll get some people, but the only people that you get are the ones who are ready right now.
Brandy: Right. So this is basically just download with your card, or-
Dean: Yes.
Brandy: ... we're really... we're just getting their email, their name, all that good stuff-
Dean: That's right.
Brandy: ... and they can use it whenever-
Dean: But inside of that-
Brandy: ... that they needed that lead.
Dean: ... but inside of that group are the people who will come in right now. You're still getting those people, but you're also getting the ones who are very interested in this and will come in. Especially right now, there might be people who are more cautious that they're thinking, "I want to just, but I'm not ready to get back out into the world right now yet."
Brandy: This is Texas, they're ready.
Dean: Yeah, oh okay. Well that's good, there you go. So, yeah, but that makes a big difference. And then, I would look at bumping up your email communications where at least once a week you could send that thing. Send an email that is beauty tips or information, educational stuff. And then always have, your... "Whenever you're ready, here's what to do next." And have your immediate... It's like sending your home page to them every week, so they can click on whatever they're interested in, right? So they can book straight from your email.
Brandy: Yeah, I like that.
Dean: Yeah. I mean what's really interesting, but we send... LUPA will send out an email at the beginning of the month, we always pick one topic. But she'll send out an email that's just a nine-word email saying, "Hi Brandy, would you like to get your eyebrows done this month?" On the first of the month, to everybody. And people will reply and say, "Yes, that sounds great." It's amazing, it's so ridiculous how these things work, or when she did the... She got the new... the Nano Facial machine.
We sent out an email saying, "Hey, I just got this new machine, take a look at this. Here's all the stuff that it does. I want to get some great before and afters, so I need 10 people who can come by to give them a-
Brandy: I like that.
Dean: ... first-offer offer, which we could do it for $100 instead of... ", I think they're... How much are those facials? The Nano Facials.
Brandy: I don't know how much the Nanos are, but mine are 155.
Dean: Oh okay. Yeah. So this... Do the Nanos have the needles? Is that the...
Brandy: Are you talking about the Nano microneedling facial?
Dean: I think so. How... Yeah.
Brandy: I think that's going to be more than $100.
Dean: It's $300, it's on sync with the regular.
Brandy: Yeah, okay. Yeah, that's what we charge, 2.95 for our microneedling.
Dean: There you go, okay. So that's what that is. But she gave it to them for $150 or something, for the 10 people. And now she's got... that jump starts it and she's got... the people know that she has it. They're... she's got before and after some testimonials and whatever from people. So now that just keeps it going. You know? So...
Brandy: I like that, I need befores and afters. But we do a lot through Instagram more so than emails. We've got a big Instagram following.
Dean: Yeah. So does LUPA. That's it.
Brandy: So even to do that on there would probably be a good thing.
Dean: That's why she does it is to show-
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: ... because that way you show it that way. Yeah.
Brandy: Yeah, I like that.
Dean: Yeah. So you've got-
Brandy: I'd love that, actually.
Dean: ... there's so much potential. You've got so much.
Brandy: Yeah, I'm excited to try to step out.
Dean: Yeah, what's the name of your spa?
Brandy: D'Allure Medspa, D-apostrophe-A-L-L-U-R-E Medspa.
Dean: D'Allure Medspa, okay. I love it. So anybody in Dallas listening right now, go get you a facial.
Brandy: We're amazing.
Dean: Yeah.
Brandy: Check out our reviews.
Dean: Oh, I love it. So what else is on your mind or what... Is there anything specifically that you were-
Brandy: No, that's my main thing is one, and, my main thing is that I want to... I don't have a handle on... I want to be able to pay my expenses. I need to... Even when we make money, it seems like as soon as we make it, I'm getting something out. So-
Dean: Right.
Brandy: ... so for me it's like-
Dean: I've got one of those too, yeah.
Brandy: ... I've got to get control, you know what I mean?
Dean: Right.
Brandy: So I did hire a new bookkeeper, we're going over all that in September, so it's three, four months to kind of... But I just want to make money, Dean.
Dean: I guess, yes.
Brandy: It's because, well, we do a great job. We're like doing amazing jobs, but I know it's more than that. But I love these ideas, I think... And you know, even Florida, same thing, it says med spa industry is just very competitive. So it's... I think just getting new people in doing this referral thing, I think it's a great way to go about things, because we do retain our clients once we have them. It's just we've got to get more in for sure.
Dean: Yeah. But you seem very... Are you the face of the... the hostess of the spa, or are you running it as a-
Brandy: I do everything.
Dean: Okay.
Brandy: I am running the spa-
Dean: No, but I mean do you know what I mean though, is that are you presenting as the beauty expert that you're the host of all of this, right?
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: So, I get it. And that's great. And it seems like you're comfortable presenting information. Do you do videos and stuff like that?
Brandy: Yes, we actually have an excellent young girl who started with us who dug our Instagram who's amazing, but yeah, any time we host something of us at the spa, it's like that's always the most popular, for sure.
Dean: Yeah. So I think that adding you and having some videos as part of your follow-up series, you know? You need some kind of the educational stuff that if you think about, like, a really a good framework to think from for a six-month follow-up program is to think about the 10 questions that people always ask you, the most frequently-asked questions?
Brandy: Oh, I like that.
Dean: And just do one a week, answer that question. But then, every other week do it with the 10 questions that people should be asking you, but they're not. Because they don't even know to ask those questions. So you're introducing them something new. You answered all the main questions, but answering the ones that are more important that they should be asking. And then interspersed in there, some of your highlighting your treatments to show what this actually looks like. Like to show the thing in process where people can kind of voyeur in on it and see somebody who's really...
I call them contentamonials where you're kind of using the video to demonstrate what it is. But it wrapped in it, you get the testimonial of the person who's saying, "Wow, my skin feels great," or "I've been coming for these, and every time I come it's this." But it's all in the context of demonstrating or educating how this process works for people.
Brandy: Yeah. I love that.
Dean: And you could do them right from the spa. That's the kind of thing-
Brandy: Right. We, yeah.
Dean: Yeah.
Brandy: I like that-
Dean: Swipe... swipe up for a $50 gift card.
Brandy: I love that.
Dean: Yes. I think that's-
Brandy: I'd agree with that.
Dean: ... yeah, I think that's exciting. I can't wait to see how this all unfolds for you.
Brandy: Yeah, I'm very excited. It's time to put all this stuff to work.
Dean: Yes. So what's your-
Brandy: I think you could... Go ahead?
Dean: ... what's your takeaway, what's the... what kind of-
Brandy: So I think a way that I need to be-
Dean: ... is your insight when you're landed?
Brandy: ... I need to be less passive when it comes to getting new clients in, instead of... I need to reframe it and not think of it as advertising, I need to think of it as lead generation. And as far as the gift... Instead of saying, "You get this offer, you get this offer," which seems like advertising, offering them a gift, or having the clients that come in offer their friends a gift so they look like a hero.
Dean:Yes.
Brandy: So I think that I need to do a lot more work on the before, right?
Dean: Yes.
Brandy: Yeah.
Dean: And I think that's great. And that's kind of a... Yeah, I think that's a great thing. So much potential.
Brandy: I'm excited.
Dean: Yeah. Well let's keep in touch, because I'd love to watch it all unfold, and-
Brandy: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me today.
Dean: ... create a... Yeah.
Brandy: Thank you so much.
Dean: I'm very excited that we got to share.
Brandy: Me too.
Dean: Okay, I will talk to you soon.
Brandy: Thanks Dean. Bye-bye.
Dean: ... bye. And there we have it. Another great episode. Thanks for listening in. If you want to continue the conversation, want to go deeper in how the profit activators can apply to your business, two things you can do. Right now you can go to morecheeselesswhiskers.com, and you can download a copy of the More Cheese Less Whiskers book. And you can listen to the back episodes, of course, if you're just listening here on iTunes.
Secondly, the thing that we talk about in applying all of the eight profit activators are part of the breakthrough DNA process. And you can download a book and a scorecard and watch a video all about the eight profit activators, at breakthroughdna.com. And that's a great place to start the journey in applying this scientific approach to growing your business. That's really the way we think about breakthrough DNA as an operating system that you can overlay on your existing business and immediately look for insights there. So that's it's for this week, have a great week, and we will be back next time with another episode of More Cheese Less Whiskers.