Mala McAlpin How often do your clients complain that their consultation is too long? Some of the time, they have a good case to make, but when it comes to collecting information prior to medi treatments, or even advanced facials, unfortunately, that’s just the way it has to be.
Sadly, regardless of how many times you tell clients ‘it’s all important’, plenty will still manage to get frustrated at you at around page 3 or 4. So what are some things you can say to make those clients feel a little better? Here’s a list we prepared earlier:
- The more we know, the better we can treat you, and the better you’ll look and feel afterwards.
- Your results will differ greatly depending on your answer – this way we can give you the best possible outcome.
- We’re so busy nowadays, it’s hard to remember everything – between medication, health conditions and skincare – it’s much easier to remember them all when you’re prompted with a list.
- This is a one-time thing – just get it over and done with, and you’re golden!
- Active ingredients in skincare are potent – not only do we want to achieve the best results, but we don’t want to combine them incorrectly alongside any existing homecare or medication
- There are dozens of ways medication can affect the skin and the body, most of which simply aren’t known by the general public
- There are plenty of health conditions that, in the same way, can interfere with treatment in ways clients simply can’t imagine
- Most people don’t realise that something as small as a fake tan can dramatically effect the results of a laser treatment. Popping it on your consult form can help us save you from some very unsatisfactory results!
- You may think all of your past treatments are irrelevant, but we want to know about them. Did you have an adverse reaction? Did you enjoy it? Why or why not?
- Sure, some clients can’t be fussed responding to questions about how chatty they want to be during their massage…but there are plenty of people that want to specify, and we can’t have a different card for everyone!
- Anything you don’t find relevant, leave it blank and check in with me when you’re done! Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn’t.
- If something goes wrong, we’re sure you would much prefer to be handled by your own doctor (who has your medical history) as opposed to an unfamiliar one.
- If you’re already using products at home to treat a certain skin condition or concern, I can assess whether or not it’s working, or if we need to try something else.
- Getting is right now will save us a lot more time in the future – versus fixing a mistake due to an incomplete consult.
- More questions now means less questions next time!
Of course, if your client is spending more than around 15 minutes on their consultation paperwork, there is a slim chance you may need to cut back! If you feel this might be the case, have a go at consolidating, tweak your design to reduce space and delete unnecessary double ups. If a long consultation process is a must-have, ensure your clients are forewarned, or book in a separate 30 minute consultation timeslot.
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