A patient approaching an aesthetics provider about fat reduction is a big deal. For the patient, expressing a concern regarding the appearance of excess weight can be a very vulnerable experience. In fact, there are countless stories of patients avoiding their annual checkups with their health practitioner for years for fear of fat bias. With approximately 70% of U.S. adults having some degree of excess weight(that’s 200 million people), the fact remains that fighting fat with diet and fitness alone can be a steep uphill battle for many. With patients showing increased preference for less invasive aesthetic options, it seems non-invasive fat reduction and body contouring treatments could offer aesthetics clinics significant opportunities for business growth moving forward.

Of course, any professional treatment provider knows that the patient’s feelings and concerns should always be at the forefront of any aesthetics consult. Keeping this in mind, we’ve created this quick guide to help address your prospective patient’s concerns and respect their vulnerabilities for a more positive fat reduction consultation. There’s a good chance that this approach will play an important role in converting prospective patients into loyal, long-term patients well after achieving effective fat reduction results.

While effective online and creative marketing campaigns can help to draw the attention of prospective patients to your clinic, a positive initial consultation is essential to encouraging patients to commit. It’s not always enough to look good on paper or have the best technology. You also need to know how to effectively communicate with patients to ensure you’re able to recommend the best treatment plan to suit their specific needs. 

To begin, when approaching patients regarding weight concerns, word choice is important. Research notes suggest that most patients prefer addressing fat with the terms “weight” or “BMI,” while avoiding “fat,” “fatness,” “obesity,” and the like. It might seem like a minor detail but prioritizing the use of word choices that are sensitive to a patient’s weight concerns can go a long way in helping to form a more positive first impression with a patient, showing that you respect their feelings and are there to help them feel better about their appearance.

Further, having a conversation regarding the aspects of their body the patient is most sensitive toward and the areas they would like to target with aesthetic treatments can help narrow in on whether a patient is seeking a simple skin tightening solution, targeted cellulite reduction treatments, or a more comprehensive and cutting-edge fat reduction treatment plan. Listen to the terms your patient utilizes to describe the aspects of their appearance that they are unhappy with, take note of the areas in which patients are seeking treatment, and ask about relevant lifestyle factors that may help to inform you of which treatment plan may be best suited to that patient’s goals and lifestyle.

For some patients, you may need to get a little more creative to better achieve their ideal body goals while keeping their expectations in check. To ensure you maintain a positive light on what may be achieved using aesthetic treatments, consider offering patients a tiered treatment plan that includes at-home solutions, your top choice for an aesthetics treatment plan, and complementary treatments that could help take patients’ outcomes to the next level. This helps to offer a nervous patient a few choices that can help ease them into a comprehensive treatment plan.

While recommending treatment options, ensure that you don’t draw negative attention to areas of the body the patient may not have noticed. Instead, focus on positive outcomes and emphasize their freedom to choose the right treatment plan that resonates with them. You could follow this up with a light-hearted explanation on treatments they can take later on. This approach not only helps to convert more patients but can also help build patient retention. Empowering them in their journey to achieve their aesthetic goals builds trust between you, the treatment provider, and the patient. It helps to show that you respect their time with relevant solutions that don’t feel like a sales pitch.

Depending on a patient’s priorities, there are a couple of aesthetic treatment solutions that providers may recommend to achieve the patient’s unique goals.

Patients seeking fat reduction treatments may often point to cellulite specifically, particularly with cellulite impacting 90% of women in the United States. For these patients, cellulite may be addressed without surgery or drastic lifestyle changes using a simple RF-based cellulite reduction treatment plan. Utilizing our non-invasive body-shaping systems, all powered by innovative technology that delivers thermal energy deep below the epidermis via RF energy, fat cells are targeted and destroyed and the appearance of cellulite is improved. Treatment providers may offer customized treatment plans to effectively target your patient’s cellulite, regardless of what stage it is, with no downtime required for the patient. Further still, devices equipped with VariPulse™ technology feature adjustable pulsed suction to enhance the penetration and effectiveness of RF energy by improving the contact surface between the electrodes and targeted tissue. Treatments may also be paired with effective post-treatment topical skin care to further boost and maintain results for a happier patient and a greater patient retention rate

Finally, if a patient expresses concern regarding stubborn fat around the midriff and thighs, non-invasive lipolysis treatments may be a fitting recommendation. An effective solution to excess fat around the abdomen and flanks, non-invasive lipolysis treatments work to reduce focal fat in targeted tissue, resulting in a narrower circumference and a more contoured silhouette along the midsection. In particular, Venus Bliss™ features four diode laser applicators, each containing four tissue-contact sensors, that may be activated individually or placed in configurations along a belt for more complete customization options that work to ensure both patient safety and maximum therapeutic effects. Further, uniform energy distribution is delivered across sapphire crystal to ensure a more balanced heating across the targeted tissue, preventing potential hot spots and allowing increased patient comfort. The result is a reduction in visible fat, a smaller circumference, and a smoother, firmer silhouette.

As with any aesthetics treatment plan, it’s imperative to be honest with patients regarding the kinds of results they might be able to expect. An aesthetics treatment plan should not be regarded as a quick fix. To ensure patients reach their ideal weight loss goals, the topic of post-treatment care should be discussed. While patients should seek out support from their family physician for long-term weight maintenance and a complete physical check-up before taking on any intensive physical activity, there are some ways in which you can support your patient’s long-term happiness with their fat reduction results with some general weight maintenance tips. 

Discussing physical fitness and diet can be a sensitive topic for patients. Rather than discussing the need to work out or outlining a specific regimen that may risk overwhelming patients, approach the conversation of post-treatment care and maintenance by inquiring about some activities the patient enjoys, what their schedule looks like, and how they might encourage more activity throughout their day. An approach like this helps to ensure goals are reasonable and attainable. This is also a good time to discuss potential setbacks and any maintenance treatment details. Busy schedules and the stress of everyday life can pose a lot of difficulties for patients to stick to their goals. Offering patients a brochure including some suggested strategies they might use to sneak in a quick workout and letting them know that maintenance treatment sessions may be needed and are completely normal can reassure patients and help you gain greater trust, respect, and loyalty.

Before you can help prospective patients commit to their weight loss goals, your aesthetics clinic needs to commit to high-quality equipment that can better help deliver those results. A newer addition to the Venus Concept lineup, Venus Bliss™ includes two in-demand, effective modalities in one small footprint, offering your clinic more options to achieve your patients’ goals without the need for additional machines, equipment and maintenance costs, or monthly usage fees—all available with marketing, clinical education, and technical support among other benefits to ensure your clinic’s business success.

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