Five Reasons Why You Should Charge For Your Consultations
We speak to many practitioners who are concerned about charging for consultations. The common reasons we hear are:
It will put patients off booking with me
I’m worried I’ll get fewer new leads
The beautician doesn’t charge, I’ll lose out to them
New practitioners feel particularly uncomfortable with the idea. Perhaps because you’re fresh from the NHS where there’s no tills or profits to worry about.
Welcome to capitalism! Get used to the idea that your time is valuable. You’re a business and everything you do has a cost - to you. There are few businesses where patients get something for nothing and even private doctors charge for a consult, so why aren’t you?
Five Reasons Why You Should Charge
It helps separate genuinely interested patients from time wasters. If a person is serious about having a treatment, they’ll be prepared to pay for expert advice.
The reason you can charge is that you’ve invested time and money in building up your skills and specialist knowledge. It’s time for you to begin to recoup that investment.
It positions you alongside other professionals such as accountants, solicitors and private healthcare, it immediately elevates you to a premier service.
It’s your time. You need to be remunerated for your time.
It helps to distinguish what you do against non medics.
If you’re really uncomfortable with the idea, you can always redeem the value of the consultation against the cost of future treatments or even consider upping your prices to cover the costs of free consultations.
You’re not a charity. If those consultations don’t convert into a treatment you’re losing money.
Furthermore, it helps cement the idea to the public that Botox and fillers aren’t beauty treatments to be done on a whim. That they require expert consultation and informed consent. By charging your time you’re positioning yourself as a professional who should be valued.
You’ll have fewer time wasters and even if you get fewer enquiries, the ones you do have will have higher intent. It’s a great filter for your patients and protects your time.
