Three clinic owners tell GEORGIA SEAGO about how they chose the right bodycontouring machine for their business, and share their tips on achieving ROI

Body Treatments

The CryoS3 device at London Cryo

Cryosculpt CryoS3 at London Cryo

When Maria Ensabella, director of London Cryo, wanted to take on a cryotherapy device for beauty treatments to sit alongside her full-body cryo chambers, she looked to a brand with a successful international presence. “I watch the trends in the US because they’re big on cryotherapy and the S3 device is doing really well over there,” she says. CryoS3 by Cryosculpture is a cryolipolysis device that performs three treatments – slimming, cellulite reduction and facial toning – without suction, like some other fat-freezing devices.

This was a big selling point for Ensabella. “Many cryo devices use suction cups for slimming, but they’re too big and chunky and can’t reach all the areas. The S3 uses a handset instead and you can easily and comfortably target areas you want to treat,” she says. “I wanted something that looked aesthetically pleasing but was also easy to use.” As a salon or clinic owner, investing in a product or service to offer to clients also means entering into a business relationship with a new supplier. For Ensabella, building a rapport was key.

“When I met the Cryosculpture team I wanted to build a relationship with them and make sure we both understood each other’s vision and could agree a marketing plan. I knew we’d be able to work together well so I went ahead with the device,” she says, adding that the machine gives an “excellent” profit margin, and the revenueshare financing option offered by the brand meant achieving return on investment was less of a financial pressure, requiring zero investment up front. “This helps a lot from a cash flow perspective, as the machine basically pays for itself,” says Ensabella.

Refresh training

Before bringing in the CryoS3, Ensabella refreshed her therapists’ training in upselling, as the device’s slimming treatments require a course of five per area. “Our therapists really believe in what they’re doing so they can upsell effectively, making a sale for a package upon that first introductory treatment,” she says. “I haven’t even had to create any marketing material to encourage clients to book a course”.

Instead, London Cryo focused its efforts on promoting the device on social media and newsletters. “We’ve got a big following online, and because they like what we do anyway and trust us, they were all keen to try the CryoS3,” she says. However, she adds that in order to ensure the device keeps bringing in revenue from repeat business and new client recommendations, it’s important to make sure clients understand that the slimming treatment will only work if they’re willing to diet and exercise at the same time.

Lynton Promax Lipo at Flawless Beauty

Approaching a well-established manufacturer seems like a good bet when taking on an expensive piece of equipment. This is what Lyndsey Tibbett, owner of Flawless Beauty in Normanby, Middlesbrough, did when she decided to expand the clinic’s offer into body contouring.

“We were looking for a trusted company and I’d already been working with Lynton because we have one of its hairremoval lasers. After some research, I found the Promax Lipo had the particular technologies I knew I wanted,” she says.

The Promax Lipo uses bipolar and multipolar radiofrequency, vacuum massage, ultrasonic cavitation and LED technologies to perform inch loss, cellulite reduction and skin-tightening treatments. Tibbett says choosing the device was as much about what she didn’t want as what she did: “We researched a few other options but the Promax stood out because many others had technologies we didn’t need – we already have a fat-freezing device, for example.”

Plan ahead

Tibbett recommends starting promotions for a new machine at least a month before it arrives in clinic to get off to the best possible start. “We started promoting it about four to six weeks before we got it,” she says.

“Lynton sent us lots of marketing information to use so we promoted it on social media. We also got in touch with our fat-freezing clients specifically. It’s perfect for them because they can work on other areas that the fat freezing machine can’t treat.”

Tibbett also wanted to gauge interest in the Promax Lipo; the same reason she decided to lease the machine rather then purchase it outright. “I wanted to see if clients would go for it. It’s a profitable way to do it,” she says.

Despite initial reservations about whether clients would be willing to come in weekly or fortnightly for treatments, Tibbett says keeping photographic records at each appointment secures a commitment. “Showing clients how much the area is changing really helps with return on investment (ROI) because clients will make the time to complete the course once they know it’s working,” she says.

Flawless Beauty offers the treatment of two areas with the Promax Lipo at a reduced price, and for a course of six treatments the client is only charged for five. “This encourages more people to go for the package, and we’ll give them a taster of the skin-tightening treatment on the face too, explains Tibbett. “Most of them like it and upgrade to a facial course.”

The Promax Lipo is one of Flawless Beauty’s best treatments in terms of profitability. Consumables include ultrasound gel and a particular cream for the radiofrequency treatment, but Tibbett says these costs barely come into play.

Her biggest piece of advice for other salon owners trying to decide on a bodycontouring device is to keep in mind that achieving good ROI is about ongoing promotion. “You don’t ever stop pushing it if you want it to pay off,” she says.

3D-lipo 3D-Ultimate at Flawless Body

Pritpal Matharu, owner of Flawless Body in Lincolnshire, wanted a body-contouring machine that combined several technologies and would allow the clinic’s therapists to put together a tailored approach for each client. “We went with the 3D-Ultimate because you can do so much with it – fat freezing, skin tightening, cellulite reduction, cavitation and shockwave – and if you want the best results for clients, you often have to combine different treatments,” says Matharu.

The company behind the device also appealed to Flawless Body, with 3D-lipo offering robust after-sale service and training support. “3D-lipo also has a great presence online and on social media,” says Matharu. “When we were researching devices, we found that a lot of equipment manufacturers didn’t focus much on marketing, but it’s an added bonus because 3D’s celebrity endorsements and advertising bring customers to us.”

This isn’t to say that choosing a machines supplier that invests heavily in marketing for its accounts means you can sit back and expect the money to roll in. Flawless Body created a countdown “teaser” strategy across its own social pages, and also offered discounts and taster sessions at the machine launch party. This multi-pronged approach extends to the clinic’s efforts to ensure its 3D-Ultimate device keeps making the business money, especially as Matharu paid for the machine outright.

“We price by time rather than treatment because each client gets a bespoke plan. So it could be 45, 60 or 90 minutes a week in a course with set prices for the sessions, but the technologies used in each could be different depending on what they need and where they are on their journey,” explains Matharu. This approach also allows therapists to showcase their expertise in putting together and managing a bespoke treatment plan.

Keep a record

Matharu advises building up client case studies and continually analysing what helped achieve those results and what combination of treatments was used, sharing good practice among therapists to raise the machine’s reputation.

“To make a machine successful for you, you have to be upfront with clients when selling them onto courses and understand exactly what they want and whether you can achieve that,” says Matharu. “Don’t promise the earth, and make sure there’s a verbal understanding that the client needs to fully commit to the treatment. They can’t miss a few sessions and expect the full results, for example”.

Treatments with the 3D-Ultimate are “relatively cheap to do” with a good profit margin versus similar platforms on the market, according to Matharu, and he says 3D-lipo was upfront from the beginning about the cost of consumables, albeit low. In general though, he suggests keeping some money aside to get your body-contouring device fixed if anything goes wrong after warranty.