It’s (Almost) Never About the Money

It’s (Almost) Never About the Money

Every consult eventually hits the moment a patient goes quiet — “let me think about it,” or the call that opens with “just tell me what a tummy tuck costs.” How you handle that pause decides whether the patient moves forward or walks out the door. Pulled from the Practiceland vault, we’re bringing you the sharpest objection-handling moments our guests have ever given us, stitched into a single masterclass. Jenna Hennig, Alli Petriella, and Janelle Robinson break down why hesitation is almost always fear, trust, timing, or a missing “yes” from someone at home — and why the price is rarely the real reason a patient stalls. Get the exact language that works: how to ask the right questions before you ever quote a number, how to anchor a price so it lands as a monthly payment instead of a sticker shock, the one gentle sentence that opens the payment-plan conversation without putting a patient’s guard up, what to do when an application comes back denied, and how the words your team uses every day quietly shape the culture of the practice you work in. Questions answered by this episode: 1. What do you say when a patient asks how much a procedure costs? 2. How do you handle price objections in a consultation? 3. How do you talk to patients about payment plans? 4. Why do patients say they need to think about it? 5. How do you present pricing without scaring a patient off? 6. What should the front desk say when someone asks for a price? 7. What do you do when a patient can’t get approved for payment plans? 8. How do you ease a patient’s fear of anesthesia? 9. Should aesthetic practices offer discounts to book patients? 10. What is price anchoring and how does it work? Jenna Hennig, RN Aesthetic Injector, Austin Plastic Surgeon Now a seasoned aesthetic injector, Jenna’s career started in women’s health as an L&D nurse. Her specialties include facial balancing, tackling cellulite, combining different treatments for high-impact results, reducing sweat, melting away fat, and using biostimulators to fight aging and tighten skin. Connect with Jenna on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-hughesbsn/] Follow Jenna on Instagram @austinbeautyboss [https://www.instagram.com/austinbeautyboss/] Alli Petriella Patient Care Coordinator, Steven Camp, MD Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics Alli is a results-driven sales professional and consultant with 12+ years of experience helping healthcare and aesthetics practices grow through technology, strategy, and process optimization. She specializes in guiding practices to overcome operational challenges and maximize growth by leveraging cutting-edge software solutions and streamlining patient care. Alli recently moved back inside the practice as a Patient Care Coordinator to partner with patients on their surgical journey and restructure the patient intake process. Connect with Alli on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-petriella-6b04b4a6/] Janelle Robinson Chief Operating Officer, La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre Janelle Robinson keeps things running smoothly as the COO of La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, where she also leads the patient coordinator team. She started as a marketing coordinator and worked her way into patient coordination before stepping into operations — so she understands every part of the patient journey, from the first ringing phone to the final yes. Learn more about La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre [https://www.ljcsc.com/] Practiceland is presented by PatientFi — the patient financing partner built for aesthetic practices. PatientFi gives your patients access to flexible payment plans and gives your team the tools to offer financing confidently, without the awkward money conversation. Learn more at patientfi.com/aesthetics [https://patientfi.com/aesthetics]

Money Talks: A Crash Course for Patient Care Coordinators

The hardest part of learning the patient coordinator role in an aesthetic practice isn't memorizing procedures or learning the EMR — it's the first time a patient asks what something costs and you have to answer without flinching.  The instinct most of us have on day one is to whisper the number, hide behind the brochure, or drop the price and let silence do the rest. But not being confident in these conversations costs the practice consults, bookings, and doesn’t help the patients who genuinely want to move forward. From the first year of Practiceland, we curated the essentials of “money talks” into one straight-through episode you can hand a brand-new hireSometimes words are the only thing separating a top 5% coordinator from a new one — and this episode is the fastest way to win. Questions answered by this episode 1. How does compound interest work? 2. What's the difference between APR and interest rate? 3. Are 0% medical credit cards actually 0%? 4. How do you train a new patient care coordinator? 5. How do you talk to patients about money in an aesthetic practice? 6. What is anchoring in a sales conversation? 7. How do you ask a patient about their monthly budget? 8. How do you bring up payment plans without sounding pushy? 9. What do you do when a patient hesitates to schedule their procedure? 10. What's the best way to talk to patients about patient financing? Practiceland is presented by PatientFi — the patient financing partner built for aesthetic practices. PatientFi gives your patients access to flexible payment plans and gives your team the tools to offer financing confidently, without the awkward money conversation. Learn more at patientfi.com/aesthetics [https://patientfi.com/aesthetics] SHE DID WHAT? Got a wild customer service story or a sticky patient situation to share? If your tale makes it into our "She did what?" segment, we'll send a thank you gift you'll actually love. Promise, no cheap swag here. Send us a message or voicemail at practicelandpodcast.com [http://practicelandpodcast.com]. SUBSCRIBE Are you one of us? Subscribe for new episode notifications and more at practicelandpodcast.com [http://practicelandpodcast.com].  Producer: Eva Sheie @ The Axis Assistant Producer: Mary Ellen Clarkson Engineering: Cameron Laird Theme music: Full Time Job, Mindme Cover Art: Dan Childs Practiceland is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io [https://www.theaxis.io/]

Building Automation That Sounds Like You (Not a Robot)

Every reminder, confirmation, and follow-up your front desk sends is a chance to build trust — or get unsubscribed. Most teams run the generic, canned versions baked into their EMR, the ones patients tune out. This is about the difference between automation that sounds like a robot and automation that sounds like you. Andrea talks with Becky Godsey, Chief Operating Officer at Denver Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics, who slowly rebuilt her practice’s automated messaging to feel personal, protect the schedule, and take busywork off the front desk. She breaks down her exact cadence — a message at booking, a three-days-out reminder paired with pre and post-treatment instructions, a post-checkout care link, and the one timing trick that gets far more patients to leave a review. They also get into where automation should stop and a human has to pick up the phone — anxious patients, complications, payment-plan questions — plus how a front-desk QR code and a linked instructions page stop wasted appointments before they happen, and why the surgeon, not a text, should be the one asking surgical patients for a review. Questions answered by this episode: 1. How do you get patients to leave reviews? 2. What is the best time to ask a patient for a review? 3. How do you reduce appointment no-shows and cancellations? 4. How do automated appointment reminders work? 5. Should you call or text patients to confirm appointments? 6. How can AI help write patient text messages and emails? 7. What should pre and post-treatment instructions include? 8. How do you ask surgery patients for a review? 9. How often should you text patients before they unsubscribe? 10. How do you set up an EMR for patient communication? Becky Godsey Chief Operating Officer, Denver Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics Becky Godsey is the Chief Operating Officer of Denver Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics, the Denver practice founded by Dr. Christine Rodgers. Since joining the team in 2016, she has run operations across every department — staffing, processes, and the patient experience from the first phone call to post-op follow-up. Before plastics, she built her career in advertising and sales and managed a healthcare nonprofit, and that mix shows up in how she thinks about patient communication: efficient, but never robotic. She is the person quietly rebuilding the systems most practices just complain about. Learn more about Denver Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics [https://www.denverplasticsurgery.com/] Follow the practice on Instagram @drchristinerodgers [https://www.instagram.com/drchristinerodgers/] Practiceland is presented by PatientFi — the patient financing partner built for aesthetic practices. PatientFi gives your patients access to flexible payment plans and gives your team the tools to offer financing confidently, without the awkward money conversation. Learn more at patientfi.com/aesthetics [https://patientfi.com/aesthetics] Host: Andrea Watkins Producer: Eva Sheie @ The Axis Assistant Producer: Mary Ellen Clarkson Engineering: Cameron Laird Theme music: Full Time Job, Mindme Cover Art: Dan Childs Practiceland is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io [https://www.theaxis.io/]

You Could Be Breaking the Law Right Now

There’s a good chance no one has ever told what the corporate practice of medicine doctrine exists, and that’s exactly the problem. It affects everyone in the practice too — not just the person who owns the business. Regulators are actively looking. Boards of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy are running audits across the country, and a spa that quietly started offering Botox or body contouring is exactly who they’re looking for. One Oregon plastic surgeon was out of compliance for years after a law quietly changed — and didn’t know until they got caught. This legal framework governs how medical practices can be structured and owned, and when it’s violated, the consequences fall on everyone in the building, including the staff.  Attorney Evan Sampson breaks it down in plain language: what the law actually says, how dramatically it varies by state (New York is the strictest in the country; others barely enforce it), and what Management Support Organizations are — the legal structure that allows non-physicians to own parts of a practice without running afoul of the rules. Questions answered by this episode: * Can a non-physician own a medical spa? * What is the corporate practice of medicine? * Who regulates medical spas? * What happens if a med spa violates ownership laws? * What is a Management Support Organization (MSO)? * Can a spa owner add Botox or medical services? * Who polices med spa compliance? * What’s the difference between medical supervision and medical direction? * Which states have the strictest corporate practice of medicine laws? * What do you do if healthcare laws change and you didn’t know? Evan Sampson Counsel, Healthcare at Post & Schell Attorneys At Law Evan Sampson is Counsel in Post & Schell’s Health Care Practice Group, where he advises health care providers and organizations on a broad range of regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters. Connect with Evan on LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/evan-sampson-5351a953 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-sampson-5351a953/] Learn more about Post & Schell — postschell.com [https://www.postschell.com/attorneys/evan-m-sampson] Eva Sheie Founder & Podcast Producer at The Axis Eva Sheie is a startup veteran, content strategist, podcast producer, and professional musician. She is the founder of The Axis, a podcast production agency devoted to meeting the needs of women confronting life-changing medical decisions. Today she is the host of Meet the Doctor, co-host of Less of You, and the executive producer of numerous titles on behalf of clients, including Practiceland. Learn more about The Axis — theaxispodcasts.com [https://theaxispodcasts.com/] Practiceland is presented by PatientFi — the patient financing partner built for aesthetic practices. PatientFi gives your patients access to flexible payment plans and gives your team the tools to offer financing confidently, without the awkward money conversation. Learn more at patientfi.com/aesthetics [https://patientfi.com/aesthetics]

Before You Start Using AI With Patients, Do This First

To use AI in the practice in a way that actually helps your patients, you have to know where to start to prevent it from hurting the brand.  Monique Ramsey defined her practice’s "cosmetic surgery bestie" voice, and built Avery—an AI coordinator that answers some common patient questions and books consultations at 2am while everyone's asleep.  A year later: 67 hours of coordinator time saved, median response time down from 24 minutes to one, and two-thirds of leads captured after hours. Hear exactly how she built it, the trials and errors she faced along the way, and the one thing you need to set up before AI can do anything for you. Learn more about La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre [https://www.ljcsc.com/] Get more info about Podium's AI tools. [https://share.podium.com/mzC1AJj?utm_source=patientfi&utm_medium=practiceland&utm_campaign=podcast] GUEST Monique Ramsey Chief Creative Officer at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre As Chief Community Officer, Monique is entrusted with the LJCSC brand and ensures their messaging and communications are consistent, engaging, and accurate. Traditional and digital content creation, social media, graphic design, contests, events, podcasts, and promotions—Monique does it all with style and skill.  Connect with Monique on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniqueramsey/] Questions answered in the episode:  * What motivated you to start implementing AI in your practice? * How do you train an AI agent to sound on-brand and give accurate answers? * What real results has AI delivered for the practice? * What happens when patients reach out after hours? * How do you handle AI giving wrong or inappropriate answers? * What are the risks of connecting AI to your patient database? * What's the first baby step for a practice that hasn't implemented anything yet? * How do you keep AI from "hallucinating" or making up answers? * Should the most knowledgeable person in the practice be the one setting up the AI? * How do you talk about pricing through AI without scaring patients off? SHE DID WHAT? Got a wild customer service story or a sticky patient situation to share? If your tale makes it into our "She did what?" segment, we'll send a thank you gift you'll actually love. Promise, no cheap swag here. Send us a message or voicemail at practicelandpodcast.com. [http://practicelandpodcast.com/] SUBSCRIBE Are you one of us? Subscribe for new episode notifications and more at practicelandpodcast.com. [http://practicelandpodcast.com/]   HOSTS Blake Lucas, Senior Director of Customer Experience at PatientFi Blake oversees a dedicated team responsible for managing patient and provider inquiries, troubleshooting technical issues, and handling any unexpected challenges that come their way. With a strong focus on delivering exceptional service, he ensures that both patients and providers receive the support they need for a seamless experience. Learn more about PatientFi [https://patientfi.com/] Andrea Watkins, VP of Practice Growth at Studio III Marketing Andrea Watkins, Vice President of Practice Growth at Studio 3, coaches plastic surgery and aesthetics teams on patient acquisition, lead management, and practice efficiency to drive measurable growth. Formerly COO of a multi-million-dollar practice that nearly tripled revenue under her leadership, she now partners with over 100 practices nationwide—helping them capture and analyze data, streamline consultations and booking, and align staff training with business goals. With a directive yet approachable, non-salesy style, Andrea turns data into action, empowering practices to boost conversions, maximize marketing, and elevate the patient experience in a competitive market. Learn more about Studio III Marketing [https://www.studio3marketing.com/] and LeadLoop CRM for plastic surgery practices and medical spas.  [https://www.leadloop.io/] Co-hosts: Andrea Watkins & Blake Lucas Producer: Eva Sheie @ The Axis Assistant Producers: Mary Ellen Clarkson & Hannah Burkhart Engineering: Cameron Laird Theme music: Full Time Job, Mindme Cover Art: Dan Childs Practiceland is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io  [https://www.theaxis.io/]