Tired of slow-moving product sales in your weight loss practice? Here are some great ways to remedy this situation.

Offering weight loss products in your weight loss practice can be very beneficial for you and your patients. They add another profit stream to your practice and improve overall patient weight loss outcomes when used properly.

Coincidentally, if your patients are not purchasing high quality nutritional products from you, they are likely purchasing (often sub-standard) products from somewhere else. A few reasons include an increased focus on health and wellness as a result of the pandemic; higher level of satiety; convenience; and quicker weight loss results. In fact, a report published by Allied Market Research in July 2021 indicates that the protein supplement market in the United States was $1.92 billion in 2019, and is expected to reach $3.58 billion by 2028. This is a compounded annual growth rate of 7.7 percent from 2021 to 2028.¹

The following 4 strategies will not only increase your product sales and your ability to compete with ‘big box’ stores, but also provide you with a way to help your patients maximize their weight loss results. As you know, weight loss products alone don’t create long term weight loss success. It is a combination of your obesity management expertise, a realistic weight loss nutrition plan, behavior modification, accountability, integration of fitness as well as effective use of quality products that create long-term weight loss results and improved overall health.

1. Do Your Research

In order to effectively sell weight loss products, you need to offer quality products that your patients can’t get easily somewhere else. They should be practitioner prescribed, include the highest quality ingredients, taste great and not be available at ‘big box’ stores. They should be uniquely designed to complement your weight loss programs and services. It is also helpful if you are able to private label your products for added branding and exposure. (Robard, for example, offers all of these options for providers.)

In addition to product research, you need to understand how these products enhance your weight loss programs/services. It helps to team up with a nutritional company that works directly with obesity medicine specialists and supports them with provider/team education, patient education, and value add services for your patients instead of offering their products direct to consumer.

Know the ingredients and benefits of your products thoroughly. This will help you answer patient questions, overcome objections and combine products into very effective meal plans and quick start programs for immediate results and added motivation. This product and consumer research, when combined with creation of program offers that integrate meal replacements for faster results, are a true game changer when it comes to your product sales.

2. Use Your Products

You won’t feel as if you are ‘selling’ your nutritional products if you and your team love to use them yourself. Of course, this is easy when you select great tasting quality products. As you determine the products you sell now and, in the future, have your entire team taste test everything. Determine your favorites and inquire with the nutritional company which are typically ‘best sellers’. Your nutritional company sales representative is a wealth of information and can help guide you to success.

When you use your products, you can come up with various ways to mix them to avoid boredom. This adds excitement for patients as they select their products to purchase. Tasty recipes that include your products help increase sales as well.

3. Simplify Your Sales Process

You need to make selling your nutrition products a natural extension of your practice. Here are a couple of ways to make sure this happens:

• Create and use an easy to understand product guide that includes benefits as well as nutritional information for your products. Group like products together such as bars, shakes and the like. This same information can be used for your practice e-store if applicable.
• Display your products in an organized manner in clear view for added interest and easier selection.
• Create and use an easy product selection sales order form at patient appointments. This can be a ‘prescription’ from the provider/counselor or an order form the patient completes and takes to the retail store or front desk for fulfilment depending upon your office layout.
• Offer an easy way for patients to order/pay online and then pick up ‘on the go’ from your practice. This has been extremely helpful through pandemic restrictions and shut downs.
• Consider a ‘kiosk’ in your waiting room or retail area so that people can order, pay and then take the receipt to a friendly team member for fulfillment.
• Include products in your program description and pricing if possible and consider creating a ‘jump start’ program that is nutritionally sound and helps with quick weight loss (i.e. 2-week program). This also introduces patients to your products and gives them motivation to keep going.

Include your team in creating your sales process as well as sales goals and weekly/monthly sales summary reporting. They come up with great ideas!  Including your team also increases their understanding of product benefits, practice goals and commitment to daily sales.

4. Integrate Sales with Your Marketing

Here is where the fun comes in! Include your products as you market your weight loss program. Highlight your team and their favorite products in your social media posts or simply highlight a product each week along with the benefits. You can also include a product highlight and link to purchase in your weekly weight loss e-newsletters. While carefully monitoring your profits, consider offering rewards for initial purchases; sales events for holidays, seasons or special occasions; birthday 10 percent discount coupon for certain items; and testimonials from those that had quicker weight loss with their favorite products. Use your imagination and remember that with streamlined product sales in your practice, you always have an opportunity to increase your revenue/profit while helping your patient achieve quicker results.

Sources:

¹ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/us-protein-supplement-market-A11938

For 45 years, Robard Corporation’s medical obesity treatment programs and products have been utilized by physicians, surgeons and hospitals across the United States to successfully treat patients living with obesity. To learn more about us and how we can help your practice and patients, visit us online at www.Robard.com.