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In the high-stakes world of medical aesthetics, practice owners are often so consumed by patient care, marketing, and staff management that vendor relationships become an afterthought—reduced to a series of invoices and order forms. However, this perspective overlooks one of the most powerful levers for business growth.
In a recent episode of the Med Spa Success Strategies podcast, I sat down with Jaclyn Luongo, the Vice President of Business Development and Brand Partnerships for PDOMAX. With over 25 years in the aesthetics industry, Jaclyn has served on the board of the Melanoma Education Foundation and holds advisory roles with NASN Pro and the Catherine Hinds Institute of Aesthetics. She has seen firsthand how the most successful med spas don’t just buy from vendors; they partner with them.
In this guide, we explore the missed opportunities in vendor management, the power of service consolidation, and the tactical ways you can leverage your reps to increase your profit margins.
Reframing the Vendor Relationship: The Overview
Most med spa managers and directors are currently leaving money on the table because they don’t know what to ask for from their vendors. Jaclyn notes that while almost every vendor now provides digital portals filled with marketing assets, toolkits, and educational resources, often only about 50% of that content is ever accessed.
“We need to sit down with our owners and managers and share everything,” Jaclyn says. “Put it on the table verbally, give it access digitally, and then you have the full umbrella of what is offered.”
The Power of Consolidation and Buying Power
A common mistake, especially in the first five years of a business, is buying from too many vendors. It is much harder to manage inventory and scale when you are juggling 15 different relationships.
By minimalizing the number of vendors you work with and focusing on those that offer a full range of products, you gain significant leverage:
- Tiered Rewards: The more loyal you are to a single vendor, the more you get in return.
- Quarterly Kickbacks: Many accounts receive financial incentives or “kickbacks” based on purchase volume.
- Exclusive Bundles: High-volume accounts often get access to packages that aren’t available to the general market.
Your rep’s job is to sell you more product, but they only succeed if you succeed. It is a perfectly synergistic relationship. When you grow, they allocate more time, more event space, and more resources to your account.
Tactical Vendor Management: The 30-60-90 Day Plan
I often hear owners say they are “too busy” to meet with reps. However, Jaclyn argues that a 30-minute virtual or in-person meeting to set a 30, 60, or 90-day plan is one of the highest-ROI activities you can perform. It adds directly to your profit margin and provides a roadmap for your team.
Jaclyn recommends coming to these meetings with a prepared agenda. Don’t be afraid to ask for:
- Staff Motivation: Ask for samples, treatments, or gift cards to use as prizes for internal team contests. If you want your staff to sell more or upgrade services, use your vendor’s resources to incentivize them.
- Marketing Toolkits: Most vendors provide “plug-and-play” assets—graphics, captions, testimonials, and before-and-after photos. Why recreate the wheel when you can use professional content designed to convert?
- Educational Resources: Use the training modules in vendor portals to level up your clinicians’ skills without the high ticket price of external consultants.
Overcoming the “Catch-22” for New Med Spas
New practices often feel discouraged because they lack the massive buying power of established competitors. However, Jaclyn emphasizes that value isn’t reserved for the “big players.”
“Bundle pricing doesn’t always mean the buying power is more; sometimes it’s just a promotion you don’t want to miss,” she explains. For example, PDOMAX offers “Buy 3, Get 1 Free” bundles on skin boosters or “Buy 10, Get 3 Free” on threads. These are manageable for smaller accounts and immediately lower the cost of goods in the treatment room.
Forecasting vs. On-Demand Ordering
The secret to accessing better pricing for a new spa is forecasting. Instead of ordering on a whim every two weeks, look at your treatment history and plan for the next month or six weeks. Budgeting ahead allows you to purchase in bundle packaging, which provides better margins from day one.
The Golden Rule of Sales: It never hurts to ask. Ask for intro offers or “conversion packages” if you are switching brands. The worst they can say is no.
The “Cheesecake Factory” Menu Trap
There is a pervasive “shiny object syndrome” in aesthetics. Owners see a new device or a trendy booster and assume it represents a new revenue opportunity. Soon, the med spa has 19 different services, creating a “Cheesecake Factory” effect.
“It’s very overwhelming for the owner and provider, but it then trickles to the patient,” Jaclyn warns. “If you have a menu of 15 different boosters from exosomes to PDRN, the client doesn’t know what they want, and you lose your niche and authority.”
Chasing Revenue vs. Strategic Growth
A refined, core list of services you truly believe in builds credibility. If you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being average at everything.
- The Bar Rescue Lesson: Just like John Taffer tells restaurants to shrink their menus to be great at a few things, med spas should consolidate.
- Inventory Risk: Chasing trends leads to holding onto high-priced inventory that eventually expires on the shelf. Stick to science-backed ingredients and technologies that produce measurable results.
Mastering Med Spa Events and Samples
Events are a major point of discrepancy in the industry. Some spas love them; others find them to be miserable failures. According to Jaclyn, the difference is three months of lead time.
Successful events are planned, promoted, and personally invited 90 days out.
- The Ask: An event needs a clear goal. Require an RSVP with a dollar value that can be applied toward a purchase.
- Vendor Support: Don’t just ask for food and drinks. Ask your vendor to be the “expert” in the room to explain the science.
- Creative Assets: Use your vendor to launch a brand component via Instagram Live to build organic buzz before the physical event even happens.
- Samples: Ask your rep for samples specifically to fill swag bags or for “raffle” items. This partners your visuals with their tangibles.
Building “Sticky” Memberships with Product Integration
Statistics from the retail world show that a patient is 70% more likely to return to you if they have purchased a product from your practice.
“The bathroom counter is your vanity,” Jaclyn says. “If you put a bottle of whatever it might be home with them, they are thinking of you every time they need to replenish it.”
Adding High-Value, Low-Cost Add-ons
Work with your vendors to add product value to your membership tiers. Instead of just giving a 10% discount, offer a professional sheet mask or an LED panel treatment as a monthly “bonus.” For the business, these add-ons cost very few dollars, but to the client, they represent high-ticket value.
This creates synergy between in-office treatments and home care. If a patient spends money on a treatment and then uses a drugstore brand at home that fades the results, it makes the provider’s job harder. “50% of the client’s success is what they do at home,” Jaclyn notes. Give them an incentive to buy from the professional (you) rather than Sephora or Ulta.
The Missing Link: Synergy Between Estheticians and Injectors
The most successful med spas have moved past the era where medical providers and estheticians worked in silos. Today, clinical results depend on teamwork.
Medical services like thread lifts or lasers aren’t performed every month. Esthetician treatments—like dermaplaning or microdermabrasion—maintain the skin quality in between those major procedures.
“When you do advanced services, your skin quality impacts how great those results are,” Jaclyn explains. By weaving these two roles together, you move from being a “menu” where people just pick a service to being a coach or personal trainer providing a comprehensive journey.
Retention Tip: Our data shows that combo offers—where a new patient sees both an injector and an esthetician in their first visit—have the highest retention because the patient feels integrated into a long-term treatment plan.
Bonus: Overcoming the Fear of Retail Selling
In a candid follow-up conversation, Jaclyn addressed the “fear of the close” that many estheticians and medical providers face.
Don’t “Close the Wallet” for the Patient
Many providers feel uncomfortable talking about retail at the end of a visit because the patient has already spent $400 on filler. The provider assumes the client doesn’t want to spend more.
“Don’t assume and don’t close the wallet for them,” Jaclyn advises. “Those patients are going to spend that money anyway on online shopping sprees or at Sephora. Skincare is what they invest in.”
The Solution for Owners:
- Training: Educate providers to speak with authority about what the patient needs to maintain their results.
- Incentives: Create tiered contests or team-based pay for retail goals. If retail is part of the job description and there is a clear reward, the team will stop being “lazy” or “scared” and start building that revenue stream.
About Jaclyn Luongo and PDOMAX
Jaclyn focuses on empowering med spa businesses to increase revenue through strategic initiatives. You can explore PDOMAX threads, skin boosters, and the new Lum Envy Skincare line (including the “Glow Between” kit) at:
- Website: pdomax.com or https://www.lumenvyskincare.com/
- Email: info@pdomax.com
- Socials: @pdomax
Next Step: I encourage you to check your email today for that last vendor newsletter you skipped. Look for a portal link, a new toolkit, or a bundle offer that could help move the needle for your practice this quarter.
This podcast is a production of Med Spa Magic Marketing. For digital marketing help, lead generation, and booking more appointments, visit medspamagicmarketing.com.
