“It’s Not How Long You Make It…It’s How You Make It Long”

October 3, 2021
*This page may contain affiliate links. If you purchase from these links we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

While some of you might have to your heads in the gutter, this was actually a 1960’s slogan for a cigarette brand.

This adage holds true for new patient flow.  It’s not how big you make it; it’s how you make it big.  So when I see ads promoting “91 new patients a month”, I just laugh and then sob.  Do dentists really buy this BS?

Marketing schemes that promise nearly unlimited new patients such as these actually have the potential to bankrupt a practice.

I know a practice that collected $2.5M ($1M profit) with less than 20 new patients a month.  And I know a practice that attracts 100 new patients a month, grosses the same $2.5 and has a net profit of less than $350,000.

$1,000,000 on 240 new patients vs, $350,000 on 1200 new patients.  That’s a NPP (new patient profit) of $4,167 vs. $292.  Which would you prefer?  Which practice do you think is working harder?

Which do you think is marketing “FREE EXAMS” and “$49 CLEANINGS”?

How can you have 100 new patients a month and go bankrupt?

Easy.  They’re the wrong patients!  They’re nice people who have been trained to bargain hunt for their healthcare when and only when they perceive a need.  Unfortunately, dentists who do dumb marketing reinforce such behaviors.  As a profession WE have enabled this counter and unproductive behavior.  It’s OUR FAULT.  We’re enablers.

And, IT NEEDS TO STOP NOW!  YOU NEED TO STOP.

BAD MARKETING HURTS US ALL.

It’s not how many patients you get, it’s how many of them are the ones you want, ones that accept your treatment, ones that refer others, ones that are not price or insurance dependent, ones that resonate with your practice that make the difference.  

LOOK FORWARD TO COMING INTO THE OFFICE AGAIN!

Most important, is attracting ones that appreciate what you do for them, which will lead to a happier daily practice existence.

And just how much work is it to properly intake, educate and preframe these unfilterednew patients.

Do you properly intake, educate and preframe your patients?  Oops!

It all starts with marketing and defining WHO you are sending the messages to and what media you’re using.  MARKET (who)  MESSAGE (what) and MEDIA (how) must all be in alignment.

I get stuff from local dentists all the time.  They’re all focused on PRICE, as if the cheapest cleaning is going to lure me.

If PRICE does lure someone in, what kind of patient are you getting?  And how much time, effort and cost will it take to convert that patient into one that you really want?

How you make marketing work is by starting off with the end in mind.  What’s your ideal patient?

Build an Avatar.

But I need butts in the chairs!  

I have bills to pay!

Something is better than nothing!

I hear this all the time from dentists who, 10 years later are bemoaning the fact that their practices are unfulfilling, and they’re burned out.   They have lots of patients but little profit.  They hate the “business” part of practice.  And some, hate dentistry altogether for its unfilled promise of a nice lifestyle.

Want to decrease your stress, build a practice that fulfills you and gives you the rewards you deserve?

Start by looking at your marketing.  You attract what you deserve, and you deserve what you tolerate.

“Every system is perfectly designed to get the result that it does’; says W. Edwards Deming.

Want to know why your case acceptance rate isn’t 90%.  Look at your marketing.

Want to know why your profitability is low?  Look at your marketing.

Want to know why your not happy?  Look at your marketing.

Better yet, have US look at your marketing!  

We don’t sell marketing.  We just know marketing and what works.  

$1,879 for this program is a bargain. I bet you’re spending way more than that a month on marketing and not getting the results you want.  And, I bet with a few tweaks, your marketing spend will result in significantly higher yields when the messages they send out begin to attract the right patients.

Just a single new patient can easily cover the cost of the entire program.

And, because we know how powerful this marketing analysis is along with its concrete recommendations, we’re going to give you our Patient Experience Workbook.  It’s valued at $49 and it’s your’s FREE.  A gift to start you thinking like a smart dental marketing consumer.

 

If you’ve paid any marketing company ANY money and they haven’t taken you through an exercise such as this, then you’re being cheated from results you deserve.

Don’t wait.  Download the Workbook and start becoming a WISE CONSUMER of marketing.  

Towards your ideal patient and the outcomes you deserve,

Michael

Practice Success Insights

Sign up to receive insights into building a successful practice via email with the free Practice Perfect Pearls Newsletter.
Image
Dr. Michael Goldberg is one of the leading educators on dental practice management in the United States.

Michael ran and sold a prestigious group practice in Manhattan and has been on Faculty at Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Medical Center for 30 years including Director of the GPR program and Director of the course on Practice Management.

Book a FreeStrategy Session

Latest Articles

How to Stop Cancellations... without spending more.

Learn how successful practices ensure their appointment slots are filled... and their patients keep coming back!

GET THE FREE GUIDE

The Proven Way to
Reboot Your Practice...

Increase profitability, decrease stress and achieve your goals with proven ways to ensure your practice thrives

GET THE FREE GUIDE

FREE BOOK:
From Hello to Hugs

Get the sensational book on how to turn callers into raving fans. A guide to making MORE from LESS in your dental practice.

GET THE FREE BOOK

Join Michael LIVE for the FREE Monthly Coffee With the Coach Webinar

Invite your entire team and get expert advice from an industry expert on a new, timely topic every month that you can implement in your practice right away. 

SAVE YOUR SPOT