FOCUSING ON 3 LEVERS FOR GROWTH
If you’ve followed Dan Kennedy for more than five minutes, you know he has no patience for complexity masquerading as sophistication. Strip away the jargon, the consultants, and the tactic-of-the-month distractions, and he’ll tell you there are only three ways to grow a business: 1. Increase the number of customers (patients). 2. Increase the average transaction value. 3. Increase the frequency of purchase.
patient introductions. Run structured reactivation campaigns for overdue hygiene patients. Position yourself as a community authority through lectures, niche expertise, or condition-specific marketing. Most practices are sitting on a goldmine of dormant patients. A disciplined reactivation sequence — email, text, voicemail drop, and even direct mail — can produce dozens of appointments without spending a dollar on external advertising. The hard truth is that if your new patient numbers are flat, it’s not the economy, insurance, or corporate dentistry. It’s the absence of a system. INCREASE THE AVERAGE PATIENT VALUE. This is where many dentists get uncomfortable. They confuse ethical case presentation with “selling.” Kennedy would laugh at that. If a patient needs dentistry and you fail to present it comprehensively and confidently, you’re not being conservative. You’re being negligent. Increasing average patient value starts with better diagnosis and better communication. Comprehensive exams. Digital photography. Intraoral scans. Financial coordinators trained to explain options without apology. Too many practices present treatment as if they are asking for permission. Instead, install structured presentation protocols: • Present full-mouth findings, not isolated problems. • Offer phased options rather than yes-or-no ultimatums. • Bundle appropriate services, such as whitening with restorative cases. • Present third-party financing as a standard tool, not a last resort. And examine your payer mix. If 80% of your production is discounted by PPOs, your average transaction value is artificially suppressed. Strategic 2.
That’s it. No pixie dust or secret algorithm.
And if you’re a dental practice owner drowning in PPO write-offs, staffing drama, and payments on the latest piece of technology, those three levers are the only ones that matter. Let’s apply them where it counts: inside your practice. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS. Most dentists approach new patient acquisition like hobbyists. They “try” a little SEO. They dabble in social media. They sponsor a Little League team and hope gratitude will translate into crowns. 1.
Hope is not a strategy.
If you want more patients, you must engineer their arrival. That means building a predictable lead generation system that doesn’t depend on whether your office manager remembered to post on Facebook. Start here: Who is your ideal patient? Fee-for-service families? Cosmetic- driven professionals? Implant candidates 55-plus? If you don’t define the target, your marketing will be vague, expensive, and ineffective.
A practice that targets “everyone” typically attracts price shoppers.
Next, you have to build direct-response campaigns aimed specifically at your target. Install internal referral systems that reward and recognize
4 · DentalGrowthAndExit.com
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