Leonard Tau, DMD
Philadelphia, PA
Everything has been great. My practice is very busy and doing very well (knock on wood). New patients are actually up for the year.
Ever since New Patients, Inc. put the First Impression
VideosTM on my site the number of new patient calls, emails and actual patients have increased significantly. This has allowed me to cut back my marketing budget because of the success of the videos and SEO.
Last month I had 23 new patients and 19 were from the site. At least half of them mentioned the videos. Some said that the videos were the #1 reason they called. One of the patients just started InvisalignTM this week. It’s been a great success and I could not be more pleased.
The combination of great SEO, great site, and the First Impression videos has made a huge difference for me.
New Patients, Inc. did a great job!”
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Howard Goldstein, DMD
Bethlehem, PA
The world is currently focused on the state of the economy. We are “revisiting” our existing clients to find out how they are faring NOW, during this recession. This story comes from Dr. Howard Goldstein, a long time NPI client.
“It seems that EVERYONE has been hit by the recession. I’m no exception. I started to feel sorry for myself but then I talked with a lot of other dentists and found out that they are down much more. Having only a few holes in my schedule makes me feel very fortunate. Without NPI’s help I am certain I’d be down 40 to 50 percent. And keep in mind I do not participate in ANY insurance plans so I need good, solid, high quality fee-for-service patients.
I hate to think where would be without the NPI mailers and our website. I have to say 95% of my new patients come from the two of them. My website is listed all over the mailer and many of the new patients that come from the website actually originated from the mailer. So it’s been the lifeblood of my practice for 5 years now and especially since the recession started.
NPI is absolutely great to work with. They are confident and experienced in their approach. I’m very thankful that I started with them when I did. My advice to my colleagues who may be feeling the pinch from the economy is — start or continue marketing! And get NPI on your team.”
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Elizabeth Fleming, DDS
Phoenix, AZ
It seems that the world is currently focused on the state of the economy. For the next several months we are going to revisit some previous clients to see how they are faring NOW. This month’s story comes from Dr. Elizabeth Fleming.
“We’ve been seeing signs of the recession here in the Southwest. Many practices are experiencing a drop in the numbers of new patients, some practices have
even closed.
Though our production numbers were down for 2008, we found we still had quality patients coming in from our NPI mailer, and the production generated from these patients was 15% of our 2008 production total. 2009 is showing similar results, so far.
The campaign that NPI put into place back in 2003 is still working well. They update it for us about every 10-12 months. It is continually producing more quality new patients than any external marketing we have ever done, and these NPI patients refer their family and friends to our office.
I am sure glad I have NPI on my team!”
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Edmond W. Suh, DDS
Wake Forest, NC
It seems that the world is currently focused on the state of the economy. For the next several months we are going to revisit some previous clients to see how they are faring NOW. This month’s story is Dr. Ed Suh.
“I’ve been with NPI since 2005 and am now on my 4th campaign. It’s turned out to be the best marketing decision I ever made.
With this recession I’m seeing other practices in my area suffer. One has even closed down. A major PPO company came into the area and advertised heavily so that didn’t help.
And yet, we are up 18% over last year which amazes me! We have been consistently marketing every month since 2005 and I’m sure glad for that. Without the NPI program I’m certain we would be suffering much like the other practices around me.
Heartfelt thanks to Howie, Mark, Terry, JoEllen and the rest of the NPI guys and gals.”
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Lori Cockely, DDS
East Berlin, PA
It seems that the world is currently focused on the state of the economy. For the next several months we are going to revisit some previous clients to see how they are faring NOW. This month’s story is Dr. Lori Cockley.
“We took over a practice from a retiring doctor in late 2006. One of our challenges was to earn the trust of the people in the community. We hired New Patients, Inc. to help us. We started with a mail campaign and some other projects. At first I wasn’t too sure how the designs, deployment and the overall marketing plan would go. I thought my ideas were better! Well, I was wrong. I followed NPI’s advice and in a very short time our office was filled with good new patients.
As time went on it kept getting better. As we ended our second year with NPI we were up 44% over the previous year. Our target for this year was to do 7 figures. As Maxwell Smart might say, “We missed it by THAT much.” But it’s still amazing that we’ve been able to get very close to 7 figures in just two years.
Now that we’ve been in a recession for a while I’ve been thinking we’d be happy just to hold our own or maybe decline just a bit. It seems all the other practices in our area are being hit hard. We’ve certainly seen a slow down but we’re still up 24% over this time last year and I’m convinced it is because we continue to market with NPI.
My advice to colleagues; get NPI on your team, listen to them and market like crazy during this recession. When the economy rebounds you will already have prospective new patients out in your community who know who you are and what you can do for them. And because many of them have put off their dental care, they’re going to need a lot of work!
And you will be the one doing it!”
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Richard Turner, DMD
Johnson City, TN
“In May of 2007 I opened a brand new start up practice. I had a LOT of money invested into the building and equipment. This of course put me deeply in debt.
I knew I not only had to market, but I had to get out of the gate fast. It had to work and it had to work quickly.
I found out about New Patients, Inc. from DentalTown. I really did my research on them and decided to let them handle all my marketing. They prepared a detailed plan and did a demographic study of my area to determine best marketing approach. It looked good to me so I went ahead. NPI first did an image package then a newspaper insert followed by two direct mail campaigns.
Did it work? I’ll say it did! How does a consistent 90 patients per month sound?
Don’t mess around – go with the best. I’m so glad I did.
Thanks to Howie, Mark, Jay, Terry, JoEllen and the rest of the super NPI team!”
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21st Century Dental
Kent Smith, DDS, and Jeff Roy, DDS
Irving , TX
972-255-3712
kentsmith@21stcenturydental.com
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO TESTIMONIAL»
We have a multiple doctor practice with a staff of 23.
We were already doing very well but wanted to kick it up a notch or two. We also didn't have the time, energy or know how to do all our marketing in house.
We decided to hire the best dental advertising company we could find and let them do everything. This was how we got started with New Patients, Inc.
Looking at the chart, can you guess which year New Patients, Inc. took over our marketing? Heartfelt thanks to Howie Horrocks, Eddie Facey, Mark Dilatush, JoEllen Caruana, Terry Aley, and the rest of the staff at New Patients, Inc.
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Kwan M. Lee, DDS
Federal Way, WA
“In Late 2005 I bought an existing practice from a retiring doctor. It didn’t take me very long to figure out I wasn’t going to be able to depend on referrals alone. I had to start marketing.
I read about New Patients, Inc. on the DentalTown website which led me to NPI’s website. There I filled out an extensive questionnaire. Soon after that I received a marketing plan, demographic report and a complete budget breakdown that showed all the costs involved. I decided to proceed. I was very skeptical at first and showed some of the first designs to others to get feedback. My wife thought there were too many words and my friends had their opinions. But in the end I decided to just let the professionals do it.
Long story short: They were right. I went from almost no new patients (and little revenue) to a nice group of good, high quality patients. It’s been almost 3 years since I started with NPI and their work is still the biggest referral source for my practice.
My thanks and appreciation to Howie, Mark, Jane, Shirell, JoEllen and the rest of the people at New Patients, Inc. They got me off to a great start and kept it going!!”
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Joshua D. Ilan, DDS
Pomona, NY
“I purchased my own practice a year ago from a dentist who had been in practice for nearly 40
years. I started from day one with no patients in the schedule and pretty much no new patients on a monthly basis.
I was unsure of what to do and didn’t have the resources to do all that much. I was initially dead set against taking on more debt to cover the expenses of marketing.
However, one thing I did do was purchase copies of Howie’s books, Unlimited New Patients Volumes 1 and 2. I had seen reference to the books and to New Patients, Inc. on Dentaltown. These books are so jam packed with cost effective marketing ideas! I was so impressed that I contacted the company and spoke with Mark Dilatush. He put together a marketing plan that was budget sensitive and appropriate for my stage of practice. I was still unsure but decided to take the plunge.
Boy do I not regret it! I now see an average of 20 new patients per month only half way into my first year of the NPI program. But these are not just new patients; they are quality new patients who want good dentistry.
I must say that everyone at NPI has been absolutely wonderful to work with and I look forward to using them for all my future marketing needs.”
Peter Masci, DDS & Tim Hale, DMD
Walden, NY
“My partner and I knew we needed to change strategies. We had a nice bunch of patients but we needed to kick it up a bit. After reading about New Patients, Inc., and knowing Howie and Mark for
a long time, we decided to ask them to help us. It appears we made the right decision. We’ve just started with a direct mail campaign. Our first direct piece hit the homes on a Tuesday. 21 calls, 13 booked, 5-7 new cases. I think they just earned their keep. I didn’t know this would happen. That’s why I do dentistry, not marketing.
Just one case is $30,000. The mailer gave him the incentive to start changing his life. I love
helping people do that. NPI helping us impacts people’s lives. It’s not just marketing, it’s choices. Some things just can’t be measured.
Our ROI is really incredible. The NPI marketing plan has taken us to a whole new level. I can truly vouch for their program with honesty, respect, enthusiasm, and joy!!! Thank you, Howie, Mark, Kathy, JoEllen, Gary and all the rest of the NPI team for being so good at what you do!!! We are rockin’!!!”
—Tim Hale, DMD
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Nelson J.O. Wong, DDS & Audriana Tsea, MBA
Lincoln, CA
In early 2005, as we were about to start our new scratch start-up, we were looking for an agency to help promote the practice. We found most were either very expensive radio and television campaigns that we could not afford, or distasteful coupon promotions. Rod Kurthy recommended NPI to us. After speaking with the folks at NPI and viewing samples of their work, we knew they were the correct choice.
We started with NPI in July of 2005. Lincoln was one of the fastest growing cities in America, so we knew there were going to be a LOT of new practices joining the fray.
The promotional materials that NPI produced for us really reflected the quality dentistry that we wanted to provide. We had an outstanding reception to the campaign. Time and again, we received compliments from new patients about the quality of our marketing. In fact, many would-be patients would walk into our office with the mailer in hand because the contents moved them to actually come and visit our office. The mailer reinforced to them that our practice was the right choice. What we've also found is that our good NPI-sourced patients continue to refer other good patients.
We wholeheartedly endorse Howie and his fine team at NPI. Kathy Middleton, our graphics designer is a gem. We always ask the world of her at a moment's notice and she always, always comes through. JoEllen handles all of the nitty gritty “numbers” and the flow and timing of our mailings. We would be lost without her expertise and guidance. All in all, this is a group of outstanding people who do their best to help us dentists achieve our goals. We look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with NPI.
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Edmond W. Suh, DDS
Wake Forest, NC
“I was as gun shy as they come about marketing. I had just shelled out over $16,000 for a direct mail campaign with a major company. It failed miserably. It wasn’t that their campaign didn’t generate calls — it did. But the patients weren’t at all what I’d call quality.
Let’s just say I wasn’t chomping at the bit to have THAT experience again.
But I talked with Howie Horrocks at a DentalTown meeting a couple years ago. This led me to talking with Mark Dilatush and that led me to have hope again that marketing might work for me.
NPI put together a plan. We started with direct mail and to be honest I was totally against the designs they produced. I actually liked the other mailer that failed more than I liked the NPI mailer (typical dentist, I know!). Note to colleagues: we are dentists. Don’t try to be an Art Director or Copywriter. Leave that to the pros!
My results: High quality new patients started showing up right away. Not huge numbers of them, but they were WAY better patients. I even dropped Delta and lost at least 30% of my patient base but my ROI went up! The patients coming in from the NPI mailer are pre-sold and excited to be in my practice. Yes, I said excited — as I am now!
Heartfelt thanks to Howie, Mark, Eddie, Terry, JoEllen and everyone else on the NPI team.”
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Craig A. Holman, DDS
Amy J. Holman, DDS
Hilliard, OH
“My practice was doing well, but it was not growing like I wanted it to. At the beginning of the year I made a commitment to myself and my staff to really start growing the practice.
This, of course, was going to require more new patients. I contacted New Patients, Inc. I first heard about them from Dentaltown but, aside from that, who doesn't know about them? They are the acknowledged experts in this field.
NPI helped me with an Identity Package (which I absolutely love!) and mailers. Also, at NPI's suggestion, we implemented Jay Geier's program. We also began aggressively requesting referrals from existing patients.
Our monthly average new patient numbers were around 15. But over the past 6 months the average has risen to 54! I am starting to see the exponential potential of what will come; new patients have family and friends, they have families and friends, and so on. I am beginning to worry about where to put all these people. It is wonderful!
My thanks to Howie, Mark, Terry, Jay, JoEllen and the rest of the NPI team.
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Bill Greenberg, DDS
Mount Holly, NJ
“I was your typical dentist when it came to marketing.
I was very frustrated. I tried “this” then when “this” didn’t work I tried “that” and when “that” didn’t work I tried something else. I felt like I was throwing darts at a dartboard except that the darts were very expensive.
So I contacted NPI. They showed me why my previous attempts had failed and then showed me how I could succeed. We started with a direct mail program and some internal marketing. And, like your typical dentist, I thought I knew what things should look like and how the whole program should go. Well, I was wrong. I ended up doing what Mark and Howie said and I’m glad I did.
Long story short: We’ve only been mailing for a few months and we’ve essentially doubled our NPs. And we haven’t even implemented half the marketing plan yet!
NPI knows what they’re doing!”
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Elizabeth Fleming, DDS, PC
Phoenix, AZ
After being a solo general dentist for 18 years, I discovered a great group of people participating on DentalTown. I used these people for information in my search for the latest and greatest in technology, marketing and continuing education. I had been in the same location for 16 years. My practice had stagnated and I needed to move.
My quest was to upgrade my office when moving to have state-of-the-art equipment and technology. I was breaking all the rules with my move...going 14 miles away from the old office and across two "barriers" (freeways). Would my old patients follow me in spite of the distance and barriers? How would I market my new office to the potential patients in this new area?
I was also worried about the pending move due to increasing overhead. I needed to hit the ground running.
Around this time I contacted Howie Horrocks at New Patients, Inc. He and his staff helped me to organize my office to become "marketable" and to develop a piece that would showcase who I was and what I could offer to my new patients. It would go out to targeted households above a certain income in surrounding areas near the office. Many of my dental friends received my marketing piece and have called to let me know how professional it looks.
And does it attract new patients? Previously I had done a direct mail piece. The difference between the NPI piece and the older direct mail piece is in the quality , not only in the presentation of the mailer, but also in the dental IQ of the patients who use it. I was pleasantly surprised (ecstatic) at how effective the NPI mailer was for my practice.
I moved into my new office in November 2004. Surprisingly, many of my old patients followed in spite of the distance and barriers to cross. We also obtained quality new patients interested in comprehensive dental care from my NPI marketing piece. My production has almost doubled since 2004, and I am busy with ideas to update my mailer for next year.
I'm glad I listened to the excellent advice from Rod Kurthy in my early days on DentalTown. My contact with Howie Horrocks and the staff at NPI has been instrumental in helping me to achieve the numbers of NP and production figures needed to make my move a success. They know their marketing! Thank you New Patients, Inc.!
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Harvey Chin, DDS
Las Vegas, NV
Dr. Harvey Chin and his wife Cristal moved their practice from Sacramento to Las Vegas in 2003. To address the shortage of dentists, the state of Nevada had recently eased the licensure process to make it simpler for out of state dentists to open in Nevada. And open they did!
Dr. Chin describes their early struggles. “We knew we were moving to an area that was rapidly growing but we never could have imagined that very shortly there would be three dentists on every corner. We tried two well known marketing companies and while we did see an increase in new patient flow, they just weren’t what we’d call “quality.” We were getting pretty discouraged and that’s when we contacted Howie Horrocks.
We told him that New Patients, Inc. was our last hope. Howie didn’t sugarcoat anything for us. He said it would be a real battle and take quite a while. His first suggestion to us was to move to another city!
That was four years ago and I have to say Howie was right — it wasn’t easy. But, NPI came through for us in a big way. The very best part is that the quality of the patients is fantastic — it’s a night and day difference! Howie told us we didn’t need every patient in town — but we did need the “right” ones. And that’s exactly what we’ve been getting for these last several years. Many thanks to the great NPI team.”
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David Ducommun, DDS
Middleton, WI
Dr. Ducommun has a family oriented practice located in an office building with little to no visibility. He had a desire to increase the volume and quality of new patients but had done very limited marketing. His area has significant competition.
“Like a lot of dentists my first marketing experience was with the Yellow Pages. In the beginning they worked well for me but the return on investment steadily declined to the point that it just wasn’t worth the money anymore. I knew I had to do something so I called New Patients, Inc. After the initial information gathering I was presented with a marketing ‘treatment plan.’ It was an extensive and well thought out plan but I just wasn’t in the position to commit to all of it at the time.
Instead I chose to ask NPI if they could revive my Yellow Pages ad. And did they ever revive it! Actually they designed a whole new ad along with a much smaller one. It turned out to be a very effective strategy.
My return on investment for the large ad has been running consistently at over 8:1. The smaller ad has produced a 5:1 return. I’m also quite happy about the quality of patients I’m getting from the ads.
Howie told me that the Yellow Pages ads would likely not be enough to sustain the practice and he suggested we do their direct mail program along with some internal marketing projects. So about 10 months ago we began this new plan and it has produced very well! The quality of the patients coming from the mailing campaign is terrific. I guess this marketing stuff works!
Many thanks to Howie, Kathy, JoEllen and the rest of the super NPI team.”
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Lori Cockley, DDS
East Berlin, PA
I was having a hard time developing and projecting the right image for my new practice and keeping consistent new patients seeking comprehensive quality dental care. I needed a defined marketing program instead of the hit-or-miss one currently in place.
I called New Patients, Inc. and we started with a direct mail campaign and some internal marketing. At first I was very skeptical and fought Howie and Mark all of the way about the design. I was looking for razzle dazzle and this had a homey look to it.
What was with the goofball family on the front cover? They assured me that “we know what we are doing” and “you don't have to like it, you're not our target” and “trust us”, so I did.
My office is swamped!!! I saw 80 new patients in seven weeks. The phone still hasn't stopped ringing. We have April, May and a good bit of June filled with new patient appointments, at last count 170 seen or scheduled new patients since the mailer, but the calls haven't tapered off yet so my count keeps changing. I had to hire another full time assistant this week. I have gotten calls from people who haven't seen a dentist in 20-30 years.
What the heck was IN that mailer?
All I know is that the patients love it. Maybe these NPI guys do know a thing or two after all.
Thanks to Howie Horrocks, Eddie Facey, JoEllen Caruana, Mark Dilatush, Shirell Delaney and everyone else at New Patients, Inc. for such a fun ride!
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Tom Ryan, DDS
Tinley Park, IL
708-614-4575
Dr. Tom Ryan has been in practice for over 20 years. Like many dentists, he has had some ups and downs. His story is best told in his own words. "My practice was stagnant. So I moved to a new location, increasing my overhead by 50%. But I did not see any increase in production. Bad timing, as I moved just a few months ahead of 9/11. I was spiraling towards bankruptcy and there just didn’t seem to be much I could do about it.
I had of course heard about Howie Horrocks and his company, New Patients, Inc. (I even had Howie’s books) but it wasn’t until two years after my initial contact that I finally decided to do something. I saw a thread on DentalTown by Rod Kurthy describing his marketing experience with New Patients, Inc. and right then I decided to move ahead. It was quite a leap of faith for me, especially considering that I was hemorrhaging cash monthly. I went ahead and put my faith in NPI and they came through for me... BIG TIME!
After my first full year of using NPI as my only marketing, revenues had increased 33%. The second year I saw another 25% increase (this was working 28 hours per week). Before my NPI campaign I was averaging 16 new patients per month. After the campaign that average went up to 36 per month. But what was even more impressive was the average revenue per patient tripled. These were much higher quality patients than I was used to!
Three and one half years later I continue to get my best cases as a direct result of my NPI campaign. The patients are pre-sold before they arrive, prepared to pay a premium and are great referral sources for my practice!
Besides being great to work with, the NPI team has the honesty and integrity to tell me the truth, regardless of how it affects their profit or my ego. I appreciate and respect them for that! I would not hesitate to recommend them!
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Todd Gentling, DDS
Broken Arrow, OK
918-251-8141
It was a period of intense excitement but also palm-sweating nervousness.
In August of 2003, having graduated from the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Todd Gentling was about to open his first private practice in the developing community of Broken Arrow, OK. He had made a huge commitment with his practice loan (which smartly included money for advertising), and had worked his way through a thousand vexing details. He thought he was ready to open.
Everything was on the line. Dr. Gentling knew he needed to generate a strong flow of new patients from the day he opened his doors. "When you're a start-up like I was, every patient is a new patient," said Gentling, "and we knew if they didn't come in right away it would be a real struggle. Quite frankly, we were scared silly."
Fortunately, Dr. Gentling planned his advertising campaign long before he opened his doors. He even arranged for his practice finance company to provide additional funding specifically earmarked for advertising.
Dr. Gentling chose New Patients, Inc. as his advertising agency. He had heard about them from the postings on DentalTown. "We have DentalTown to thank for our success. We not only found NPI there but a wealth of other information that was priceless," said Gentling.
New Patients Inc. first studied the demographics of his area, noting it was mostly blue collar with heavy insurance dependence. Dr. Gentling wanted to attract mostly fee-for-service patients so the agency targeted his advertising campaign to resonate with this market. Print ads and radio were also deployed.
The results, since September of 2004, speak for themselves - 3,213 patients of record, mostly fee-for-service. "NPI did everything," said Dr. Gentling. "We couldn't have done it without them."
It seems that the world is currently focused on the state of the economy. For the next several months we are going to revisit some previous clients to see how they are faring NOW. This month’s story is Dr. Tim Hale and his partner Dr. Peter Masci.
Our practice is doing very well! We are currently at numbers that equal our best from 2005, which was our peak year. This is because, with NPI’s help, we continued to market no matter what was happening in the overall economy. As a result we have built a pipeline of new patients that continues to produce for us — even here in the middle of nowhere!
"Like many of you I have watched New Patients, Inc. over the years and have been impressed with the successes they've had helping practices with their marketing. But I didn't really think they could do much for us because we already had a great practice and very good new patient numbers. So, I thought, "what could they do for us?"
Dr. Ushma Patel and her husband Tony opened their suburban Atlanta practice just two months after 9/11. They were surrounded by well established practices and so faced an uphill challenge. Their story is best told in Dr. Patel's own words.
I opened my practice from scratch in 1982. Surprisingly what had worked for me during the first few years were the Yellow Pages.
Dr. Wilkinson bought an existing practice in October, 2006 in a middle income area. The practice was attracting between 10 - 12 new patients per month with gross revenues of approximately $40,000 per month.
Dr. Mike “Miguel” Melkers and his wife Dr. Jeanine McDonald opened their Spokane, WA practice in 2000. Their goal was to provide “one patient at a time” dental care to the community. However, things got off to a very slow start.
After being an associate for over 10 years, Athena Graves, DDS (Buffalo ‘96) decided to open a solo practice that would exemplify her beliefs of quality and compassionate dentistry in a private, fee-for-service practice setting. 
Dr. Rick Van Gurp had spent the last 18 years investing in marketing and practice development with little to show for it.
For the last 25 years I’ve practiced in Dental Hell. This would be South Orange County, California.
"I’ve been in practice for 25 years. Together with my team we have built a very nice practice focusing on adult dentistry with an emphasis on cosmetics. However, I wanted to get the practice to the "next level" but wasn’t sure how to go about it.
With the addition of my sister to the practice we were also faced with the challenge of how to fill her chair, as well as continuing to grow my side of the practice. We tried a lot of different marketing approaches. We did many things ourselves and even hired a nationally known advertising agency that specialized in dentistry. The results? Mixed at best. We just didn’t seem to be able to break through.
It was just four years from dental school graduation and Dr. Boyden was opening his first practice. It turned out to be a frustrating and nerve wracking experience. "If I had known then what I know now I probably would have chosen a different area," said Dr. Boyden, "mostly because there were lots of other dentists nearby which made the doctor/patient ratio very bad."
Dr. Bailey’s goal for her new start up practice was to "attract good quality new patients who are willing to take care of themselves." The area she chose to open in was mostly middle income with pockets of affluence. She knew that it was critical her new practice get off to a roaring start.