Nelson Clements, DMD
Valdosta, GA
I’ve had a very successful practice for 28 years. I have what most people would consider a high end practice. A lot of dentists seek me out for advice on clinical and practice management issues.
But my practice seemed to hit a plateau several years ago.
Like many of you I tried a bunch of different things I called “marketing” but I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. I never really had a consistent marketing plan. In
hindsight that sounds as foolish for me to say as it does for you to read it.
I did some self-created stuff and participated in one national marketing campaign, but nothing ever really worked well.
I had heard about New Patients, Inc. (who hasn’t?) and I even knew Howie Horrocks from years ago. Hell, I even read his first book! But I wasn’t moved to contact them for help because . . . I don’t know why really — just because.
Then I ran into Howie and Mark at a meeting in Austin TX. They got me to realize who the enemy was — it was me!
NPI worked up detailed study of my area and a marketing plan that made sense with my budget.
The ROI has been wonderful. This was the best marketing decision I’ve ever made.
Many thanks to Howie, Mark, Terry, JoEllen and the rest of the NPI team!
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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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21st Century Dental
Kent Smith, DDS, and Jeff Roy, DDS
Irving , TX
972-255-3712
kentsmith@21stcenturydental.com
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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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 form 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."
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Tamara Bailey, DDS
Weston, WI
715-846-3955
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.
She had heard about New Patients, Inc. from the DentalTown message boards. "So many other people had such good things to say about them that I was confident in going with NPI. They told me that marketing is always a risk, but I felt with their 15 years of experience and all the successes I’d read about - that I’d be successful too," said Dr. Bailey.
A targeted direct mail campaign was begun. Often it takes some time for such a campaign to catch hold, however in Dr. Bailey’s case good response happened almost right away.
"I have now been open for 13 months and have 738 active patients. I am averaging an amazing 57 new patients a month," notes Dr. Bailey. "The best thing about this marketing program is the patients are all ready to have treatment completed. They aren’t just here for the best price, they like the mailer and are ready to commit to doing something about their dental health."
"I wouldn’t be doing anywhere near as well without the NPI team!"
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. 
"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. 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."