How To Collect Almost $2 Million by Being Fee-for-Service (You Too Can Do It)

Back in 2014 I was at a place in my practice where I was doing well but hitting a plateau being in preferred provider organizations (PPOs). I was working long hours and questioning why dentistry seemed so hard.

I was giving my best and feeling I was not being compensated for the quality I was providing. Taking a long, hard look at where I wanted to be in 3, 5, or 10 years, I knew I needed to find a way to brand my practice to achieve the growth I wanted but also to figure out how to have a life away from the dental practice. I also wanted to work smarter, not harder.

Feeling motivated, my husband and I began our online research, looking for inspiration on how other practices like mine positioned themselves for growth. Though marketing is foreign to me, I can recognize a good dental practice website when I see one. The websites that most caught my eye had all been developed by the same company.

After seeing what was out there, I realized that the only way to really grow would be to place my practice in the hands of a partner specializing in dental practice growth. This decision has not only resulted in an increase in my annual pretax profits but has helped me understand how to gain more time off each year, better support my team both financially and physically, and made me a better business owner.

I am sharing my story because I want other dentists to have the same success I have had. I truly did not know what to do or how to do it, but I found a group who did. And they did not try to put me in a generic box or use a one-size-fits-all approach. Having solid marketing counsel has made all the difference in my life and the life of my practice. I am here to let you know you should run, not walk, to this company if you want to see your practice skyrocket to levels you never thought possible.

Change Is Inevitable, But Who You Partner With Can Make All the Difference

Rebranding and leveling up my practice had its challenges, but anything worth doing usually does. In the long term, I wanted to work less, get out of PPOs, and earn more. A core outcome was to implement a fee-for-service structure by diligently and consistently upgrading my cases. The biggest hurdle? Demographics in my area skewed strongly toward low-income households and PPO-dependent clients. This had been further exacerbated by the recession and housing crisis of 2009, creating a perfect storm for low collections.

I knew I needed a multipronged approach. As much as my research showed that first impressions matter, a simple website update would not be enough to help me grow my business. I wanted to focus on dentistry and the day-to-day needs of my team and patients. Handling this practice upgrade would require a partner experienced in practice growth, employing multiple marketing methods. This is when I reached out to Amplify360 for guidance and results.

We embarked on my practice’s evolution with a practice analysis and regular 360 Reviews to gauge the health of the business. Our main areas of focus were all geared toward helping me become a fee-for-service business, including the following:

• Team training and leadership development
• Targeting big case marketing (in my case, dental implants)
• Increasing regional web presence (I needed a new website, and visibility on Google required a serious boost)
• Building strategic direct mail campaigns for untapped patient groups
• Launching an in-house subscription membership club for uninsured patients
• Establishing a unique brand identity to stand out in the local market

This may seem overwhelming, especially if you are trying to do it alone while taking care of your business, your team, your family, and yourself. But I was not alone. I had a marketing partner with decades of experience, thousands of successful clients, and proven outcomes.

Invest in Yourself, and the Results Will Follow

Leveling up your practice is not something that happens overnight. It takes strategic planning and calculated steps. My marketing partner equipped the practice with the proper training, proven marketing systems, and a detailed blueprint for how we were going to become a fee-for-service practice once and for all, all while increasing profits.

Throughout the process, whenever I had doubts or concerns that we would not hit our goals, my partner encouraged me to push forward. Their support is genuine. Many conversations over the years have been purely encouraging, helping me remain accountable to staying the course. Their unyielding support and expertise helped guide me to achieving a more successful practice, which has enabled me to have a better-balanced life.

I am thrilled to say that after 8 years of carefully configured moves and tactics, along with monthly check-ins with the Amplify360 team to ensure we were on track, my office dropped all remaining insurance patients. The exact date was February 15, 2018—the day I reclaimed my practice and started doing dentistry my way.

Our online presence is knocking it out of the park, and we have hundreds of positive Google reviews that keep attracting more and better patients. Being a fee-for-service operation means we decide what treatments to offer and what to specialize in, and because of this, we are seeing $1.7 million in annual pretax collections.

Not only is my practice earning more profit, but I get more time off throughout the year. My stress levels have decreased, and I have the flexibility and confidence to take time off (I worked 183 days last year) because of my well-trained, very capable team. They can take care of the practice, my patients, and the business while I enjoy what I have worked so hard to achieve. In my case, I wanted more time with my children.

Another welcome aspect of becoming a fee-for-service business is that my practice has taken a giant leap in estimated value. In 2009 it was hovering around $500,000. Now? I am happy to say it is valued at around $1 million.

Investing in marketing for your practice is not just about building a website, following search engine optimization best practices, or mailing postcards. It is about all-hands-on-deck training and education while syncing your practice systems to attract quality patients. It is about hiring the right marketing partner and investing in your business to ensure success.

Amplify360 is unique in that it focuses solely on the dental industry. They know our business inside and out, and that has significantly helped my practice. They are very involved in the process and never leave your side—even when profits skyrocket and goals are met. I am blessed and grateful for what we have accomplished with this marketing partner, and I am confident I will see my practice grow for the foreseeable future.