“A No Isn’t a No—It’s a Not Right Now”: Why Following Up on Unscheduled Treatment Is Patient Advocacy, Not Pestering
What happens when a marketing major lands an externship at a dental practice, falls in love with operations more than marketing, and spends the next decade discovering that most practices are bleeding thousands in unscheduled treatment simply because they never follow up? Olivia Smith has worked with over 100 practices across the country—from the West Coast to Florida to New York—and she’s witnessed the same pattern repeatedly: teams rush through treatment presentations, quote numbers over the counter while phones are ringing, then wonder why nobody’s scheduling. As founder of OS Dental Consulting, Olivia brings a unique perspective born from being treated like a colleague rather than just a team member, learning to read x-rays and understand the clinical side while mastering the operational systems that turn practices into well-oiled machines. In this eye-opening conversation, she reveals why your website saying “24-hour emergency care” is sabotaging your high-end cosmetic vision, how a practice that looked like it was “still from the seventies” transformed with a facelift, and the critical question every treatment coordinator should ask when patients decline: “May I ask what’s keeping you from getting the treatment that you need?” If your team is stuck in transactional mode instead of advocacy mode, this episode will revolutionize how you think about case acceptance, culture, and what it really means to align your brand with your patient experience.
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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- 03:01 – The accidental journey: Marketing major lands dental externship, falls in love with operations
- 04:24 – The pivot to private practice: Discovering a love for boots-on-the-ground, hands-on consulting
- 05:46 – The two biggest challenges: Case acceptance and leadership development
- 07:55 – Get curious before diving in: Examining the system before blaming the treatment coordinator
- 08:54 – The follow-up gap: How practices fail to educate patients and ask permission to follow up
- 11:10 – The $50,000 case conversation: Different approach than $300 copay restorations
- 12:01 – The branding connection: Mission, vision, and what message are you sending patients?
- 13:57 – First phone call litmus test: Does it feel like concierge service or rushed and unimportant?
- 14:58 – The seventies office facelift story: Great dentistry but outdated appearance
- 16:37 – The disconnect danger: High-end marketing but hole-in-the-wall patient experience
- 17:26 – Culture visibility: Patients can tell when someone’s having a bad day or resents staying late
- 19:01 – The understaffing problem: $5M practice with only two admin staff always behind
- 20:15 – The communication gap: Doctors frustrated but never talking to grumpy team members
- 21:44 – The consulting process: Short-term projects vs. long-term partnerships
- 24:43 – The golden nugget: Advocate for your patients—a “no” isn’t a no, it’s “not right now”
- 25:10 – The critical question: “May I ask what’s keeping you from getting the treatment that you need?”
Olivia Smith never intended to spend her career in dental operations—she was a marketing and business management major who needed an externship to graduate. Landing at a dental practice that needed marketing help, she quickly discovered operations was where her true passion lived. What made all the difference was working for a dentist who treated her like a colleague rather than just a team member, investing the time to teach her how to read x-rays and understand both the clinical and operational sides of dentistry. After expanding and growing that practice while helping the dentist’s friends with their practices, Olivia was recruited by Spear Education for consulting work. While she appreciated working with the bulk of her practices through Spear, she discovered something crucial: she loved private practice more. The hands-on, boots-on-the-ground work of being in offices with practices and teams, helping them overcome obstacles in real-time—that’s what fueled her. Several years ago, she launched OS Dental Consulting as a boutique firm focused on helping practices reach their individual goals and lifestyle vision, not cookie-cutter solutions about what practice ownership “should” look like.
Across 100+ practices spanning the West Coast to Florida to New York, Olivia has identified two dominant challenges: case acceptance and leadership development. The case acceptance problem isn’t usually about the treatment coordinator’s skills—it’s about the system. Before blaming individuals, Olivia gets curious: What does the process actually look like? Where are the handoffs breaking down between front and back? How are teams communicating with patients without feeling insurance-driven? The breakdown typically happens in three places: insufficient training on patient communication, rushing through presentations (quoting thousands of dollars over the counter while phones ring), and complete failure to follow up. Treatment plans aren’t just about going over numbers—they’re patients’ time to ask questions and feel confident about their decisions. But when offices are busy and overwhelmed, they skip the photo review, skip the education, and wonder why nobody schedules. The leadership challenge is equally pervasive: most doctors never went to school for management or leadership, yet they’re expected to hold teams accountable (the biggest hurdle), manage staffing decisions, and communicate effectively. Some are natural leaders, but most struggle—even in corporate DSO settings.
Olivia’s approach starts with alignment: What’s your mission and vision? What message are you actually sending patients? She encounters practices whose websites advertise “24-hour emergency care” while doctors complain about emergency visits and want to be high-end cosmetic offices open 3-4 days weekly. The SEO keywords say “emergency dental” but the brand aspiration is boutique concierge service. She examines the entire patient journey: Does your first phone call feel rushed and unimportant, or like white-glove service? Do you have the right people in the right seats? One practice was doing great dentistry but the office looked “still from the seventies”—after a facelift, the appearance finally matched the quality. If you want people to spend money, the hole-in-the-wall aesthetic works for Chinese food, not dentistry. Culture is equally critical: patients can tell when team members are having bad days or resenting staying late for add-on treatment. If culture isn’t solid, all the systems and branding updates fall flat. Olivia starts by revisiting mission, vision, and core values, creating team agreements, then holding everyone accountable to decisions aligned with practice goals. Most doctor frustration stems from communication gaps—they’re upset about the grumpy hygienist but never actually talked to that person about impact. As a self-described “recovering micromanager,” Olivia helps doctors develop their people and ensure they have the right team in place. Her golden nugget transforms how teams think about unscheduled treatment: a “no” isn’t a no—it’s “not right now.” Advocate for your patients by asking “May I ask what’s keeping you from getting the treatment that you need?” and follow up consistently, even if it’s six months later at the next hygiene exam. If it’s medically necessary, they deserve care, not neglect.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- OS Dental Consulting: Olivia Smith’s boutique consulting company specializing in operations, practice transitions, team coaching, and leadership development
- LinkedIn – Olivia Smith: Brett’s dentist in Boulder, Colorado, mentioned for completing SureSmile clear aligners
- Marketing 32: Performance-based dental marketing agency with growth guarantee, working with 260+ practices across the US, Canada, and Australia
- Marketing 32: This week’s episode of The Marketing 32 Show
Quotable Moments:
“I was lucky and fortunate enough to work for a dentist that treated me like a colleague instead of a team member and really showed me how to read x-rays and understand the clinical side and the operation side of dentistry.” – Olivia Smith
“I really loved private practice more and really enjoyed the hands-on being boots on the ground in the offices with practices and teams and helping them overcome obstacles.” – Olivia Smith
“What do you want your practice to look like and how can we help you get there? Not the cookie-cutter ‘here’s what you have to do if you’re a private owner.'” – Olivia Smith
“The biggest challenges teams face are really around case acceptance and understanding how to speak to what’s important to the patient.” – Olivia Smith
“Most of these doctors never went to school for management or leadership or have any leadership development courses. Some of them are naturally great leaders, but for the most part we have a lot of private practice owners really struggling out there.” – Olivia Smith
“The biggest hurdle usually is accountability—helping them figure out how to hold team members accountable.” – Olivia Smith
“Get curious behind your system first. Before you dive right in and say ‘our treatment coordinator isn’t closing cases enough,’ really look at what does that process actually look like? Where are the breakdowns?” – Olivia Smith
“A treatment plan presentation—it’s not just going over the numbers. It’s really their time to ask questions and for us to help make sure that they’re fully confident and comfortable with the treatment.” – Olivia Smith
“We’re busy, we’ve got the phone ringing, we’ve got all these things happening and we’re just over the counter giving them a quote for a few thousand dollars. And then we’re wondering why no one’s scheduling.” – Olivia Smith
“If I’m going to sell a $50,000 case, that’s a different conversation than a patient that has some resins with a $300 copay. You definitely have to take a step back and look at the process.” – Olivia Smith
“I bring it back with the doctors of like, what is your mission and vision? How do you want your practice to be portrayed? And then we back it up and look at what message are you actually sending to patients?” – Olivia Smith
“Your website says that you take emergency 24-hour care, but yet you want to be a high-end cosmetic office that’s only open three or four days a week. Your SEO focus keywords are emergency dental, but yet you want to be a high-end cosmetic office.” – Olivia Smith
“If you say that you’re a high-end office and you want to be high-producing, what is your first phone call look like and feel like? How are we more of a concierge service? Or does it feel rushed and like patients aren’t important to come in?” – Olivia Smith
“I have a practice right now I went into—they’re doing great dentistry, but the office looked like it was still from the seventies. They’ve done a facelift since then and it’s gorgeous and it matches the personality.” – Olivia Smith
“If you want people to spend money with you, they’re gonna have a hard time if they come in and it looks like a hole in the wall. That works for great Chinese food—that really doesn’t work for dentistry.” – Olivia Smith
“Patients can tell if somebody’s having a bad day or if doctor adds in a crown and the team’s like ‘ugh, I’ve got to stay late.’ That doesn’t feel good.” – Olivia Smith
“If you have a great culture, it’s easy to implement and update and add all these fun things that match your brand. But if we don’t have the right team in place or our culture is not very great, it’s gonna fall flat.” – Olivia Smith
“Sometimes I come into practices and we’re sorely understaffed. We have a $5 million practice, but yet we’ve got two people doing admin and they’re always behind. They’re wondering why can’t we keep the schedule full or why are we losing patients out the back door?” – Olivia Smith
“Usually I find that most doctors that are frustrated with their team, it’s because of a lack of communication. They’re frustrated that so-and-so at the front always does this, but have you talked to that person and told them how that’s affecting you?” – Olivia Smith
“I was a micromanager when I started out, I’ll admit it. I’m a recovering micromanager. But you can always turn that around and really focus on how can you develop your people.” – Olivia Smith
“Culture is a direct reflection of the leadership.” – Brett Allen
“The trust that you gain as a coach with the team is usually around year two to three because there’s gonna be that hesitancy.” – Olivia Smith
“Every practice I work with, it looks completely different. I have people that bring me in because they want to retire in five, ten years. I have other doctors that are like, I want to expand and open another location.” – Olivia Smith
“My favorite is just advocate for your patients. Just because it’s a no, don’t hear no if they say no to you. I want you to hear ‘not right now.'” – Olivia Smith
“Don’t be scared to ask: ‘May I ask what’s keeping you from getting the treatment that you need?’ Don’t be scared to probe a little bit more because you never know what that person’s going through.” – Olivia Smith
“Even if it’s six months from now at the next hygiene exam, make sure that you’re still following up on that treatment because if it is medically necessary, then you want to make sure they’re getting the care and they’re not being neglected.” – Olivia Smith
Action Steps
- Audit your brand alignment: Look at your website, SEO keywords, and messaging—does it match what you actually want your practice to be?
- Evaluate your first phone call: Record or mystery-shop your front desk—does it feel like concierge service or rushed and unimportant?
- Get curious about case acceptance breakdowns: Before blaming team members, examine the entire system and handoff process
- Implement the follow-up question: Train team to ask “Is it okay if I give you a call in a week if I haven’t heard from you?”
- Review treatment presentations: Are you going over photos and ensuring understanding before discussing financials?
This episode is brought to you by Marketing 32—the only dental marketing team with a performance guarantee where if you’re not growing, you don’t pay. Marketing 32 is truly invested in your growth, helping practices across the spectrum from solo practitioners to 30-location groups acquire new patients and break through growth plateaus. They get patients to your front door through proven digital marketing, SEO, and patient acquisition strategies. But as Dawn reminds us, what happens when patients walk through that door is up to you. If you need help with the marketing side and want to see if you’re a great fit to work together, reach out to Marketing 32 at marketing32.com for a quick discovery conversation.
Episode Transcript:
Brett Allen (00:04)
Hi, Brett Allen here, host of the Marketing 32 show where I connect with leading dentists, dental influencers, and industry experts to bring you guys the latest and greatest in strategies, insights, innovations to grow your practice. This episode, as always, is brought to you by the team here at Marketing 32. We’re the only dental marketing team that I know of with a performance guarantee that if you’re not growing, you don’t pay us. We truly are invested in who we work with, and we only work with those who we know we can deliver exceptional value and growth.
So if you need help with growth and you’re looking for help with marketing or another marketing provider, reach out to us at marketing32.com, schedule a 15 minute discovery call. We’ll go deep on your goals and figure out if this will be a great fit together to work together. Quick shout out to Dr. Martin Mendelson. He is our first repeat guest on the show that we just recorded. He’s got a new book out and it’s all about the subtle mindset shift that will transform the way you view your practice and have
More achievement and fulfillment in the work that you do in dentistry. So check out that episode. It was fun to record with him All right quick shout out ⁓ or super excited today to have Olivia Smith on the show. She is a trusted consultant coach and speaker With a passion for helping demo practices thrive with experience supporting over hundred practices across the country
Olivia brings a wealth of knowledge in operations, practice transitions, team coaching, and leadership development. At OS Dental Consulting, they specialize in implementing effective systems and empowering doctors to bring their best vision to life. So excited to have you on the show, Olivia. Thanks for joining us.
man, it cut out. Did you hear my intro?
Olivia Smith (02:06)
I heard your intro, you were doing a shout out to Martin and then it just completely like, well, it gave me a notice and it said, due to technical errors, you’ve been removed from the call. Others are still being recorded. And I was like, dang it.
Brett Allen (02:10)
and then drop.
Well, it’s recording, so I’ll have Rachel and her team cut this part out. I gave a great introduction and a great welcome, and then I said, great to have you on the show, Olivia. Yeah, so here, let’s try that again so we have a fresh, clean cut. Thank you for coming on the show today, Olivia. This will be fun.
Olivia Smith (02:22)
Thank
Okay.
thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I’m looking forward to it.
Brett Allen (02:46)
Yeah, it’ll be a great conversation. So I always love to start with our guests kind of going into their background of dentistry. Like why and how did you get into dentistry? And then tell us that story from when you started to what you’re doing today.
Olivia Smith (03:01)
Yeah. So I got into dentistry. was finishing up my last year in college and needed to do an, I was actually a marketing major and business management and needed to do an externship for graduation and ended up at a dental practice that needed some help with marketing. Very quickly got into operations and fell in love with that piece of it even more.
Brett Allen (03:11)
for
Olivia Smith (03:26)
⁓ and grew the practice. And so I was lucky and fortunate enough to work for a dentist that treated me like a colleague instead of, you know, team member and really showed me how to read x-rays and understand the clinical side and the operation side of dentistry. So I worked there for quite some time. And then eventually I was helping his friends with practices. We were expanding and growing.
⁓ he was invested quite a bit in me. And then I was recruited by spirit education to go into consulting for them. So that’s where I worked with the bulk of my practices. ⁓ and I did that for several years and really enjoyed it and found that I really loved private practice more. and really enjoyed the hands on being boots on the ground in the offices with practices and teams and helping them overcome obstacles.
Brett Allen (04:01)
Hmm.
Okay.
Olivia Smith (04:24)
So several years ago, I started my own company and ⁓ went fully into consulting. And so I have a boutique consulting company that we work with clients and just really whatever obstacles they’re facing and trying to help them reach their goal and their lifestyle, not necessarily the cookie cutter. Here’s what you have to do in practice if you’re an owner, a private owner.
Brett Allen (04:47)
Hmm.
Olivia Smith (04:52)
What do you want your practice to look like and how can we help you get there?
Brett Allen (04:57)
Yeah, that’s awesome. I love that. We’ve had a handful of ⁓ dental consultants, coaches on the show, and I know everyone brings their unique approach and ⁓ expertise. And I love picking your brain and figuring out, you know, what are those, what are those bottlenecks? What are those ceilings that dentists tend to butt up against that are prohibiting their growth and prohibiting, you know, where they want to be with their practice and their team and everything. So.
Olivia Smith (05:18)
Mm-hmm.
Brett Allen (05:26)
⁓ It’s great. I’m excited to ask you some questions. So first question I have for you is in your experience, you know, working with 100 practices, what’s kind of a common ⁓ challenge that they faced and how do you work through that with them? And maybe you can share us some advice and tips on that.
Olivia Smith (05:46)
Yeah, I think it really varies. I have practices right now all over the country from the West Coast to Florida to New York, just kind of all over the Midwest. And I would say the biggest challenge for challenges that teams face is really around case acceptance and understanding and how to get through to the patient, how to speak to what’s important to the patient. ⁓ That’s probably my number one issue with teams is that, you know, some of that verbiage I have.
some great teams that we work through that process, they get really comfortable and really good with it. And they start to see that increase, which is always fun when they put in the work. And then I’d say the second thing is probably leadership. having that ⁓ most of these doctors never went to school for management or leadership or have any leadership development courses. Yeah, and some of them are naturally great leaders, right? We have those out there as well.
Brett Allen (06:35)
Yeah, clinical only,
Olivia Smith (06:41)
But for the most part, we have a lot of private practice owners that are really struggling out there, even corporate leaders that are struggling with DSOs. So helping them figure out how to communicate with team members, how to overcome some of those day-to-day snags that come up, and even understanding when is it appropriate to grow, when is it appropriate to add staffing, how to manage that staff and hold them accountable, which is the biggest hurdle usually is accountability.
Brett Allen (06:50)
Hmm.
Hmm.
Mm.
Olivia Smith (07:10)
⁓ Yeah, those are probably the big two, I’d say. ⁓
Brett Allen (07:11)
Yeah.
That’s great. Yeah. I, I’m, I’m curious to learn more about how you help docs improve case acceptance. Cause you know, on the marketing side, we, we have all kinds of different practices we work with. We’ve helped in all over 260 practices and everybody’s kind of unique in terms of what they do, how they do things. And we do our part to drive the patient to the practice, get them scheduled.
And then it’s up to the team and the doc to make sure that there’s actual production coming from those patients. And so can you share with us some of the like, you know, little tweaks and nuances that go into getting a patient to say yes?
Olivia Smith (07:55)
Yeah, of course. ⁓ I would say that the first step is get curious behind your system, right? Like before you dive right in and you say, our treatment coordinator isn’t closing cases enough or our front desk isn’t handling the phone calls. I just get really curious first about what does that process actually look like? Where are the breakdowns? How are we handling our handoffs from the front to the back and vice versa? ⁓ And just really working with teams and seeing like, where is it that we’re breaking down?
Brett Allen (07:57)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Olivia Smith (08:24)
Oftentimes
what I’m finding is that it’s either one, we need some training on how to communicate with our patients, how to not, even if we’re an insurance practice, how to not feel insurance driven, but really focused on here’s what you need and letting the patient make an educated guess, or not educated guess, an educated decision. But then also it comes down to the follow-up too. Like how are we following up with our patients? How are we educating them while they’re in the chair?
Brett Allen (08:44)
Right.
Olivia Smith (08:54)
in the consult room. ⁓ And I always tell team members and patients, a treatment plan presentation, it’s not just going over the numbers. It’s really their time to ask questions and for us to help make sure that they’re fully confident and comfortable with the treatment that they’ve decided along with the dentist. ⁓ sometimes I find that teams just go in and they’re, you know, we’re busy, we’ve got the phone ringing, we’ve got all these things happening and we’re just over the counter giving them a quote for a few thousand dollars.
And then we’re wondering why no one’s scheduling, right? So taking the time to review photos with them, make sure that they already understand from the doctor and that they are accepting the before we talk financials is, think, the big key. And then following up if they don’t schedule, like, is it okay if I give you a call in a week if I haven’t heard from you? And then doing that follow-up because a lot of offices don’t have time or they don’t have a dedicated person.
Brett Allen (09:24)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, there’s
a lot of unscheduled
Olivia Smith (09:54)
A lot of unskittled treatment. So there’s other tips and tricks like, talking to their motivators, making sure if you have somebody who’s really detail oriented, they want to know what the doctor’s accolades are. They want to know how skilled your team is versus somebody who maybe is like a very high driver that just wants to make a decision and get out of your practice. Right. So there’s tips and tricks and trainings I do with teams to help them understand how to talk to patients and communicate.
Brett Allen (10:16)
you
Olivia Smith (10:22)
And then from there, it’s just presentation skills and how are we presenting what we want them to accept.
Brett Allen (10:22)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, was it helpful in the early days when he first worked with that first dentist? Did you see good examples of that? Was he good at closing cases?
Olivia Smith (10:40)
Oh yeah, we were, he was very skilled at closing cases. He still is very skilled at closing cases. He allowed us the opportunity. He did a lot of large treatment, more specialty treatment in a general practice. So we did a lot of sleep and implant cases and things like that. So those are different kinds of cases, right? If I’m going to sell a $50,000 case, that’s a different conversation than a patient that has some resins that, you know, $300 copay.
Brett Allen (10:46)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Right.
Olivia Smith (11:10)
You definitely have
to take a step back and look at the process and figure out, okay, this person deserves more attention and time. And they have probably have a lot of questions and we might have to get a little bit more creative in how we’re going to make it fit within their budget or make it work with their schedule or put them at ease with what they need.
Brett Allen (11:17)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that’s interesting. So I was actually just up in Boulder, Colorado yesterday. ⁓ Shout out to Dr. Dan Allman from Allman Family Dental. He’s my dentist. And I just finished SureSmile. So I had to clear aligners, you know? And he was taking the little nubs off my teeth. And… ⁓
Olivia Smith (11:44)
great.
Brett Allen (11:53)
On my way home, I stopped at another practice in Boulder that is they’re more heavy. They’re heavily focused on cosmetic and implants. And, um, I met with the office manager there and she, um, office manager slash treatment coordinator. They have a really great, uh, ambiance to the practice. They have a great team. Um, and, uh, they’re, you know, they’re doing over 300,000 a month in production. So.
It’s one of these higher end practices. I know there’s differences out there when you have a practice like that versus another doc who’s, you know, maybe has three team members that’s either just getting started or in the same place for a long time and stuck in their growth, maybe doing 50 to 70,000 a month in production. ⁓ How do you help that one doc that’s kind of struggling turn into
and get to a place where they’ve got, you know, the team and it’s like, you know, I’m talking about these practices that are just crushing it and it’s a great, great practice.
Olivia Smith (13:01)
You’re going to like my answer because it’s branding. So I bring it back with the doctors of like, what is your mission and vision? Like, what do how do you want your practice to be portrayed? And then we back it up and we look at like, well, what are you actually, what message are you sending to patients? Right? Like if you, and we look at the entire practice. So let’s say I have, I have some doctors where I start with them and I’m like, okay, you don’t like all these emergency visits, but yet your website says that you take emergency 24 hour care.
Brett Allen (13:05)
⁓ yes.
Yes. Yeah.
Olivia Smith (13:30)
Right? Or like your
your focus keywords on your SEO are emergency dental, but yet you want to be a high end cosmetic office that’s only open three or four days a week. And so and then we take a look at your process. So if you say that you’re a high end office and you want to make all this money and you want to be high producing, what is your first phone call look like and feel like? How are we more of a concierge service at the ad with the admin team?
Brett Allen (13:42)
Yeah.
Olivia Smith (13:57)
Or does it feel rushed and like patients aren’t important to come in? So really taking a look and it’s, it’s based on every individual practice. do look at network participation, things like that, strategies with those things. But what is it that you want to be as a practice? Like, what do want that to look like? And then we can take a look at your systems throughout the entire team, right? Do we have everybody in the right seat on the team or are there strengths? Maybe do we need to re re move everybody around and realign?
Brett Allen (14:01)
Amen.
Hmm.
Olivia Smith (14:28)
And so we take a look at all those things and make sure that whatever we’re doing really matches the brand. And if it’s not the brand that you want it to be, we need to adjust our systems and processes and maybe even our team a little bit and make sure we’re maximizing all those things. So it can be quite a process and it takes a lot of time, but I have a practice right now I went into and when I went in the first time they’re doing great dentistry, but the office looked like it was still from the seventies, right? And
Brett Allen (14:44)
Yeah.
⁓ wow, okay.
Olivia Smith (14:58)
They’ve done a facelift
since then and it’s gorgeous and it matches the personality. so, we talk about if you want people to spend money with you, they’re gonna have a hard time if they come in and it looks like you’re… Yeah, like that works for great Chinese food that really doesn’t work for dentistry.
Brett Allen (15:03)
good.
It’s like a hole in the wall practice. Yeah.
Yeah.
Right? ⁓
man, I can’t tell you how many times I talk with doctors or we have potential people that want to work with us and I look at their website and we look at their social media and it’s brochure, it’s templated, it’s stock photography and it doesn’t tell a story that’s really going to capture that patient that’s wanting quality dentistry, right?
And it doesn’t distinguish them from all the other guys out there who are paying the low cost, you know, $200 a month website company that’s just hosting their website. You know, so, and there’s a lot of, don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of good marketers out there. We’re not the only ones, but when the approach is flawed that way and it’s, and, ⁓
it’s not aligned with, like you said, their brand and what they’re trying to do. And it’s just purely based on dollars and budget. Then there’s a misalignment in the patient journey. Or vice versa. Let’s say you have a super high end and you’ve invested a ton on marketing and the website and the photo videos of your practice really convey who you are.
Olivia Smith (16:19)
Mm-hmm.
Brett Allen (16:37)
And then they come in and they see a totally different experience or it’s rushed and it’s a hole in the wall practice. And it doesn’t even look like the ones that they’ve got on the website. Like that, that disconnect is, is big. We, had, um, Fred Joel on the podcast a while back. Yeah. Fred’s great. And we talked all about how marketing is everything for the practice or everything is marketing. Excuse me.
So not only just the online presence, but how they experience the front desk, how they, you know, when they sit in the chair, what’s the whole experience like, the smell of the practice, the what’s on the walls and how the team communicate, all of it adds up. It sounds like that’s what you’re getting at. You really try to dig into how to help them with that and get that improved.
Olivia Smith (17:26)
Yeah. And even what’s the culture of the office? Like patients can tell if somebody’s having a bad day or if you go, if doctor adds in a crown and the team’s like, ⁓ I’ve got to stay late. Like, right. Like that doesn’t feel good. And so, ⁓ I do focus a lot on communication and team culture with my teams, because if you have a great culture, it’s easy to implement and update and add all these fun things that match your brand or even tweak what you have right now and make sure it really matches your brand.
Brett Allen (17:38)
Yeah, negative answers.
Olivia Smith (17:56)
But if we don’t have the right team in place or our culture is not very great, it’s gonna fall flat. So that’s a big one too, for sure.
Brett Allen (17:57)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Tell us, tell
us about that. So if we’ve got a listener doc or a team member doc who’s like, man, I fit, I fit that what she’s talking about. I’m not sure I like my team or I feel like my teams get creating a lot of friction. And how, do you navigate that when you work with teams? What’s that process like? How do you determine whether someone should stay or should go? Or how do we change a culture?
Olivia Smith (18:32)
So I think that it’s something that it’s different for every team, right? So it’s really based on like, what does that individual teams need? And what’s causing that cultural friction? Like sometimes I come into practices and we’re sorely understaffed. And when I look at the numbers, we have a $5 million practice, but yet we’ve got two people doing admin and they’re always behind. And they’re wondering, why can’t we keep the schedule full or why are we losing patients out the back door?
Brett Allen (18:40)
Hmm.
Mmm.
Hmm.
Olivia Smith (19:01)
⁓ Maybe the assistants are always running behind because we’re not scheduling efficiently ⁓ So really looking at like what is what is causing that friction and Then I always talk to doctors and usually my when I start working with a client The first thing we look at is culture and if it needs some work we we have you know have some tips and tricks at my sleeve like books that I can use to get the team engaged and talking about the topic ⁓ Or exercises or things we’ll do to kind of break the ice
But usually what I start with is like a revisit of the mission and vision. Like, what is it that you’re here for? What are your core values as an owner? Are you living those? If not, it’s okay. We can always have a fresh start tomorrow, right? And then really working as a team, creating some team agreements and then starting to hold the team accountable moving forward and making sure that every decision that we make goes back to, that align with what I want for my practice? Just like the branding and the mission, right?
Brett Allen (19:43)
Mm-hmm.
Olivia Smith (19:58)
Is that what I want? And if it’s not, it’s an easier decision to make. ⁓ And usually I find that most doctors that are frustrated with their team, it’s because of a lack of communication. Like they’re frustrated that so-and-so at the front always does this or that, or somebody in the back is, you know, got a hygienist that’s always grumpy and it’s like, well, have you talked to that person and told them how that’s affecting you in the practice or have you had an open communication? ⁓ So we work through a lot of those things and…
Brett Allen (20:15)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Olivia Smith (20:26)
and leadership development is usually a big one, but I always tell doctors, you’re, I was a micromanager when I started out, I’ll admit it. ⁓ I’m a recovering micromanager. ⁓ But you can always turn that around and really focus on how can you develop your people and do you the right people in the right places? So that’s what I love to support teams with and help them get through.
Brett Allen (20:30)
Yeah.
Ha ha
Hmm.
Yeah, you’re right. The culture, I imagine, is a direct reflection of the leadership, right? And so, yeah, it seems like that would be a tough job for you, Olivia, to go in and try and say, hey, the problem’s you. So hopefully, they’re open to that kind of critical and candid feedback. ⁓ Well, ⁓
Olivia Smith (21:08)
Yeah.
Brett Allen (21:21)
Tell us more, like if I’m a practice who’s looking to work with you and go through your process, what’s that like? Walk us through kind of that process of like day one to achieving the goals. Do you stop working with people? Like do you get to a place where they no longer work with you or is it kind of a constant thing that needs to be ⁓ addressed that you’re working with people?
Olivia Smith (21:44)
So it really depends on the client. I do some short-term projects where maybe somebody needs help with just a one-off training. I tend to find that a lot of those offices, the trust that you gain as a coach with the team is usually around year two to three, I find, ⁓ because there’s gonna be that hesitancy. So when I start off with clients, I do an analysis for them. We look at their numbers. I help them with their…
Annual planning if they have never budgeted before we make sure that the we work to work through fee management, maybe insurance analysis, make sure that they’re set up appropriately. And then we take a look at their current systems and say, hey, we’re you know, where are your systems at? Are there any opportunities that we need to focus on first? ⁓ But we pair that with what is the doctor’s goal? So every practice I work with, it looks completely different. I people that bring me in because they want to retire in five, ten years and.
We need to get the practice ready for sale. I have other doctors that are like, I want to expand and we’ll do a transition and open another location. And I help them through that process. And sometimes I discontinue working with them six months after other times they say, no, we need you to stay on. ⁓ So it really varies practice by practice, but all of my current clients that I keep long-term are, you know, we’re there.
for the long haul and it’s just, I’m a partner and a support for them and we do focus on goals every quarter and we’re working towards whatever they want as a team annually and really just making sure that we’re hitting their goal and it’s that operational support that most of them either don’t have or if they do have it, I work with their leaders and help develop their leaders to a higher level so they can continue to grow.
Brett Allen (23:20)
Hmm.
I love that. Well, this has been a great conversation, just tip of the iceberg, I’m sure. ⁓ You guys, you gotta check out Olivia and get in contact with her. ⁓ For our listeners who are interested, where should we send them, Olivia? How do they get ahold of you? What’s the best way?
Olivia Smith (23:37)
Yes, it’s
Yeah, I would love to,
yeah, you can reach out to me on my email. It’s Olivia or you can via email Olivia at osdentalconsulting.com or you can even go to osdentalconsulting.com and fill out a form and I’ll reach out or someone from my team. And so yeah, we’d love to help out if you have any short-term trainings I do for an office training as well as office manager.
Brett Allen (24:03)
Okay.
Olivia Smith (24:13)
training and fee analysis and things like that. So if there’s any little side projects you need support with, we’re happy to support.
Brett Allen (24:21)
That’s awesome. Okay, great. Well, before I let you go, I always like to close the show with what’s that one epiphany if we could help our listeners have that golden nugget that would have a ripple effect in their practice and their life? What’s that one piece of advice you think would fit that criteria?
Olivia Smith (24:43)
I would say my favorite is just advocate for your patients. just because it’s a no, don’t hear no if they say no to you. I want you to hear not right now. And so make sure that you’re following up with them. And don’t be scared to ask, may I ask what’s keeping you from getting the treatment that you need? Right, like don’t be scared to probe a little bit more because you never know what that person’s going through or what the situation is right now. And if you’re consistent.
Brett Allen (24:53)
Hmm.
Hmm.
Hmm.
Olivia Smith (25:10)
⁓ And even if it’s six months from now at the next hygiene exam, make sure that you’re still following up on that treatment because if it is medically necessary, then you want to make sure that they’re getting the care and they’re not being neglected. So that’d be my biggest.
Brett Allen (25:23)
I love that.
It’s not a no right now. I love that. Yeah, advocating for the patient. This is great. A lot of gold here in this episode, Olivia. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for your time today and ⁓ for being on the show.
Olivia Smith (25:39)
Yeah, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Brett Allen (25:42)
All right, guys, until next time on the Marketing 32 show, have a great rest of your day and a great rest of your week. Take care.
