PDA Conference March 13 -15, 2025 in Frisco, Texas

Episode 149 – Getting Your Dental Team on Board with Marketing with Sara Hansen

“Your team is an extension of you. They represent you and your brand with the patients.” -Sara Hansen

Most of your patients make the decision to trust – or not trust – you before they even meet you. 

Why? Simple answer, it’s because of your team! Think about it…who is the first person a patient interacts with? It’s probably your front office admin who answers the phone and who spends an hour with the patient before they even meet you? Your hygienist.

When patients come into your office, they are looking for moments of trust that tell them who you are and what they can expect. These moments of trust start from the first time they learn about your practice, to their first phone interaction, how they’re greeted when they walk in, all the way through the experience to meeting you. 

These initial interactions with patients are what makes your team the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. They’re the ones who will make or break trust with a patient. 

As we talked about in our previous episode, Authentic Marketing is about capturing what makes you unique. Your team is an integral part of that. So let’s talk about how you can put this powerful asset to good use as part of your Authentic Marketing strategy. 

We are so excited to have Sara Hansen – Authentic Marketing expert – back to continue our conversation on Authentic Marketing and using your team to extend exceptional experiences to your patients, including how to:

  • Identify the points where trust can be built or broken
  • Get your team on board with championing your authentic marketing strategy
  • Let your team know when they’re winning the authentic marketing game

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Regan
Welcome to the Everyday Practices Podcast. I’m Regan Robertson, and my co-host, Dr. Chad Johnson and I are on a mission to share the stories of everyday dentists who generate extraordinary results using practical proven methods you can take right into your own dental practice if you’re ready to elevate patient care and produce results that are anything but ordinary, buckle up, and listen in.

So in our last episode, we did talk a lot about the why and being your own champion in that and how to connect better with patients. I love how you’re bringing in the team element of it. Now, we have a beautiful listener Take a journey with me close your eyes, and kind of picture a little stone pathway, if you will and each little stone is a different intersection that your patients interact with. So marketing is the very tip of that spear. That’s that first stone. As soon as a patient is aware that you exist, it’s gone time the clock is running and what that patient is looking for are little moments of trust that build and tell them who you are, why you exist, and how you can help them and it cannot be overlooked, like Sarah said, with regards to the team because they are an integral part. So I think it’s fantastic, Sarah, and I, you know, wouldn’t have thought that how my team represents outside my community is just as powerful as inside the practice. So what advice do you have for teams that are inside the practice as they’re working to help carry forth the messaging that marketing puts out into the market in the first place?

Sara Hansen
Yeah, well, the T really is an extension of the doctor. So you know, the philosophy of care, the doctors, why they really are an extension and, you know, really, the team, most of the time spends more time with the patient than the doctor does. You know, the hygienist spends an hour usually when the patient before the doctor even comes into the room, your admin or your front desk administrators, they sit there that first phone call. So they need to be representing as an extension of us. So for example, if your philosophy of care is to give every patient hope, then every phone call that comes to that practice, every patient better be feeling hope, on the other side of that phone call. Because again, that is the extension of what you are representing, that’s your brand. You know, that really is what you want every patient to fill and so I come from the dental practice. So that’s kind of what I say, That’s my home base. So I love working with the teams and just helping them understand how critical their role really is there is not just a person who answers the phone, that’s not their role at all, they are equally as important as the doctor just in a different role and they really are that make or break for those first new patient phone calls or first interactions and so if you have admin, people that show empathy, that they’re enthusiastic, when they answer the phone, you know, their understanding, and they show encouragement, you’re going to have your call conversion rates. Phenomenal because now the sudden that patient felt the trust in order for them to make the first phone call, right from the marketing, but then they continually fill that trust with the admin team and then you want that to carry through to the doctor.

Regan
How do you recommend a doctor infuse his or her philosophy of care? And their why? To the team so that the team can pass that baton over to the team and they can share that message?

Sara Hansen
Yeah, firstly needs to tell them. Tell them what they’re a champion of and why that’s important. You know, and then again, it needs to be throughout the entire practice, just not something that you talk about, you know, occasionally at the monthly meeting, it needs to be shown in action. So for example, the morning huddle is a great place to say, how are we going to change someone’s life today? You know, tell me about a person that called that’s important that you know, what are they looking for? How can we help build trust with them today? How can we, you know, really, it’s about just understanding what your patient’s needs are and aligning that and your team will be on board but they have to know the story? They have to know what you’re a champion for they have to know the goals and that messaging is, wow,

Regan
this has been an absolutely power-packed, quick, and sustained session on authentic marketing and how the team helps. You know, I noticed at the productivity workshop, that one of the big hallmarks to success is that I hear time and time again from doctors is bringing your team along with you to see and we don’t always think about that in the marketing capacity. So from your experience, Sarah, and being in the dental practice, as well. I mean, I really, genuinely don’t know about this for you really, even though we’ve worked together for a while. How, how have some of the successful practices that you’ve seen, in addition to the kind of talking to it, are there other elements that doctors do to kind of put in a spaced repetition so that we continually know because we can know and forget, you know, we can know and then and then before you know it, it’s just day to day in and out and can start to slide? So how are other ways that you’ve seen it really successful for it to

Sara Hansen
stick? Yeah, yeah, well, we know consistency. But I really think the first step is, that it’s all about the relationship. So if your team can be 100%, focused on Yes, we do dentistry, but it’s about the relationship with that patient and I think when we can take ourselves out of, you know, the dentistry, talk the dentistry, you know, every day that we get so used to, you know, I remember walking into the practice and I mean, people would talk about, I would never smell the dental smell, right, because you get so used to it, it becomes your every day, and yet patients are like Oh my heck and so if I get a dental office in here, I’m like, I put the same thing. Even with verbiage when you talk to them, we use dental terms, because that’s what we use every day. But we have to remember our patients don’t come from that. So really, it’s about focusing on the relationship, we’re providing a service, but first and foremost, what do they trust us? You know, do we know their story? Do we know about them? Why are they coming to us? What’s their need? And then from there, you can build on top of that, and then yes, it just has to be consistent. Those constant reminders, you know, how are we going to help today? You know, what’s our Word of the Day? What’s our goal today? Because once it becomes an integrated system, that just flows and the whole team is on board, then as you have shifts and team members, you train the next person to come into that well-oiled machine, empathy, relationships first, you know, that sort of thing and it and it just continues.

Regan
So how does the team know that they’re winning? How do they know how, how is it reflected to them? In so many ways,

Sara Hansen
patients are really vocal, good and bad, right? Um, but, uh, you know, those patients that every time they come in, they bring you, you know, a cake, or whatever that is. But also, it’s the referral of friends and family. I mean, that is my favorite marketing strategy is internal referrals. Because, one, they’re basically free. I mean, you may offer a gift card as a thank you to the patient that referred, but really, they’re referring their friends and family because they trust you, right, they know that this is the place to go, you would never send your friends and family to a place that you don’t trust. So I love those. But then what it does to that new referring patient is there’s ultimately a higher level of trust because they were referred from their friends and family and so that relationship can start even stronger and faster, because they automatically kind of trust you a little bit because hey, my best friend referred to me, and I know that she loves you. So I automatically will probably like you too, you know. So that is probably my favorite marketing strategy.

Regan
I think that’s a great marketing strategy. Yeah, well, I think organically, you know, PDA talks about marketing and layers, like it’s a layer cake, and there are things that you can do that are paid, and there are things that you can do that we call organic that you can get on your own and referrals, you know, is a piece of that puzzle. What other pieces fit up that layer? Sarah, when it comes to marketing?

Sara Hansen
Yeah, well, just like any great layer cake, you have to have your foundation. So the foundation really starts with those internal pieces and those internal pieces are great phone skills and call conversion, internal referrals, Google reviews, social media, you know, that sort of thing. That’s kind of your base layer. Then from there, we then start to layer in additional strategies. So digital advertising, maybe some mailers and we keep building up until ultimately you’re the authority with full television ads, radio, you know, all sorts of press releases. You don’t have a new doctor that comes in or a doctor that maybe wants to attract 20 patients and all automatically put them on television, you know, there really is a strategy that comes with that finding out what is the best way to incorporate and layer in so that we’re really filling in all the gaps of marketing. Because each campaign attracts a different demographic, they attract a different type of person, you mark it very differently based on the age of the person, you know, so it becomes really fun to be able to layer in different things to really get the full scope of filling in the gaps of marketing.

Regan
Is it hard? It sounds like it’s a lot. Is it hard? Or is it

Sara Hansen
easy? You know, what, it’s fun. I will say marketing is that I always say that. It’s not hard. It’s just again, once we know what the doctors want, what you know, what they’re wanting to get out of this, where they want to go with it? What’s their ultimate goal? How, you know, how do they want to see themselves in 10 years, that sort of thing, then it becomes now we’re filling in the gaps with how to get up there with different strategies and so it becomes really fun marketing is not one size fits all. There are no two campaigns, or none of our doctors look the same. Every client that I work with, is very customizable, because their goals are different. They champion different things, you know, everything is different about them? Well, yes, they have some of the same tactics, the messaging and everything else are completely different from one another and so it becomes really fun to find the things that really work for them to really customize to what they want to attract.

Regan
There’s a lot of good secret sauce that sits in there. When I mean, I think discovering your why obviously is the most powerful driving it informs everything else along the way. But there’s some geeky science stuff. Yeah, how to target where to target, why to target. Talk to me about some of the data that you use, when the team is putting together the strategy?

Sara Hansen
Yeah, well, what we want to know is, you know, one, who do you want to attract? And how do we best align with that? But it’s also important to know what are our competitors doing? You know you don’t want to be like every other person down the street. You don’t want to have a billboard next to three other billboards for dentists, you know. So really, we want to identify, where’s their competition? How do we then make ourselves a little bit different? How do we best tell the story and so there’s a lot of different tactics that we use to kind of align ourselves with discovering what is going to be the best strategy and it really becomes really robust within, you know, how we pull the information. But ultimately, we want it to be unique. We don’t want them to have the same thing as the guy down the street.

Regan
Thank you, Sara. I think that this gives all sorts of juicy little tidbits that you can take into your practice and carry forth hopefully getting more patients the right kind of patients for you. Thank you Sarah for being our guest and congratulations to Dr. Chad on pulling some wisdom teeth. We hope there’s more in your future. Doctor, do you feel like scheduling team drama and case acceptance are holding you back from the success you deserve? Hi, I’m Regan Robertson president and CMO with Productive Dentist Academy and host of Everyday Practices Podcast. The reality is these pebble in the shoe type issues can really ruin the way you feel about dentistry and leave you wishing that there was just a better way. At PDA we believe you deserve to love what you do and we’ve helped 1000s of dentists learn how to schedule productively comprehensively diagnose and treatment plans and calibrate teams for success. You deserve the same chance to make a few simple shifts that can equal hundreds of 1000s and growth for your practice. For the month of April, we are bundling our best value ever so you are guaranteed success. Register for the productivity workshop happening from September 22 to 24th in Frisco, Texas, and you will receive a two-hour comprehensive business advisory session so you can start increasing your revenue today and get 12-month access to PDA on demand after you attend so you can make sure your goals become reality. To reserve your seat, go to www.productivedentist.com/workshop Now that’s productivedentist.com/workshop This workshop is already 50% full. So register today to secure your seat one last time, visit www.productivedentist.com/workshop Now, we’ll see you there. Thank you for listening to another episode of Everyday Practices Podcast. Chad and I are here every week thanks to our community of listeners just like you and we’d love your help. It would mean the world if you can help spread the word by sharing this episode with a fellow dentist and leave us a review on iTunes or Spotify. Do you have an extraordinary already you’d like to share or feedback on how we can make this podcast even more awesome. Drop us an email at podcast@productivedentist.com and don’t forget to check out our other podcasts from Productive Dentist Academy at productivedentist.com/podcasts See you next week.

Have a great experience with PDA recently?

Leave a Review

Download PDA Doctor Case Studies

Dr. Devin Giron
PDA Member Since 2018
Vida Dental Studio
Santa Fe, NM

Dr. Devin Giron's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Anthony Baird
PDA Member Since 2019
Millcreek Family Dental
Bountiful, UT

Dr. Anthony Baird's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Jon Ehlers
PDA Member Since 2022
Tiger Family Dental
Sedalia, MO

Dr. Jon Ehlers's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Maggie Augustyn
PDA Member Since 2020
Happy Tooth
Elmhurst, IL

Dr. Maggie Augustyn's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Drs. Clint & Kelly Euse
PDA Members Since 2008
Advanced Dentistry by Design
Carson City, NV

Dr. Drs. Clint & Kelly Euse's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Menu
Need help?
Accessibility
Accessibility Options
Accessibility On Our Website

We are committed to continuously improving access to our goods and services by individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to use any aspect of this website because of a disability, please call (800) 757-6077 and we will provide you with prompt personalized assistance.

If you have trouble seeing web pages, the US Social Security Administration offers these tips for optimizing your computer and browser to improve your online experience.

If you are looking for mouse and keyboard alternatives, speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking may help you navigate web pages and online services. This software allows the user to move focus around a web page or application screen through voice controls.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, there are several accessibility features available to you.

Closed Captioning
Closed captioning provides a transcript for the audio track of a video presentation that is synchronized with the video and audio tracks. Captions are generally visually displayed over the video, which benefits people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio due to noisy environments. Most of our website’s video content includes automated captions. Learn how to turn captioning on and off in YouTube.

Volume Controls
Your computer, tablet, or mobile device has volume control features. Each video and audio service has its own additional volume controls. Try adjusting both your device’s volume controls and your media players’ volume controls to optimize your listening experience.

Read More About Accessibility and Why It Matters

Appointments
Need help?

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Do not include sensitive personal, financial, or other confidential information (Social Security, account number, login, passwords, etc.). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Helpful Resources

Below are links you may find helpful when scheduling an appointment with us.

Notifications
Podcasts

Self Reflection & the Dental Practice, Part 1 (E.239)

“There is nothing more heartbreaking than to witness somebody get...

Self Reflection & the Dental Practice, Part 1 (E.239) (featured image)

Handling Difficult Patient Encounters (E.265)

“Get rid of the need to be right.” ~Dr. Paul Etchison Ever had a...

Handling Difficult Patient Encounters (E.265) (featured image)

Preparing for the Sale of Your Dental Practice (E.142)

“Ninety-five percent of dentists cannot retire and maintain their...

Preparing for the Sale of Your Dental Practice (E.142) (featured image)
In the Press

I’ve Arrived: From $100 in the Bank to Generational Wealth in Less Than 3 Years.

from Dental Entrepreneur – Winter 2023 By Dr. Maggie Augustyn...

I’ve Arrived: From $100 in the Bank to Generational Wealth in Less Than 3 Years. (featured image)
From Our Blog

Why Every Dental Team Should Attend a Dental Workshop

In the fast-evolving dental profession of today, staying competitive...

Why Every Dental Team Should Attend a Dental Workshop (featured image)
Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook

Stay informed on updates and upcoming events from our office.

LinkedIn

Connect and learn more about Productive Dentist Academy.

YouTube

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Instagram

View fun photos and follow our team on Instagram.

Your Privacy
Privacy Policy

This privacy notice discloses our privacy practices and the use of Google Analytics 4(GA4), an analytic advertising feature. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website and the GA4 platform. It will notify you of the following:

  1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website and GA4 platform, how it is used, and with whom it may be shared.
  2. The choices available to you regarding the use of your data.
  3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
  4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing

We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

While Productive Dentist Academy is the primary data controller, Google, in the context of providing Google Analytics service, acts as a data processor. We use Google Analytics 4, a widely recognized web analytics service provided by Google, Inc., to track user interactions and gather data for advertising purposes. As a third-party vendor, Google Analytics operates independently and maintains its own privacy policy, which can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy. We carefully select our third-party vendors for their commitment to user privacy and adherence to data protection standards. As part of our ongoing commitment to your privacy, we implement measures to ensure that services like GA4 comply with our high standards of data protection.

GA4 collects certain personally identifiable information from you as you interact with our website. This information includes but is not limited to your device ID, IP address, and geographic location. The information collected through GA4 is used to analyze user behavior, optimize our website’s performance, and tailor our content to better serve your needs. This data is compiled and anonymized, ensuring that it cannot be linked back to individual users.

Please note that GA4 may share the information collected with Google and other third-party service providers to enable data processing and reporting on website usage. However, we will not sell, rent, or share your information, especially your personally identifiable information, with any third party outside of our organization.

Your Access to and Control Over Information

You have certain rights regarding the data collected by GA4. You have the right to do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

  • See what data we have about you, if any.
  • Have us delete any data we have about you.
  • Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

In addition to opting out of any future communications from us at any time, you may also opt out of the GA4 feature if you so choose. You can opt out of the GA4 Advertising Features we use through Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or through the NAI’s. This link points to Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/ 

Security

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline. GA4 also follows industry best practices to protect your data both online and offline.

To ensure data protection while we are using GA4, we are implementing additional security measures that include and are not limited to:

  • limiting data access, 
  • using secure protocols, 
  • managing data sharing with Google

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

Contact Us

If you have any concerns about the use of GA4 or believe that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, please contact us immediately. We are committed to addressing any privacy-related issues promptly and transparently.

By using our website and consenting to the use of GA4, you acknowledge and agree to the data collection and processing practices described in this notice. For more information about GA4 and its privacy practices, please review Google’s Privacy Policy on this link https://policies.google.com/privacy.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately.

Read More About Our Privacy Policy and Why It Matters

Terms of Service
Terms of Service

Entering this site or the links accessible through this site, you agree to be bound by this agreement. The information and the resources contained on and accessible through this site are made available by Productive Dentist Academy and/or its suppliers and vendors, and are subject to your agreement to their terms and conditions.

All contents copyright (c) Productive Dentist Academy

All rights reserved, Productive Dentist Academy makes this website available to all users for the sole purpose of providing educational information on health-related issues.

The accuracy of website, information, and resources identified are not warranted or guaranteed, or intended to be a substitute for professional health advice, to contradict health advice given, or for health care of any kind.

Your use of this website indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use and you expressly agree to be bound to the foregoing terms and conditions.

All materials on this website, including the site’s design, layout, and organization, are owned and copyrighted by Productive Dentist Academy, or its suppliers or vendors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyrights.

Material on this site may be used for personal use only. Commercial use of any sort is strictly prohibited.

Use of Resources & Information
This site may not be used as a supplement or alternative for health care, and is not intended and does not warrant or guarantee the quality or quantity of any services of any of the advertisers identified; further, the information provided is merely for educational purposes, and its accuracy is not guaranteed. Do not use this site as a substitute for health care. Please consult with your doctor or other health care provider regarding any health questions you may have. This site may not be used for health diagnosis or treatment. Do not use this site to disregard any health advice, nor to delay seeking health advice, because of something you read or see in this site.

You understand and agree that neither Productive Dentist Academy nor its suppliers or vendors or linked domain names are responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage of any kind, directly or indirectly resulting from your use of this site or the information or the resources contained on or accessible through it.

Productive Dentist Academy expressly disclaims any implied warranty or representation about the information or accuracy, relevance, completeness, timeliness or appropriateness for any particular purpose of any kind. Your use of this site is also subject to all additional disclaimers that may appear throughout the site.

Other Internet Sites Links
This site also includes links to other internet sites created and maintained by Productive Dentist Academy’s suppliers, vendors, affiliates, or subscribers. Be aware that Productive Dentist Academy does not control, makes no guarantees about, and disclaims any express or implied representations or warranties about the accuracy, relevance, completeness, timeliness or appropriateness for a particular purpose of the information or the resources contained on these or any other internet sites.

Further, the inclusion of these links is merely for your convenience and is not intended and does not reflect Productive Dentist Academy’s opinion on the accuracy or the importance of these other sites; further, Productive Dentist Academy does not endorse in any manner any of the views expressed in, or products or services offered by these other sites. All information in any site by Productive Dentist Academy, or associated or linked site, is extracted, read, used, or relied upon by you at your own risk.

Disclaimer of Warranty
Productive Dentist Academy and its suppliers and vendors disclaim all express or implied representations or warranties regarding the information, services, products, materials, and any other resources contained on or accessible through this site, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. All information provided by Productive Dentist Academy is made available “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind, or any express or implied promise, including, by way of example, its continuing availability.

Limitation of Liability
With respect to products, goods, or services purchased from any entity identified, listed, named or contacted through Productive Dentist Academy’s website, or any links to Productive Dentist Academy’s website, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Productive Dentist Academy or its suppliers or vendors be liable for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, incidental, exemplary, contractual, or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever of any kind, resulting from any loss, which by way of example, includes loss of use, loss of data, loss of profits, business interruption, litigation, or any other pecuniary loss, whether based on breach of contract, tort (including negligence), product liability, or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with the use or performance of this site, with the delay or inability to use this site, or with the provision of or failure to make available any information, services, products, materials, or other resources contained on or accessible through this site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

You acknowledge and agree that the limitations set forth above are elements of this agreement, and that this site would not be provided to you absent such limitations.

Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Productive Dentist Academy and its suppliers and vendors from any liability, loss, claim, and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) related to your violation of this agreement or use of this site in any manner. Your use of this site shall constitute your acceptance of the terms of this Agreement, as revised and modified, if any, each time you access this site. Productive Dentist Academy may modify this agreement at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified agreement.

Miscellaneous
Productive Dentist Academy’s failure to insist upon strict enforcement of any provision(s) of this agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.

This agreement and the resolution of any dispute related to this agreement or this site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law. Any legal action or proceeding between Productive Dentist Academy or its links, suppliers or vendors and you related to this agreement or this site shall be brought exclusively in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Skagit County, Washington.

Copyright
All materials on this website, including the site’s design, layout, and organization, are owned and copyrighted by Productive Dentist Academy or its suppliers or vendors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyrights.

Links
This site contains links to other sites. Productive Dentist Academy is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites that are linked to us.

Questions
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding Productive Dentist Academy’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, please contact us.

Read More About Our Terms of Service and Why It Matters

Search
Search the Website

Use keywords in the search box below to find what you're looking for.

Go to the Top of the Page