weskao.com

I typically work with tech leaders on: managing up to a CEO/VP, strengthening your executive communication and presence, and delegating to a team of ICs while raising the bar. Clients are leaders at Amplitude, 1Password, Amazon/AWS, DoorDash, AngelList, Product Hunt, Google, etc. If you’re interested in how I can support you, learn more about my coaching approach:

-> weskao.com/coaching

Writing for 300,000+ tech operators across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Substack.

-> weskao.com/newsletter

Check out my 2-day intensive course: Executive Communication & Influence for Senior ICs and Managers. Alumni include 1,200+ students from companies like Uber, Amazon, Grammarly, Workday, Google, Pinterest, Meta, Expedia, Twilio, Spotify, Anthropic, GitHub, Zillow, PayPal, Atlassian, Netflix, Square, Figma, Stripe, and more.

-> weskao.com/course

Reach out at wes@weskao.com

Executive coach, advisor, instructor

Maven

Maven is a platform for live, cohort-based courses. Learn more at maven.com

Co-founder

Various courses

Built, launched, and grew courses that have reached 500k+ students. Clients included: Section (Professor Scott Galloway), Outlier (from cofounder of MasterClass), Build a Second Brain, Write of Passage, Poo~Pourri, Morning Brew, and more.

Cohort-based courses

altMBA

Created and built the altMBA with bestselling author Seth Godin. One of the first mainstream cohort-based courses. Grew from zero to thousands of students in 45 countries and 550+ cities at $3,000 price point (10x higher than avg online course at the time).

Flite

Head of Digital Marketing

Bare Escentuals

Global Brand Management Marketing

Gap Inc.

Business Analyst

L'Oréal

Brand Management Marketing

Wes Kao is an executive coach, advisor, and entrepreneur who writes at newsletter.weskao.com. She is co-founder of Maven, an edtech company that raised $25M from First Round and Andreessen Horowitz. Previously, she co-founded the altMBA with bestselling author Seth Godin.

Newsletter for 60,000+ high performers on Wednesdays at 8am ET
-> weskao.com/newsletter

Live, 2-day course on Executive Communication & Influence 
-> https://maven.com/wes-kao/executive-communication-influence

1:1 executive coaching for tech leaders 
-> https://www.weskao.com/coaching

Wes Kao

Excited to share my conversation with First Round Capital! I talk about some of my favorite communication frameworks, including a checklist of questions to ask yourself to maximize your chances of getting buy-in.

Would love to hear what you think. Link in the comments.

a16z-backed founder turned executive coach. Helping tech operators improve their executive communication, leadership, and influence

Content Strategy By Nicole

Owner & Content Strategist

KPressCopywriting LLC

Content Writer and Consultant. I help business owners and marketers reach, engage, and convert their leads throughout the three stages of the buyer lifecycle:

✅ Awareness
✅ Consideration
✅ Decision

I do this by writing relevant, clear, and useful content and copy. 

My “niche” is in the content I write. I specialize in:

⭐️Emails and Email Strategy
⭐️Case Studies
⭐️Blogs
⭐️White Papers
⭐️Content Marketing and Strategy
⭐️Brand Guides
⭐️SEO Content

I started my business five years ago (six years in June 2021) with nothing. I built my business by providing the absolute best service I can offer my clients.

I have written 1,917,368 words of content to date. I plan to write millions more for my clients who are ready to take their inbound marketing to the next level.

Content Writer & Consultant

Are you a 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 or a 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫?

If you’re a financial service provider and you’re relying on:

❌ Referrals
❌ Word of mouth
❌ Cold calls/emails

to make money, then you’re a chaser.

Those are old school tactics that aren’t gonna help you reach your financial goals.

You should kill them with fire.

Instead be a catcher.

If you’re a catcher, then you:

✅ Understand who your service is for (deeply)
✅ Can deliver that service better than your competitors
✅ Can demonstrate your authority in your niche–better than your competitors

Chasers bust their a** to close deals with little or nothing to show for it.

Because they haven’t shown their ideal clients why they should work with them.

This happens because they 

❌ Don’t have a good offer
❌ Try to be a jack of all trades–and master of none
❌ Haven’t built connections with the people they’re trying to sell to
❌ Heck, they may not even know who they should be selling to in the first place

But catchers, they know how to close deals–the deals practically close themselves.

Why?

Because they took the time 

✅ To know their ideal client
✅ On a granular level 
✅ So they can build 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 with them–not just sell

How do catchers do that, you ask?

Content marketing strategy.

A system that 

➡️ Eliminates wrong-fit clients—instead, you get clients ready to buy now
➡️ Builds connections with hope to be clients through high value content
➡️ Demonstrates your authority and experience in your niche
➡️ Puts your revenue growth goals on autopilot

This is where I come in.

I will help you with my exclusive 𝑨.𝑰.𝑺. 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌:

🔸Analyze
🔸Improve
🔸Scale

Wanna see my process? 

http://bit.ly/3HbVZo3
http://bit.ly/3CXqfQU
http://bit.ly/3J09p7U

You will have an ENTIRE YEAR of content strategy and the content to go with it.

Plug it in and go.

If you already have a team of talented writers, I can also help your writers scale your content.

My voice guide manual is a training manual—but for writers.

It helps your writers 

🔹Know what vocabulary to use
🔹Know what writing style to write in and in what medium
🔹Know what words to use and what words to stay away from
🔹All with a built in rubric to ensure brand consistency and reduce errors

I guarantee the quality of my work (if you’re not happy for some reason, I will make it right no matter what). I only work with clients who are serious, growth minded.

If you’re ready to be a catcher—and get off the chaser hamster wheel, DM me today to schedule your $0, no BS, 30 minute strategy session.

Nicole Kolesar

Dentists, yesterday I showed you how corporate dental practices have a marketing flaw.

They're too generic, too "one-size fits all," and not local enough.

Today, I'm gonna show you why that's a good thing.

How to weaponize your local advantage:

Tactic #1: Hyper-Localize Your SEO

Corporate chains target broad keywords like "dentist near me." You target neighborhood-specific keywords:

🔷 "Dentist in [Specific Neighborhood]"
🔷 "Family dentist near [Local Landmark]"
🔷 "[Your City] dental implants"

Create location pages for every neighborhood you serve.

Example: "Serving families in [Neighborhood 1], [Neighborhood 2], and [Neighborhood 3] since [Year]."

Real result: One local practice created neighborhood-specific pages for 8 surrounding areas.

They now rank #1-3 for "dentist in [neighborhood]" for all 8 areas. Their new patient calls from organic search increased 67% in 90 days.

Tactic #2: Become a Local Media Source

Corporate chains can't do this at scale. You can.

Reach out to local media:

✔️ Offer to write guest articles for local news sites
✔️ Become a go-to expert for dental health stories
✔️ Sponsor local podcasts or radio shows
✔️ Get interviewed about dental trends

Real example: One practice got featured in a local magazine article about "choosing the right dentist."

That single article generated 14 new patient inquiries. All high-value patients looking for a "trusted local expert."

Tactic #3: Build Strategic Local Partnerships

Corporate chains can't do grassroots partnerships.

You can.

Partner with:

✔️ Local gyms (offer free dental screenings)
✔️ Local coffee shops (leave branded toothbrush kits)
✔️ Local schools (sponsor sports teams)
✔️ Local businesses (cross-promote each other)

These partnerships build trust and referrals that corporate chains can't replicate.

We will wrap up tomorrow with three more tactics that give your independent practice an advantage.

Stay tuned.

#LocalMarketing #CommunityDentistry #FFS #IndependentPractice #Practiwrite

li_at

JSESSIONID

The B2B Institute

Content Strategist, SEO Content Writer, Author

Corporate chains want you to compete on their terms.

Volume. Price. Convenience.

Just don't.

Instead, flip the script and position yourself as the hero fighting for patients against the corporate machine.

Do it with the "David vs. Goliath" Messaging Framework:

Step 1: Acknowledge the Giant

Don't ignore corporate chains. Call them out.

Like this:

"Corporate dental chains are spending millions to convince you that dentistry is a commodity. It's not."

This immediately positions you as the truth-teller.

Step 2: Highlight What They Can't Offer

Create contrast between your independent practice and corporate chains by highlighting their:

❌ Rotating dentists
❌ Production quotas
❌ High-pressure sales
❌ Insurance-dictated care
❌ Owned by private equity

Your practice has:

✔️ The same dentist every visit
✔️ No quotas, just quality care
✔️ Honest treatment recommendations
✔️ Patient-first decisions
✔️ Owned by a local dentist who lives here

Step 3: Tell Your Origin Story

Why did you become a dentist? Why did you open your practice?
Share your story. Something like this:

"I became a dentist because I wanted to help people, not hit production quotas. That's why I'll never sell my practice to a corporation."

Stories beat corporate messaging every time.

Step 4: Create Content That Exposes the Corporate Model
Educational content like...

👉🏽 "5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Corporate Dental Chain"
👉🏽 "Why Corporate Dentistry Prioritizes Profits Over Patients"
👉🏽 "The Hidden Costs of $99 Dental Cleanings"

works.

These posts position you as the educator and corporate chains as the ones with something to hide.

Step 5: Make It Easy for Patients to Choose You

End every piece of content with a clear differentiator like:

👉🏽 "At [Your Practice], you're not a number. You're a neighbor."
👉🏽 "No corporate quotas. No high-pressure sales. Just honest dentistry from a doctor who cares."
👉🏽 "Choose a dentist who's invested in this community, not Wall Street."

Tomorrow I will show you what this strategy looks like in action and what you need to do yesterday so you can stop competing with the "Goliaths" in your practice area.

Stay tuned.

#IndependentDentistry #DavidVsGoliath #CorporateDental #LocalBusiness #Practiwrite

I audited more than 2000 dental practice Google Business Profiles across all 50 states.

Want to know how many were complete?

7.

That's 1.4%.

The other 98.6% are leaving money on the table every single day.

Here's what "incomplete" looks like:

Missing Element #1: No services listed

Google gives you the option to list individual services (cleanings, crowns, implants, Invisalign, etc.). Most practices skip it.

Big mistake.

When someone searches "dental implants near me," Google prioritizes practices that have "dental implants" listed as a service.

If you don't list it, you don't rank for it.

Real example: One practice I audited wasn't ranking for "Invisalign [city]" despite doing 50+ Invisalign cases per year.

Why? They didn't list Invisalign as a service on their GBP.

I added it. Within 30 days, they jumped from position #18 to position #4.
The result: 11 new Invisalign consultations in 60 days.

Missing Element #2: No products section

Most dentists don't realize GBP has a "Products" section.

This is where you can showcase your:

👉🏽 Before/after photos
👉🏽 Treatment descriptions
👉🏽 Pricing ranges (if you're comfortable)

Practices with completed product sections rank higher and get more clicks.

Missing Element #3: Incomplete business description

Your GBP description should be 750 characters of keyword-rich content.

Most practices have 2 sentences.

"We're a family dental practice. We accept most insurance."

That's it.

No keywords. No specialties. No differentiation.

Google has no idea what you do or who you serve.

Missing Element #4: No Q&A section

Google lets you add Q&A to your GBP.

You can literally write the questions AND the answers.

This is free real estate for long-tail keywords like:

"Do you offer emergency dental services?"
"Do you accept Delta Dental?"
"Do you offer payment plans for dental implants?"

Most practices have zero Q&A entries.

Tomorrow, I'll show you 3 more missing elements. PLUS what you can do to get your GBP on track to helping you print money for your dental practice.

Stay tuned.

#GoogleBusinessProfile #LocalSEO #DentalMarketing #Practiwrite

Most dental practices have awful photos on their Google Business Profile.

And it's destroying their CTR.

Here's 5 mistakes I see constantly:

Mistake #1: Stock photos

Your GBP has 6 photos. All of them are generic stock images:

👎🏾 A dentist in a mask (but not YOUR dentist)
👎🏾 A smiling patient (not YOUR patient)
👎🏾 A dental chair (could be anywhere)

Patients know stock photos when they see them. And they don't trust practices that use them.

Mistake #2: Exterior-only photos

Your GBP has one photo: the outside of your building.

That's it.

Patients can't see:

👉🏽 Your waiting room
👉🏽 Your treatment rooms
👉🏽 Your team
👉🏽 Your equipment

They have no idea what to expect. So they click on your competitor who has 40 photos showing everything.

Mistake #3: Outdated photos

Your photos are from 2015.

The carpet was different. The furniture was different. Half your staff has changed.

But those old photos are still on your GBP.

Patients show up and think: "Hey, this isn't like the photos..."

Trust broken.

Mistake #4: No team photos

Patients want to see faces with bright, genuine smiles (you're a DENTAL practice for goodness sakes!).

They want to know:

❓ What does the dentist look like?
❓ Who's the front desk person I'll talk to?
❓ Who's the hygienist I'll see?

Practices with team photos get 35% more profile views than practices without them.

Mistake #5: No before/after photos

If you do 

✔️ Cosmetic work
✔️ Implants
✔️ Or Invisalign 

and you're not showing before/after photos on your GBP, you're insane.

These photos sell your services before patients ever call.

The minimum you should have on your GBP?

30 photos that include:

🔷 5-8 exterior/building photos
🔷 10-15 interior photos (waiting room, treatment rooms, equipment)
🔷 5-8 team photos (doctor, hygienists, front desk)
🔷 5-10 before/after photos (with patient consent)
🔷 2-3 "behind the scenes" photos

Ideal? 50+ photos.

The more photos you have, the more engaged your profile appears to Google.

And engagement = rankings = 💵

So what's the cost of bad photos?

If your photos suck, your click-through rate drops by 30-40%.

That means:

❌ Fewer calls
❌ Fewer appointments
❌ Fewer patients

Let's say you're getting 30 calls per month from your GBP.

If your photos are costing you 35% of clicks, you're losing 10-11 calls per month.

That's 4-5 patients per month.

At $12,000 lifetime value: $576k - $720k per year.

All because your photos are a dumpster fire.

Here's what you need to do this week: 

🎥 Hire a photographer (cost: $500-$1,000)
🧑🤝🧑 Get professional photos of your practice and team
💻 Upload 30-50 photos to your GBP
⌨️ Replace any stock images immediately
🗓️ Add new photos every month

This is a one-day project that will pay for itself 100x over.

Tomorrow: The review response mistake that's tanking your rankings (and making you look like you don't care).

#GoogleBusinessProfile #DentalPhotography #LocalSEO #Practiwrite

Corporate dental chains dominate in paid advertising.

But they have a fatal flaw in their marketing.

And once you see it, you can exploit it to steal their market share.
Here's the flaw:

Corporate chains can't do hyper-local, community-focused marketing.

Let me explain.

The Corporate Chain Marketing Problem:

Corporate chains run centralized marketing campaigns.

One brand. 

One message. 

One strategy across hundreds of locations.

This means:

❌ Their ads are generic
❌ Their content isn't localized
❌ They can't build real community relationships
❌ They can't leverage local reputation

They sound like a corporate machine. Because they are.

Meanwhile, you have a superpower they'll never have:

🔷 You're local. 
🔷 You're embedded in the community. 
🔷 You're a real person with a real reputation.

Tomorrow, I'll show you can you can turn this advantage into a weapon that results in more 💵.

Stay tuned.

#LocalMarketing #CommunityDentistry #IndependentPractice #FFS #Practiwrite

Dentists, yesterday I showed you how incomplete GBPs are costing you.

After auditing more than 2000 dental practice GBPs, I see the same missing elements.

To recap, they are:

🔷 No services listed
🔷 No products section
🔷 Incomplete business description
🔷 No O & A section

Today I'll show you 3 more of the most common missing elements in dental practice Google Business Profiles.

And how to fix them.

Let's get started with...

Missing Element #5: No posts

Google lets you post updates to your GBP (like social media).

These posts will

✔️ Keep your profile active
✔️ Add keywords
✔️ Improve engagement
✔️ Boost rankings

Ideal posting frequency: 2-4 times per month.

Actual posting frequency for most practices: never.

Missing Element #6: No appointment booking link

Google lets patients book appointments directly from your GBP. Most practices don't set this up.

So patients have to:

👎🏾 Click to your website
👎🏾 Find your contact page
👎🏾 Fill out a form or call

That's 3 steps where they can bounce.

With direct booking, it's one click.

Missing Element #7: Inconsistent or missing hours

Your GBP says you're open. Your website says you're closed.

Google gets confused. Your rankings drop.

Or worse: patients show up and you're not open.

The cost of an incomplete GBP:

Conservatively speaking, an incomplete GBP costs you 5-10 ranking positions

❌ That's 15-20 fewer calls per month
❌ That's 6-8 fewer new patients per month
❌ At $12,000 average lifetime value: $864k - $1.15M per year in lost revenue

All because you didn't spend 2 hours completing your profile.

What you need to do right now:

🔷 Go to your Google Business Profile
🔷 Click through every section
🔷 Fill in EVERYTHING
🔷 Add photos, services, products, Q&A, posts
🔷 Make sure your hours are accurate
🔷 Add booking links

This is the fastest ROI activity you can do for your practice.

Tomorrow: The photo mistake that's costing you 40% of potential clicks (and how to fix it in one afternoon).

#GoogleBusinessProfile #LocalSEO #DentalMarketing #Practiwrite

Dentists, today, I'll wrap up this series on the disadvantages of corporate dental practice marketing.

And how you can turn that into an advantage for your independent practice.

Here are three more tactics for turning their loss into your gain.

Tactic #4: Leverage Local Reviews Strategically

Corporate chains get reviews across all their locations. They're diluted.

You get reviews for ONE location. You can own it.

Build a review strategy that focuses on:

✔️ Getting 200+ Google reviews (corporate chains average 60-80 per location)
✔️ Responding personally to every review
✔️ Showcasing local patients in your reviews

When someone searches for a dentist, your 4.9-star rating with 120+ reviews beats their 4.2-star rating with 65 reviews.

Tactic #5: Create Local Content That Corporate Chains Can't

Corporate chains create generic blog content written by copywriters in other states.

You create real, local content:

🔷 "The Best [City] Restaurants for Braces-Friendly Meals"
🔷 "Why [City] Residents Are Choosing Local Dentists Over Corporate Chains"
🔷 "Your Guide to Dental Care in [Neighborhood]"

This content:

✔️ Ranks better (Google loves local relevance)
✔️ Resonates more (people trust local voices)
✔️ Converts higher (you're speaking their language)

Tactic #6: Show Your Face

Corporate chains can't put a face to their brand.

You can.

🔷 Post videos on social media
🔷 Go live on Facebook or Instagram
🔷 Show behind-the-scenes of your practice
🔷 Introduce your team
🔷 Share your story (why you became a dentist, why you love your community)

People want to do business with people, not corporations.

Real example: One dentist started posting short videos on Facebook answering common dental questions.

✔️ "Do I really need to floss?" (47k views)
✔️ "How often should I replace my toothbrush?" (31k views)
✔️ "What's the difference between crowns and veneers?" (28k views)

These videos didn't go viral (they didn't need to). But they established him as the local expert.

Result: 23 new patient calls in 60 days, all mentioning they "saw him on Facebook."

Corporate chains have scale and budgets.

You have authenticity and local trust. In the long game, you win.

Tomorrow: How to create a "David vs. Goliath" marketing message that positions you as the hero (and corporate chains as the villain).

#LocalMarketing #CommunityDentistry #FFS #IndependentPractice #Practiwrite

Every PPO patient in your chair is costing you more than you think.

Because every PPO patient is a chair that could be filled with a fee-for-service patient.

Let me show you the math with what I call an opportunity cost calculation:

Scenario A: Your current practice (70% PPO)

🔷 40 patients per week
🔷 28 PPO patients (70%)
🔷 12 FFS patients (30%)

PPO patient average value:

🔷 Annual production per patient: $850
🔷 Write-off (12%): $102
🔷 Net collections: $748

FFS patient average value:

🔷 Annual production per patient: $1,650
🔷 Write-off (0%): $0
🔷 Net collections: $1,650

Your current annual revenue:

🔷 PPO patients: 28 × 50 weeks × $748 = $1,047,200
🔷 FFS patients: 12 × 50 weeks × $1,650 = $990,000
🔷 Total: $2,037,200

Scenario B: What if you were 50/50 PPO/FFS?

🔷 20 PPO patients per week
🔷 20 FFS patients per week

Annual revenue:

🔷 PPO patients: 20 × 50 × $748 = $748,000
🔷 FFS patients: 20 × 50 × $1,650 = $1,650,000

Total: $2,398,000

Difference: $360,800 more per year.

Scenario C: What if you were 30% PPO / 70% FFS?

🔷 12 PPO patients per week
🔷 28 FFS patients per week

Annual revenue:

🔷 PPO patients: 12 × 50 × $748 = $448,800
🔷 FFS patients: 28 × 50 × $1,650 = $2,310,000

Total: $2,758,800

Difference: $721,600 more per year.

Same number of patients. Same number of hours worked. Just higher-value patients.

This is opportunity cost.

Every PPO patient taking up a chair is a lost opportunity for a higher-value FFS patient.

Here's what this means for you:

If you're 70% PPO-dependent, you're leaving $250k-$500k on the table every year.

Not because you're not working hard.

But because you're filling your chairs with low-value patients.

How do you capture this opportunity?

Step 1: Stop accepting new PPO patients

You don't have to drop existing contracts immediately. Just stop accepting NEW PPO patients.

Fill new slots with FFS patients only.

Step 2: Phase out the worst PPO contracts

Rank your PPO contracts by write-off percentage. Drop the worst one first (the 20%+ write-off plans).

Step 3: Replace PPO volume with FFS marketing

Invest in marketing that attracts FFS patients:

👉🏽 Local SEO for high-value procedures
👉🏽 Local Service Ads for implants/cosmetics
👉🏽 Content that positions you as the premium option

Step 4: Raise your fees annually

FFS patients expect premium pricing. Raise your fees 3-5% per year.

PPO contracts can't stop you.

Most practices can shift from 70% PPO to 30% PPO in 18-24 months without losing significant revenue.

And in Year 2-3, revenue explodes.

Every year you stay PPO-dependent is a year you're turning away $250k-$500k in opportunity.

How much longer can you afford to wait?

Tomorrow: The "sunk cost fallacy" keeping you trapped in bad PPO contracts (and how to break free).

#OpportunityCost #DentalProfitability #FeeForService #Practiwrite

The $250k Opportunity Cost of PPO Dependency

Hey dentists, your Google Business Profile is costing you six figures.

And you have no idea it's happening.

Because when someone in your area searches "dentist near me" or "dental implants [your city]," Google shows them 3 practices in the map pack.

And if you're not in those top 3, your practice may as well be invisible.

Invisible practices don't get calls.

Here's the data:

👉🏽 92% of patients find their dentist through online searches
👉🏽 76% of those searches lead to an appointment within 24 hours
👉🏽 The top 3 map pack results get 70% of all clicks
👉🏽 Position #4-10? They split the remaining 30%
👉🏽 Below position #10? You might as well not exist

Here's what this means in dollars for the average dental practice market:

🔷 Monthly searches for "dentist near me": 700+
🔷 Monthly searches for "dental implants [city]": 250+
🔷 Monthly searches for "emergency dentist": 200+
🔷Total relevant searches: 1,150+ per month

If you're ranking in positions 1-3:

✔️ You're getting 30-50 calls per month from Google
✔️ Average conversion rate: 40%
✔️ That's 12-20 new patients per month
✔️ Average lifetime value: $10,000-$15,000 per patient
✔️ Annual value: $1.44M - $3.6M

If you're ranking in positions 4-10:

✔️ You're getting 8-12 calls per month
✔️ That's 3-5 new patients per month
✔️ Annual value: $360k - $900k

The difference between position #2 and position #7?

$1.08M - $2.7M per year.

Nope, that's not a typo.

Your Google Business Profile ranking is literally worth millions.

And most dental practices have NO IDEA their GBP is a disaster.

This week, I'm breaking down the local SEO mistakes that are costing dental practices six figures.

These aren't small mistakes. These are catastrophic errors that are sending patients to your competitors.

If you're a dentist who feels like you're invisible online, this series is for you.

Tomorrow: The #1 GBP mistake that tanks your rankings (and 95% of dental practices are making it right now).

Stay tuned.

#LocalSEO #DentalMarketing #GoogleBusinessProfile #Practiwrite

Dentists, yesterday I gave you five steps for positioning your practice against the "Goliath" corporate chain McPractice's in your area.

Today, I'm gonna show you how to put those steps in action.

And a real example from one of my clients of the results you can get.

To recap, those five steps are:

🔷 Step 1: Acknowledge the Giant
🔷 Step 2: Highlight What They Can't Offer
🔷 Step 3: Tell Your Origin Story
🔷 Step 4: Create Content That Exposes the Corporate Model
🔷 Step 5: Make It Easy for Patients to Choose You

Here's a real example of the full strategy in action.

One of my clients implemented this "David vs. Goliath" positioning across their entire marketing:

💻 Website homepage: "Proudly Independent. Locally Owned. Patient-Focused."
📑 Blog content: Published 6 posts comparing independent vs. corporate dentistry.
⌨️ Social media: Posted videos showing the doctor and team, emphasizing relationships and continuity of care.
⚡️ Google Business Profile: Updated description to say: "Family-owned dental practice serving [City] for 18 years. No corporate quotas. No rotating doctors. Just exceptional care from a dentist who lives in your community."

They got these results in 6 months:

✔️ Organic search traffic: +89%
✔️ New patient calls: +52%
✔️ Average patient value: +34% (attracted higher-quality patients)
✔️ Patient retention: +12%

Why did it work?

Because patients are tired of being treated like transactions.

They want a real relationship with a real doctor.

And when you position yourself as the alternative to corporate dentistry, they choose you.

Here's what you need to do in the next 30 days:

Week 1: Audit Your Messaging

❓ Does your website clearly differentiate you from corporate chains?
❓ Do your social media posts emphasize relationships and local roots?
❓ Are you telling your story?

Week 2: Create "David vs. Goliath" Content

Write 1 blog post like: "Why We're Proud to Be an Independent Practice."

Create 2-3 social posts highlighting what makes you different.

Update your Google Business Profile with local, relationship-focused messaging.

Week 3: Build Local Partnerships

Reach out to 5 local businesses for cross-promotion
Sponsor a local event or sports team
Get featured in local media

Week 4: Launch a Patient Referral Campaign

🔷 Reward existing patients for referring friends and family.
🔷 Create a "VIP Patient" program for long-term loyalty.
🔷 Thank your most loyal patients publicly (social media shoutouts, etc.).

Corporate chains have billions of dollars.

But they'll never have what you have:

✔️ Real relationships
✔️ Local reputation
✔️ Authentic care
✔️ Community trust

Stop trying to compete with them on their terms.

Compete on yours.

And watch them scramble to keep up.

If you're ready to fight back against corporate dental chains but need help with your marketing strategy, let's talk.

#IndependentDentistry #DavidVsGoliath #CorporateDental #LocalBusiness #Practiwrite

Dentists: PPO contracts are killing your practice.

Slowly. 
Quietly. 
Systematically.

And you're probably not even tracking it.

Here's what I mean:

Most dentists look at PPO write-offs and think: "Okay, I'm losing 10-12% on these patients. Not ideal, but manageable."

Uh, no.

That's not the real cost.

The real cost is what you're NOT seeing. Things like:

❌ Lower case acceptance rates (patients trained to expect "cheap")
❌ Staff burnout (fighting insurance companies daily)
❌ Shrinking margins every time PPOs renegotiate
❌ Opportunity cost (PPO patients filling chairs that should hold FFS patients)
❌ Practice valuation hit (PPO-dependent practices sell for 30-40% less)

Here's the brutal math:

A $1.5M production practice with 70% PPO patients and 12% write-off rate:

👉🏽 Direct write-offs: $126,000/year
👉🏽 Staff time fighting insurance: $45,000/year
👉🏽 Lower case acceptance on PPO patients: $80,000/year
👉🏽 Opportunity cost (FFS patients you turned away): $120,000/year

Total real cost: $371,000 per year

That's not a write-off. That's more like a catastrophe.

And it gets worse every single year.

🔷 Because PPO reimbursement rates drop 2-5% annually.
🔷 Your costs go up. 
🔷 Your reimbursements go down.
🔷 You're on a treadmill to nowhere.

This week, I'm breaking down the REAL cost of PPO dependency.

Not just the write-offs you see in your practice management software.

But the hidden costs that are slowly bleeding your practice dry.

If you're a dentist who feels like you're working harder every year for less profit, this series is for you.

Tomorrow: The case acceptance crisis PPO patients create (and the shocking data behind it).

#PPOContracts #DentalProfitability #FeeForService #Practiwrite

Here's something nobody talks about:

PPO dental patients have significantly lower case acceptance rates than fee-for-service patients.

And it's destroying your profitability.

The data is clear:

👍🏾 Average case acceptance rate for FFS patients: 65-75%
👎🏾 Average case acceptance rate for PPO patients: 35-45%

That's nearly HALF.

Why?

Reason #1: They've been trained to expect "coverage"

PPO patients ask: "Does my insurance cover this?"

Not: "Do I need this?"

They've outsourced the treatment decision to their insurance company.

And when insurance says "not covered" or "only 50% covered," they decline.

Reason #2: They shop on price, not value

PPO patients chose you because you were in-network. Not because of your expertise, your reviews, or your reputation.

When you present a $3,000 crown, they're already Googling "cheap crown near me."

Reason #3: They don't see the value in prevention

Try getting a PPO patient to accept a $1,200 night guard.

"My insurance only covers $300? I'll just deal with the grinding."

Six months later: cracked tooth. $2,500 crown.

But they still won't accept the night guard because "insurance won't cover it."

Real example from one of my clients:

Before transitioning to FFS:

❌ 65% PPO patients
❌ Average case acceptance rate: 38%
❌ Average case value: $1,850

After transitioning to FFS:

✔️ 20% PPO patients (kept the good plans)
✔️ Average case acceptance rate: 68%
✔️ Average case value: $4,200

Same dentist. 
Same treatment plans. 
Different patients.

The opportunity cost is staggering. 

If you're presenting $500k/year in treatment plans and only 40% accept (PPO patients), you're collecting $200k.

If you had FFS patients accepting at 70%, you'd be collecting $350k.

That's $150,000 in lost production just from low case acceptance.

Here's what this means for your practice. Every PPO patient in your chair is:

👉🏽 Less likely to accept treatment
👉🏽 More likely to negotiate fees
👉🏽 More likely to leave for a cheaper option
👉🏽 Less valuable over their lifetime

Tomorrow: The staff burnout crisis that PPO contracts create (and why your best people are leaving).

#CaseAcceptance #PPOContracts #DentalProfitability #Practiwrite

Why PPO Patients Say No

Your best dental team members are thinking about quitting.

And PPO contracts are the reason.

Here's what's happening in your practice right now:

👉🏽 8:30 AM: Front desk calls insurance to verify benefits. Hold time: 18 minutes.
👉🏽 9:45 AM: Insurance denies a pre-auth. Office manager has to appeal. Time spent: 45 minutes.
👉🏽 11:20 AM: Patient calls angry about their EOB. "You said insurance would cover this!" Front desk deals with it: 30 minutes.
👉🏽 1:15 PM: Treatment coordinator presents a $5,000 treatment plan. Patient says, "Let me check with my insurance first." Plan stalls.
👉🏽 3:00 PM: Insurance downcodes a procedure. Office manager has to call, dispute, resubmit. Time spent: 40 minutes.
👉🏽 4:30 PM: Another denial. Another appeal. Another hour gone.

Multiply this by 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year.

Your staff is spending 10-15 hours per week fighting insurance companies.
That's 500-750 hours per year.

At $25/hour loaded cost, that's $12,500-$18,750 in staff time just managing insurance drama.
But the real cost.... burnout.

❌ Your office manager didn't go to school to argue with insurance companies.
❌ Your treatment coordinator didn't sign up to beg insurance companies to approve necessary care.
❌ Your front desk didn't dream of being yelled at by patients about insurance benefits they can't control.

And they're tired.

Real story from one of my clients:

Their office manager of 8 years quit.

Exit interview reason: "I spend 60% of my day fighting insurance companies. I'm done."

They hired a replacement at $55k/year. Trained her for 6 months.

She quit too. Same reason.

Replacement cost + training time: $47,000.

All because of PPO contracts.

Here's what happens when you reduce PPO dependency:

One of my clients dropped their two worst PPO contracts (22% and 19% write-offs).

Within 60 days:

✔️ Office manager's stress level: down
✔️ Front desk phone time with insurance: down 40%
✔️ Staff morale: up significantly
✔️ Staff retention: 100% (nobody quit that year)

The hidden costs of PPO contracts on your team is

⏱️ Time: 500-750 hours/year managing insurance
👎🏾 Burnout cost: High turnover, low morale
⌨️ Training cost: $15k-$25k every time you replace someone
🚩 Opportunity cost: Time spent on insurance = time NOT spent on patient care

PPO contracts don't just cost you money.

They cost you your best people.

Tomorrow: How PPO contracts are tanking your practice valuation (and why buyers are running away from PPO-heavy practices).

#StaffBurnout #DentalTeam #PPOContracts #Practiwrite

Planning to sell your dental practice someday?

PPO dependency just killed 30-40% off your valuation.

Let me explain.

How dental practice valuations work is, most practices sell for a multiple of EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).

Typical multiple: 4-6x EBITDA for healthy practices.

But here's the catch:

Buyers discount PPO-heavy practices significantly.

Why?

Reason #1: Lower profit margins

❌ PPO-heavy practices have margins of 25-35%.
✔️ FFS practices have margins of 45-55%.

Lower margins = lower valuation.

Reason #2: Revenue risk

If 70% of your revenue comes from PPO contracts, a buyer is taking on massive risk.

❓ What if Delta Dental renegotiates and drops reimbursement rates by 10%?
❓ What if Cigna drops you from their network?

Buyers discount for that risk.

Reason #3: Patient retention risk

PPO patients are less loyal.

They chose you because you take their insurance, not because you're good at what you do. 

🔷 If the buyer wants to transition to FFS, 30-40% of patients might leave.

Buyers know this. And they discount accordingly.

Real numbers:

Practice A: 70% PPO-dependent

🚩 Production: $1.5M
🚩 Collections: $1.35M (after write-offs)
🚩 Profit margin: 30%
🚩 EBITDA: $405k
🚩Valuation (4x multiple): $1.62M

Practice B: 30% PPO, 70% FFS

✔️ Production: $1.5M
✔️ Collections: $1.47M (lower write-offs)
✔️ Profit margin: 48%
✔️ EBITDA: $706k
✔️ Valuation (5.5x multiple): $3.88M

Same production. $2.26M difference in sale price.

That's not a typo.

A PPO-heavy practice with the same production sold for $2.26M less than an FFS practice.

When I talk to dental practice brokers, here's what they tell me buyers are looking for:

👉🏽 High profit margins (45%+)
👉🏽 Strong patient retention
👉🏽 Low insurance dependency
👉🏽 Diversified payer mix
👉🏽 High-value procedures (implants, cosmetic, perio)

PPO-heavy practices check NONE of these boxes.

Real example from a practice broker I know:

They had two practices listed in the same city:

Practice 1:

🔷 $1.8M production
🔷 75% PPO
🔷 28% profit margin
🔷 Listed at $1.4M

Sat on the market for 11 months. Sold for $1.1M (the buyer beat them down)

Practice 2:

🔷 $1.6M production
🔷 25% PPO
🔷 52% profit margin
🔷 Listed at $3.2M

Sold in 6 weeks. Full asking price

Lower production. Higher sale price.

Why? Because the second practice was built to last, not built on insurance contracts.

What this means if you're 10-15 years from retirement is, every year you stay PPO-dependent, you're:

❌ Making less profit
❌ Losing practice value
❌ Building a business few want to buy

Start transitioning NOW.

PPO contracts aren't just costing you today.

They're costing you your retirement.

Tomorrow: The pricing trap that keeps you stuck in PPO contracts (and how to escape it).

#PracticeValuation #DentalPracticeTransition #PPOContracts #Practiwrite

PPO Contracts Are Killing Your Practice Value

The lie dentists tell themselves....

"I have to keep my fees low to compete."

No, you don't.

You've just been conditioned to think that way by PPO contracts.

Let me show you how PPO contracts create a pricing prison:

Step 1: You sign a PPO contract

Delta Dental says: "We'll send you patients, but you have to accept our fee schedule."

Crown fee schedule: $850 (Your normal fee: $1,200)

You think: "Okay, I'll make it up in volume."

Step 2: PPO patients become 60-70% of your practice

Slowly, your schedule fills with PPO patients. Non-PPO patients start to feel like the minority.

Step 3: You can't raise your fees

You want to raise your crown fee to $1,350 (to keep up with inflation and costs). But you can't.

Because 70% of your patients are locked into the $850 PPO rate. So you're stuck.

Step 4: Your margins shrink every year

Your costs go up with

🔷 Staff wages: +3-5% per year
🔷 Supplies: +4-6% per year
🔷 Rent: +3% per year
🔷 Lab fees: +5% per year

But your PPO reimbursement? Flat. 

Or worse, it goes DOWN.

Step 5: You start cutting corners

You can't raise prices. You can't afford the same quality materials. So you:

❌ Use cheaper labs
❌ Rush appointments
❌ Push for higher volume
❌ Delay equipment upgrades

And you hate yourself for it.

This is the PPO pricing trap.

And most dentists don't realize they're in it until it's too late.

Sounds a bit brutal, no?

Tomorrow I'll show you how FFS practices can escape the trap.

Stay tuned.

#DentalPricing #FeeForService #PPOContracts #Practiwrite

Yesterday, I talked about how PPO-based dentists are caught in a trap.

PPOs are causing revenue-crushing thinking.

Insurance companies want you to think that their fees are the best you're gonna get.

It's not.

Here's how FFS practices escape the trap:

Strategy #1: Decouple your pricing from insurance

Stop letting insurance companies set your fees.

Your crown costs $1,350 because that's what it costs to deliver excellent care.

If insurance pays $850, fine. The patient covers the $500 difference.

You're not negotiating. You're just stating reality.

Strategy #2: Raise fees annually

FFS practices raise fees 3-5% per year to keep up with costs.

PPO practices can't. So they fall further behind every year.

Over 10 years, that gap becomes massive.

Example:

🔷 Year 1: Crown fee = $1,200
🔷 Year 10 (no increases): Crown fee = $1,200
🔷 Year 10 (3% annual increases): Crown fee = $1,612

That's a $412 difference per crown.

On 200 crowns per year, that's $82,400 in lost revenue.

Strategy #3: Stop apologizing for your fees

PPO practices train their teams to say: "I'm sorry, but your insurance only covers...blah, blah, blah"

FFS practices train their teams to say: "Your investment for this crown is $1,350. Insurance will reimburse you based on your out-of-network benefits, typically 50-70%."

See the difference?

One apologizes. The other educates.

Real example:

One of my clients was stuck at $1,150 for crowns (locked in by PPO contracts).

When they transitioned to FFS, they raised their crown fee to $1,400.

Then $1,500 the next year. Then $1,650 the year after.

Guess how many patients complained?

Four. Out of 1,200 active patients.

That's because the truth about pricing is that patients don't choose dentists based on price.

They choose based on:

✔️ Trust
✔️ Convenience
✔️ Reviews
✔️ Quality

Price is 5th or 6th on the list.

But PPO contracts make you THINK price is #1.

It's not.

PPO contracts don't just control your reimbursement.

They control your entire pricing strategy and trap you in a race to the bottom.

Break free. ⛓️💥

Tomorrow: The opportunity cost that's costing you $250k+ per year (the math will blow your mind).

#DentalPricing #FeeForService #PPOContracts #Practiwrite

"But I've been in-network with Delta for 15 years..."

Stop.

That's the sunk cost fallacy talking.

And it's keeping you broke.

Here's what the sunk cost fallacy sounds like in dentistry:

👎🏾 "I've built my practice on PPO contracts. I can't just drop them now."
👎🏾 "My patients expect me to be in-network."
👎🏾 "I've spent years building relationships with these insurance companies."
👎🏾 "What if I lose half my patients?"

All of these statements are rooted in fear, not facts.

The truth about sunk costs:

The time, money, and effort you've invested in PPO contracts is GONE. You can't get it back.

The only question that matters is:

"Will staying in these PPO contracts make my future better or worse?"

And the answer is: Worse.

Here's why staying in PPO contracts will cost you:

Cost #1: Reimbursement rates will keep dropping

PPO reimbursement rates drop 2-5% every 1-2 years.

Your costs go up. Your reimbursements go down.

Five years from now, you'll be writing off 18-20% instead of 12-15%.

Cost #2: Your practice will be worth less

Every year you stay PPO-dependent, your practice valuation drops.

Buyers don't want PPO-heavy practices. You're building a practice nobody will pay top dollar for.

Cost #3: You'll burn out your team

Your staff is already tired of fighting insurance companies. If you keep this up for another 5-10 years, your best people will leave.

Cost #4: You'll attract the wrong patients

PPO patients are price-shoppers.

The longer you stay in-network, the more your practice becomes known as the "cheap option."

And once you have that reputation, it's HARD to shake.

Here's how how to overcome the sunk cost fallacy:

Step 1: Stop looking backward

The years you spent building PPO relationships don't matter. What matters is the next 10 years.

Step 2: Run the numbers

Calculate the TRUE cost of staying PPO-dependent:

🔷 Write-offs
🔷 Staff time
🔷 Opportunity cost
🔷 Practice valuation impact

Then ask: "Can I afford to keep losing this much?"

Step 3: Make a decision based on your future, not your past

If you were starting your practice today, would you sign up for PPO contracts 

No? Then why are you staying in them?

Step 4: Create a transition plan

You don't have to go cold turkey. Build a 12-18 month plan to reduce PPO dependency from 70% to 30%.

Drop one contract at a time.

Replace PPO patients with FFS patients gradually.

The years you've spent in PPO contracts are sunk costs.

You can't change the past.

But you CAN change the next 10 years.

Stop letting sunk costs dictate your future.

Tomorrow: The complete roadmap to breaking free from PPO dependency (and building a practice that actually makes you money).

#SunkCostFallacy #PPOContracts #DentalPracticeGrowth #Practiwrite

Alright, you're convinced.

PPO dependency is killing your profitability, your team morale, your practice valuation, and your future.

Now what?

You break free of course!

Here's your step-by-step roadmap to breaking free:

Phase 1: Audit & Analysis (Month 1)

Step 1: Run the numbers

Pull reports from your practice management software:

✔️ Total production by payer type
✔️ Write-off percentage by insurance carrier
✔️ Patient count by insurance carrier
✔️ Average patient value by payer type

Identify your worst offenders (highest write-off %, lowest patient value).

Step 2: Calculate the real cost

Add up:

✔️ Direct write-offs
✔️ Staff time managing insurance
✔️ Opportunity cost (FFS patients you're turning away)
✔️ Practice valuation impact

This is your "cost of staying put."

Step 3: Set your target

Most practices should aim for:

👉🏽 30% PPO or less
👉🏽 70% FFS or more

If you're currently 70% PPO, your goal is to flip that in 18-24 months.

Phase 2: Preparation (Months 2-3)

Step 4: Build your FFS patient acquisition system

Before you drop any PPO contracts, you need a system to attract FFS patients.

✔️ Optimize your website for high-value procedures
✔️ Launch Local Service Ads for implants/cosmetics
✔️ Create content that positions you as the premium option
✔️ Build a referral system for existing patients

Step 5: Train your team

Your front desk, hygienists, and treatment coordinators need new scripts:

✔️ How to explain out-of-network benefits
✔️ How to present treatment without relying on insurance
✔️ How to handle "Do you take my insurance?" calls

Role-play until everyone is comfortable.

Step 6: Update your messaging

Rewrite your website, social media, and Google Business Profile to emphasize:

✔️ Expertise over insurance acceptance
✔️ Quality over price
✔️ Relationships over convenience

Tomorrow I'll show you Phase 3 and 4.

Stay tuned.

#PPOTransition #FeeForService #DentalProfitability #PracticeGrowth #Practiwrite

Dentists, yesterday I showed you practical steps to break free from PPO dependency.

I gave you the first two phases. To recap, they were:

Phase 1: Audit & Analysis (Month 1)

🔷 Run the numbers.
🔷 Calculate the real cost.
🔷 Set your target.

Phase 2: Preparation (Months 2-3)

🔷 Build your FFS patient acquisition team.
🔷 Train your team.
🔷 Update your messaging.

Today, let's talk about the final 2 phases of your FFS practice transition.

Phase 3: Execution (Months 4-18)

Step 7: Drop your worst PPO contract

Start with the carrier that has:

👉🏽 Highest write-off percentage (18%+)
👉🏽 Lowest patient value
👉🏽 Most administrative headaches

Give 90 days' notice (per contract requirements).

Step 8: Communicate with affected patients

Send a letter 60 days before the change:

"As of [Date], we'll be going out-of-network with [Plan]. We'll still file claims and help you maximize benefits, but we won't be restricted by their fee schedules."

Offer to answer questions.

Step 9: Monitor and replace

Track:

✔️ How many patients leave
✔️ How quickly you're acquiring FFS patients
✔️ Revenue trends

Most practices lose 10-15% of affected patients, but replace them with higher-value FFS patients in 60-90 days.

Step 10: Repeat every 6 months

Drop the next worst PPO contract. Keep replacing PPO volume with FFS patients.

Within 18-24 months, you'll be at your 30/70 target.

Phase 4: Optimization (Months 18+)

Step 11: Raise your fees annually

Now that you're not locked into PPO fee schedules, raise your fees 3-5% per year.

Step 12: Refine your patient acquisition

Double down on what's working:

❓ Which marketing channels bring the highest-value patients?
❓ Which services are most profitable?
❓ Which referral sources are most reliable?

Step 13: Enjoy the results

💵 Higher profit margins. 
💻 Less staff burnout. 
☺️ Better patients. 
💰 Higher practice valuation.

This is what you've been working toward.

Your action plan for the next 30 days:

🔷 Week 1: Run the audit. Know your numbers.
🔷 Week 2: Identify your worst PPO contract.
🔷 Week 3: Build your FFS patient acquisition plan.
🔷 Week 4: Decide: Am I committed to breaking free?

PPO contracts are designed to benefit insurance companies, not you.

You didn't go to dental school to work for insurance companies.

You went to dental school to help patients and build a thriving practice.

It's time to take control back.

If you're ready to break free from PPO dependency, but need help building your transition plan, let's talk.

DM me "FREEDOM" and I'll show you exactly how to make the transition without losing your shirt.

#PPOTransition #FeeForService #DentalProfitability #PracticeGrowth #Practiwrite

TRIGGER WARNING: This post is full of em dashes.

A Lament to the Em Dash — A Love Letter in Defense of the Most 

Misunderstood Punctuation Mark

I see it happening more and more—

People—smart people, even—attacking the em dash like it owes them money.

You use one em dash in a sentence and suddenly it’s open season in the comments:

“Too casual.”
“Overused.”
“Lazy writing.”

As if writers who use em dashes are somehow beneath the Great Punctuation Council.

Let me remind you: before the minimalist Twitter/X bros and comma-purists got loud, we writers—REAL writers—used em dashes to add rhythm, breathe emotion, create pause, and build tension.

We didn’t abuse them—we mastered them.

Now? The second an em dash appears, people act like a vampire watching a sunrise.

Or worse—a 15th-century villager pointing at punctuation and yelling, “WITCH!”

It's giving backseat grammar snob. 

It's giving literary insecurity.

It's giving "I read one blog post on sentence structure and now I’m Hemingway."

To those who instinctively pounce on every em dash like a dog on a dropped steak—

You're not being clever.
You're not making a point.
You're just broadcasting your insecurity about tone, style, and voice.

Let writers write. Let punctuation breathe.

And please—for the love of nuance—let the em dash live.

Respectfully. (But seriously.)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

#writing #copywriting #punctuation #grammar #writingcommunity #LinkedInWriters

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