In this Ortho Marketing episode, Dean Steinman is joined by Brad Hughes, Founder and CEO of Vision Dental Partners. They explore how to grow and accelerate dental practices—from strategic acquisitions to marketing tactics that drive real results. Learn how to scale faster, streamline operations, and boost patient growth post-acquisition.
Ready to elevate your practice? Contact us!
https://orthomarketing.com/contact-us/
About Brad Hughes
Dr. Hughes is a third-generation dentist, proudly following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, and has been providing excellent dentistry for over 17 years. He is a graduate of Indiana University School of Dentistry. With a passion for growing teams and helping others thrive both personally and professionally, Dr. Hughes has dedicated his career to fostering leadership and development in his practices and throughout the dental industry. His entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to growth continue to shape the future of his expanding dental group and the dental space as a whole.
Ready to elevate your practice? Contact us!
https://orthomarketing.com/contact-us/
About Brad Hughes
Dr. Hughes is a third-generation dentist, proudly following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, and has been providing excellent dentistry for over 17 years. He is a graduate of Indiana University School of Dentistry. With a passion for growing teams and helping others thrive both personally and professionally, Dr. Hughes has dedicated his career to fostering leadership and development in his practices and throughout the dental industry. His entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to growth continue to shape the future of his expanding dental group and the dental space as a whole.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
This is doctor Brad Hughes, CEO and founder of Vision
Dental Partners. In this podcast, we're going to hit some
amazing topics from acquisition to practice acceleration and growth and
some strategies around that, and my favorite topic, which is
create and grow your brand.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Orthomarketing dot com three hundred and sixty degree digital marketing
solutions for your practice.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Well, hello everybody out there in podcast land. This is
Dean Steinman from worth On Marketing and guess what, we
are back with another awesome podcast for you.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
Now, I'm very psych today.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
It's end of May twenty twenty five, and someone's right
around the corner.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
As a Nick fan.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Tonight it's a big, big game for us, So if
any Nick fans are out there, and when you hear this,
hopefully after the fact, we already won and we're in
the in the finals. But tonight we're playing Game five
of the Celtics. So fingers crossed there anyway with getting
right to it. So I have a really spoke for
my guest today, So I have with me today doctor
(01:12):
Brad Hughes. And Brad is the CEO and founder of
really great organization, Visual Dental partners, and we're here to
talk a little bit about the future of practices and
acquisition and what's your end game and what you need
to look at and to be educated. I'm sure you
get emails all the time, you know, guys out there,
(01:33):
so it's how to sift through it and what to
look for. So Brad, welcome, man. How are you today?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Hey, excited to be here, Dean, that like that intro
and that introduction, Like, now I'm even more fired up.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
So that was all there?
Speaker 5 (01:47):
You go awesome, Yeah, we'd like to light that fire, bro. Thanks.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
So Brad, tell us a little bit about who is
doctor Brad Hughes.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah, been practicing and practicing Dennis for eighteen years. Graduated
from Indiana University in two thousand and seven, which from
the dental school, which doesn't seem like it should have
been that long ago, but now it's already been. Gosh, yeah,
just unbelievable. So time is flying. So I've been practicing
for eighteen years. Started out in right outside of Fort
(02:21):
in Indiana. I was a huge dental group in Leo, Indiana,
practice with my dad for a couple of years there,
just kind of had a big entrepreneurial spirit. So we've
from twenty nineteen on, we've acquired eight more practices and
we're now a nine practice group based out of South
Carolina in Indiana.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
And just living that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
We're in the thick of it, we're in the arena,
we're figuring it out and.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
It's fun.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
So I always asked us to our guest because so
many doctors come on board and they decided to, yeah,
I'm going to try the you know, entrepreneurial hat on
instead of running a practice.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
So was your aha moment.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
To say, yeah, I'm gonna do a little bit of
switcheroo here and take on this this undertaking.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, you know, I I think it was pretty darn
early on. Like, I'm obsessed with the operation side, the
marketing side.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I like clinical dentistry.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I love the operational, the community involvement, the the marketing pieces.
Just kind of the game around how do we actually
grow a business, how do we get how do we
create a vision that that team members align with. How
do we build a practice that that we can build
(03:40):
local legends for our doctors in their community. I've been
obsessed with that, literally probably since my second or third
week in practice.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know, I was.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I was in our practice there with my dad, and
you know, very early on, it's like, hey, I think
we can like I think we can quickly double the
size of this practice, and and he's like, okay, well
I got one foot basically half out the door, so
go do what you want to do. And so we
just started kind of taking that piece. But it was
really probably twenty twelve, twenty eleven, twenty twelve, where twenty
(04:12):
thirteen where it was like, you know, I'm not moving
at the pace I would like to what's the problem here?
And I had to look myself in the mirror and
probably have about four other people tell me the problem
was me. And so we kind of took a bit
of a mindset journey and needed to get a little
bit more in an abundance mindset. I needed to figure
some things out and made a promise to myself, Hey,
I will go acquire a second practice after I triple
(04:34):
my first practice. And we were doing five by most
people's account, you know, we were doing it was a
good practice, it was very profitable. I probably would have
been easier just to have said, let's just keep moving
with this thing. But we went out tripled it and
probably around twenty sixteen twenty seventeen, and then in twenty
nineteen opportunity came along and so we acquired another practice
(04:57):
and we could have kind of gone from there.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
So as a dentisty people, you probably have two hats
on one. Obviously, pretend you don't even have your company.
Now you're you, and you're ever your dentist hat, and
you're not looking at a Vision dental.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
You're at Doctor Hughes Denteal. You probably get.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Two, three, four or five six emails a day from
potential people who want to acquire you, merge, et cetera.
So hey, what goes through your mind? Is a dentist
oh another one of these or you know are people
or you're looking at an ex strategy from day one,
you know, because I get these emails all the time
as well. You know, we're looking for it, you know,
(05:37):
but you're looking to sell you your agency, want to
sell your agency?
Speaker 5 (05:40):
And no, no, no, no no no.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
But in a while something does go through it talk
and obviously I'm not ready to sell it yet. But
you know, why does somebody Why would you think somebody
would even think about going the route of a partner
like you.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, I think there's there's you know, let's go back, like,
I'll take that one step further, and I'll say I
think it's the same reasons that when we do acquisitions,
I'm looking for good core value fits. Like we did
an acquisition with a great doctor, Randy Stauffer up in Elkhart, Indiana.
(06:19):
We closed on that practice March first, and he's just
such a good dude. And he came to me and
he's like, I've you know, he's fifty five, fifty six
years old. He's like, I've done the same numbers for
the last five years. I'm tired of just being complacent
in that number. I need help to get to the
(06:39):
next level. And I think you're the dude to help
get me there. And as we sat around and talked
for about two hours, when we got done, he had
tears in his eyes and he's like, I'm ready for that.
I'm ready for this. And I think, to answer your question,
it would be because I want to feel that same
way when somebody comes to me when I run out
of run way and and and I can't go to
(07:02):
a bank anymore and continue on our our our path,
and we want to bring on a strategic partner, I
want to sit down and have that conversation and feel
that exact same way because they hit every key point
and we align. We align from a core value standpoint,
we align from a future growth standpoint, because that ultimately
(07:23):
is how business deals work. I've done I've done one
deal that did not work out very well, and it's
because I should have seen the red flags during during
some of the due diligence. I probably just skipped over
them because I wanted to do the deal. But core
value alignment is everything. And so when somebody comes to
us and says, look, I love the personal brand that
you're building, doctor Hughes, I love the brand that you
(07:46):
guys have at Vision Dental Partners. I love the transparency.
I love the fact that you guys talk about the
things that you've screwed up. I love the fact that
you talk about the things that you've done really well.
That's who we're looking for in a strategic is that
we want to invest in you guys and help you
take that next two to three X jump. And I
want to leave that meeting going I'm fired up, let's
(08:08):
go do it. And I think that's what separates us
because at the end of the day, like I kind
of laugh, because there's so many groups or practices out
there who are like, you know, we're disrupting the space
and we're doing things different than everybody else. Bullshit, you're not.
We're all doing the same frickin thing. The only thing
(08:28):
that separates us from everybody else is brand, and everybody's
got their own brand. And I just want you know,
when somebody comes to us to acquire us, it's not like, hey,
are you looking to exit make some money.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I'm not.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I will eventually be looking for a strategic partner who
likes our brand and who aligns with that, and that'll
be the most important thing. And it's the same thing
that we look for in acquisitions ourselves.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
Love that.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
When I first get on with the practice and they
come to me to help them with the marketing, the
first thing I asked them is what makes you different?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
What's your differentiator? And nine percent of the practice have
no clue what that means, you.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Know, And they're like, oh, we give great service, We're
a family business, you know, you know we have the
best technology. Well my response to that is you're better,
You're better, and you're better. That's not a differentiator, that's
a necessity.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
You know, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
So from your perspective, what would you say is a
disruptor a differentiator for a dental practice. You know, when
his branding, it's not just a logo, it's positioning, it's
your message, it's where you fit in the community, because
you're part of a community. So what would you say
are the two most important factors in making a practice
stand out.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I'll give you a great example. So my dad started
my original practice. I was in Hughes Dental Group in Leo,
Indiana in nineteen eighty. So he graduated from Indiana University
down School nineteen eighty started, he graduated in May, started
that practice and August of nineteen eighty has not seen
(10:03):
a patient since two thousand and nine in that office,
and we have eight locations in Indiana. I'm the lone
soldier down here in South Carolina. So I still travel
eight hundred miles up there. I do a lot of
associate coaching. I still go up and run meetings, do
all of the things up there, and I can go
into that practice and there's still a lot of patients
(10:25):
that have been coming in since nineteen eighty six, and
they will still to this day. Here we are, what
sixteen years later, and they say, what's going on with
your dad? How's your dad? Is your dad still playing
a lot of golf? Is your dad still into fishing?
That man is an incredible local legend in that community.
(10:47):
And it's not because he was a dentist. It was
because he had positioned himself as a likable human being
and he just built a massive brand in that community.
And that's the differentiator. Had nothing to do with a
Google ad, It had nothing to do with direct mail, piece,
had nothing to do with any type of marketing. Was
just that he Yes, he over delivered to the patients
(11:10):
that came in for a long time, but they just
liked who he was authentically. And that doesn't mean that
everybody liked him, but the people who had commonality and
similarity with him and still come in that office thirty
years later, that's how you That is how you differentiate yourself.
Not everybody's gonna like me that comes in my office,
(11:30):
but the ones that do and I can build brand with,
and they trust me before they ever come in because
they've seen social media posts that I put out or
whatever and these are patients that stay pay and refer
to me at a very high level. They come in
because of my brand, not because of my Crown Preps
or my Root Canal or any other reason. They just
come in because they aligned with me. Otherwise they would
(11:51):
go to any number of I mean there's thirty dentists
in Bluffed in South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
They could go to.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Love that.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
It was like a marketing all day long with you. Yeah, Look,
marketing is a differentiator. Guys, planning simple. You know, if
you do not market yourself, you will not succeed in
twenty twenty five and plus you will not plan it simple.
If you don't invest money in your practice from marketing
advertising this perspective, you will fail plent one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And I think you hit the nail on the head earlier.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
So many think that that's they market technology and they
need to market themselves right. Themselves are the thing that
people want to come see. If you think a CBCT
is going to drive people to your practice, like, get
the hell over it?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That ain't it that? Like they don't know they think
everybody has that.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
And you know, I've bet a CBCT in my practice
for ten years it's not I've never had one patient.
I'm here because you have a CBCT. No, they're here because, hey,
my neighbors come to you and they really like you,
and I'm like, awesome.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
That's the key.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
And from one step further when it is position, taking
your brand and position out there. You could crow to
the cows come home how great you are. But if
your patients are the ones who do it, that's where
the differentiator is is they need to tell everybody how
great you are and spread the word to all their
friends on social media.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Somebody comes into your office and you.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Were a game changer and you made their teeth whiter
and they hated their teeth before, or straight or what
have you. They want to tell you're in a smile business.
You want to basically share the well, share the happiness
and let them share it and tell everybody how great
it is. But the biggest poll that I see is
their doctors don't know how to ask and they're afraid.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
And you have to have that in place.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
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Speaker 5 (14:05):
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Speaker 5 (14:32):
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Speaker 4 (14:39):
What one bit of advice would you give to a
practice to help them scale successfully their marketing if they
could do today?
Speaker 5 (14:46):
What's one thing somebody could do today?
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I would take a multi prong approach.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I mean, there's a time and a place for Google
ads like I think you know, don't just waste money,
like track the data, know what you're getting, know what
you're not getting. If something's working, throw a little bit
more money at it, continue it to work. You're going
to get you know, there's going to be some patients.
Like it's just it's an attention game, right, So how
many eyeballs can you get on? You're going to get
a certain amount on from Google. The second piece of
(15:14):
that is I would say that there are a lot
who are not comfortable in front of a camera. Get
damn comfortable in front of a camera and start posting
on different platforms because people and their attention.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Is right here.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
And if you're on Facebook, Instagram at a certain level,
if you want to be on TikTok like it's it's
like there's you just got to get. You've got to
create some good content. People need to know who you
are as a dentist, just really not even as a dentist.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
They just need to know who you are as a
human being.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
They want to know whether you like I post content
all the time about how I like F one racing.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'm a private pilot. I don't eat a lot of bread.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I've got twin daughters that are into X Y Z
and they come in and that's what they're talking about.
It has nothing to do with dentistry. They're like, oh
my god, I was you know, like, if you like
F one racing, you probably like this is you know,
you're from Indiana. Do you like IndyCar racing? Because it's
Indy five hundred month in Indiana? Like, do you like that?
That's the stuff they come in talking to me about,
not dental stuff. And that's how you build relationships and
(16:20):
you move people to yes. At the end of the day,
we're just trying to positively influence patients to say yes
to things that they need.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
That's the game. So just you know, even if.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
You suck at it, Like there are plenty of days
I create content, I'm not that good and those other
days I'm pretty good at it and I've been doing
it for a little while. So like just start and
you know, you've got to focus on building brand. Brand
is dentistry is becoming so commoditized in the ortho space
and the general dental space and the oral surgery space.
In every space, it's becoming about price, and we need
(16:52):
to make it about brand. And that is a that
is a massive game changer.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Perfect segue to the next thing. So price, you know,
ideally price should never be an issue. If you get
somebody in your chairs for a new patient perspective, you
have really no excuse for letting them leave. Okay, So
what's one bit of vice that you could come to
somebody when it comes to price, because you might be
a little bit higher then than somebody down the block.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
So how would you.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Get somebody who And it takes a very unique person
to be able to overcome certain objections and do sales.
So somebody sits in your chair and they're looking to
do in plans for the ears, Lemons, whatever it is,
and well you're at two thousand.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
Dollars more than than the guy down the block. For you,
how do you respond?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Well, yeah, everybody has objections. I mean you and I
if we go anywhere, right, Like, I'm probably the worst.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
I don't go to a lot of medical appointments, but
like I know, when I've gone to the chiropractor, they're
always like, well, we want to take some extras. I'm like, eh,
don't worry about it, Like, just do what you need
to do. Let's let's just get moving here. Like I
ain't got a lot of time. It's like I'm one
of those bat Like if they would just if one
of these chiropractors would just explain to me the reason,
like let's just take the damn X ray one time, Hughes,
this is why you need it. But it's always just
(18:08):
like so my objection usually is time. If they're like, look,
it's going to take thirty seconds, do it, I'd be
like fine.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
So, like the objections, whether it's budget.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Time, maybe they're fearful, trust can be an objection that
you have to overcome. So but first you got to
go back to you got to understand what the patient values.
Number one, do they value function? Do they value longevity?
Do they value comfort? Do they value cosmetic? It's usually
one of those four things. So you've got to get
on their level.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And I see.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Dentists in orthodonis all the time where it's like you're
putting your own bias around what you think the patient
should value. Like I was coaching on Wednesday of this
week with one of our really good doctors in Indiana,
and you know, he kept talking to the patient like
I would I really think you need to Like I
(18:58):
really think you need to do this because I don't
want to.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
See you lose that tooth if it cracks in half.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And I'm like, I kept telling them, like, but it's
not about you don't want to see them. You got
to make it so that do you value longevity or function?
Because if you lose that tooth, it's a first molar
seventy six percent of your chewing efficiency. What is that
going to do to function? And you know, like most
people don't want to lose what they have. So if
it's not function, maybe it's longevity. Maybe they just want
(19:24):
to do the thing that's going to help keep them
keep that tooth in their head the longest. So like,
you've got to be able to meet them where they're
at and understand that it's not about what you think,
doctor so and so or what you value, it's what
the patient value. So number one, you got to dive
in and really understand what they value. Number two, then
you got to be over able to overcome the objection
and and you know, our teams can do that. You know,
(19:46):
in the general dental space, hygienis can do that, front
desk team members can can work on those things. And
sometimes as dentists we have to be able to overcome them.
But the main selling point is you got to understand
if your two thousand dollars more expensive, You got to
tell them how much value you're going to create, and
then you got to you gotta know what they value.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
The most, right and.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Then you know from there that that's pretty that's wildly influential.
And at that point, yeah, they become less concerned about
the money because now they know you're you're the one to.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Do it the results, experience and what they get out
of it, what's in it for them? I always tell
people my favorite radio station is w i I FM.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
What's in it for me? And so we can do marketing.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
It's not about you, doc, it's about them. So anything
you push out it's about the patient, not about you.
Got two more questions for you, Brad. So you know
somebody is you know, we spoke about a guy that
you came with the other day.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
You got one of the you know, perfect match for you,
blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
So somebody is in their fifties now the sixties, and
they're kind of just at the point now where they
think of doing the next exit or what have you.
What are three questions that should ask a potential partner
like you to see if it's a right fit from
both sides. So I'm putting you went back in the
dentist chair, so you're getting contacted by you know, by
(21:11):
Vision Dental or by this practical with this or this
one or this group one are three questions that they
should be prepared to ask you because it's an interview
both ways. So what are three things that they should
know about their next potential partner or ask them in
order to feel comfortable.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
I think number one that they should always be asking
me is how how much can we grow in the
first twenty four months? You know, if you really want
to impress me, say twelve, Like that's because most practices
that we've come across that, I mean, that's always something
I'm looking for, is like, is there is there upside
(21:49):
in the first twelve months? But if they're thinking twelve
to twenty four months of growth, and you know, if
I've I've probably seen the data, if we're if we're
having a conversation at that level, I don't I don't
go in any acquisition less I really feel like we
can grow at least twenty five percent in year one
and so if if they if they kind of give
you the oh that that seems like a lot, you know, Okay, great,
(22:12):
Like let's dive into why. I mean, we're just gonna
we're gonna pull that lever, that lever, that lever, and
it's actually really easy. If that gets them excited, great,
But I think it should be because you can't just
stay status quo, like that's not the objective. If you
want to stay status quo, like, you really shouldn't be
selling your prowd. I don't like, you've probably waited too.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Long at that point.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
If you just want to stay status quo, like you
should have sold earlier when you were still in a
growth mindset, you're just not going to get the same
value in my opinion. But to me, that would be
Number one is like, let's let's get excited about what
we can do together. Number two it's how do we
grow new patients? Because I don't care if you're seeing
twenty two new patients or you know, we have a
(22:54):
practice in Bloomington in Indiana that averages over one hundred
and twelve new patients a month. We should be able
to grow both. If you're at one hundred and twelve,
let's add fifteen more month. If you're at twenty two,
let's go double it. And number three. I think the
next the third question should be how far are you
(23:16):
looking to go before we bring on a strategic partner,
because I think it's I think that's a really important
question because exit strategy. I don't care if you're a
twenty eight year old dentist or a fifty eight year
old dentist. It should be on your mind. Where how
do we maximize ourselves financially? Because everybody wants to sit
around and talk about ebit of this and ebit of that.
(23:38):
Like I'm much more concerned about cash flow than I am. Ebita.
It's become a fun sexy term that dentists love to
talk about, but it's but everybody needs to be concerned
about what's the exit strategy. If you're twenty eight years old,
it's you know that may morph. Like my exit strategy
now is way different than it was at twenty eight,
but I've always been thinking about it, and I'm sure
(23:58):
it'll be different five years from now. But but we
have a very set plan in place to when and
how and who we'll be looking for when that comes
about So I think they should be asking that question,
what what is the strategy to bring on a big
strategic partner to help us go from where we are
(24:19):
and keep this thing moving in the right direction. Because
that's the point of joining a group, right, is that
there should be financial gain. And that's one of the
benefits of joining a group like us is that we
got a lot of runway, Like there's a lot of
upside and and I know that has really been an
exciting thing for our partner doctors, is let's let's let's
go reach and sustain that upside. So I think those
(24:41):
are three pretty good questions.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Cool, all right, So now it's going to time, you know,
shameless plug. So let's talk a little bit about vision
Danel and what you do. And you know, somebody's listening
and they're looking for a potential next partner.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
It was you, guys, bro.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, I mean, I you know, we're we're we're a
little bit of a DSO slash group slash DPO like
we were a bit of a hybrid group where I'm looking,
you know, if you want a partner and still retain
forty percent equity in your group and your practice, great
I'm super open to that. If you want to sell
one hundred percent of the assets, but you want to
work five to ten more years, open to that too,
(25:19):
and anything in between. I I'm not completely like we've
been successful in both of those models. We also want
younger doctors to work for us for a short amount
of time and then and then buy in at the
practice level. One of our rock star dentists in Indiana,
doctor Blake Wile at New Haven Dental Center, just bought
bought into his practice.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
We've got a few others that are doing the same.
I want partners in this game.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
And so even if I'm acquiring a practice at one
hundred percent, We'll go find another doctor who can come in.
You know, we'll keep that doctor on, but go find
another younger doctor that we can coach up and train
up and become a partner. So, you know, I'm the founder,
but I'm still working four days a week, so I'm
in the arena. I understand the challenges. We've got a
phenomenal management team. We've got we've got a fully baked
(26:06):
out HR department to help with the issues in recruiting
right now that we've done very well with. We've got
a great operations team. Our marketing department with Lex is phenomenal.
But we're also we do a lot. I also have
a ten person production team. We have eight full time
video editors. We have two content directors. I am big
(26:30):
on organic social and building brand and so if you
want to be a local legend in your community, I've
talked about my dad. I've done the same thing with myself.
That's the objective for our doctors is to become that
damn local legend that just dominates their community. And the
way that we do that is by getting attention on us,
(26:50):
and that's through social And you know, these aren't platforms
for sixteen year olds anymore. TikTok is not for dancing. Like,
this is real world stuff and it works, and and
that's our group.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
You know, we've done well.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
We'd like to add another probably three to four practices
over the next twelve months. I think we're fully equipped
for that from a management team standpoint, and you know,
I think overall we do a pretty damn good job.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Awesome, all right, Two final questions. One, so I'm giving
you two gifts. First gift is you get to go
back in time fifteen years ago what's one thing you
had telling Brad looking in the mirror and you're saying,
what advice are you giving yourself?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah, fifteen years ago, so I would have been turning thirty.
I'll be forty five here in just a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
I think the first thing would be would be a
big one that I coach and preach a lot is
get over the ego of doctor title, right, patients, You're
not moving pay to yes and being influential because you
have a title or because I have letters behind my name.
You're doing it because of who you are, in the
words that you say, in your body language. And I
(28:11):
think when you go into when you talk about case
acceptance and you think they're doing things because you're a doctor,
I think it's more manipulative than it is than it
is influential. And you know, so from a team standpoint,
I think I would have been a better leader fifteen
years ago had I dropped some of that ego, and
I think I would have been I think I would
have grown my first practice faster had I figured out
(28:34):
that I was the frickin' problem. And so I think
that's where I would start.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
Cool, all right, Then, Now I have my second gift
for you.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
I'm giving you the ability to have dinner with anybody
in history.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
Who you meet, who you who are you hanging with?
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Uh? This you know, this will be.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
If I could have dinner with anybody in history, such
a good question.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
I would go back. I would have dinner with.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
A forty year old Bobby Knight. Okay, you know Bobby
Knight growing up in Indiana, you know, in the eighties,
and I mean the guy was our god Indiana. Basketball
was our religion every kid in Indiana. Like you know,
if people think you don't grow up in Indiana or
(29:30):
at least then dreaming of playing basketball for Indian University
and Bobby Knight and all the things that we did,
and at least I certainly did, and it was it
was a religion in our in our community and in
our family. And I would love to have a conversation
with Bobby Knight in his prime, just because the no nonsense,
(29:51):
no bullshit.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
The general level of execution.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
I mean, find me someone who was better at it,
I you know, and just about life, just anything. I
think it would be an unbelievable conversation that'd be a
lot of fun.
Speaker 5 (30:09):
What's what's the first thing you're going to ask him?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Then you're the level of execution. How do you continuously,
every single day, consistently demand the level.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Of execution that you do, Because I think that's hard.
I think it's the hell out of everybody.
Speaker 5 (30:32):
That's why it scares the hell out of them.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I think that there was an element of you know,
he was kind of an intimidating guy.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
He was, but.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
I think you know, you look at those teams in
the seventies, early eighties, late eighties and eighty seven with
Alford and Keith Smart, you know, the early nineties with
Colbert Cheney and Greg Graham and al Hereson, Like those
guys were.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
They were just so good. They were so.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Competitive and they and they just pumped out so many
kids that you know, they went to class, they did
things the right way.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
He just demanded a level.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Of execution that and they loved him for it. You know,
he just could marry the two so well, and uh,
it just pretty phenomenal stuff.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
Still that he's the last coach to go undefeated in
the season and it's almost fifty years and nobody has
done it since, So that's one incredible milestone.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
There for sure. I think about it.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
Many you know, teams have been played college basketball in
the lest fifty years and nobody has.
Speaker 5 (31:30):
Gone undefeated since then.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
So cool, right, all right, Brad, you somebody wants to
learn more about you, talk to you, say what's up?
Just learn more information. What's the best way for somebody
to learn more about you?
Speaker 5 (31:42):
Catch up? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Really? Two ways?
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Find me on LinkedIn, Brad Hughes pretty easy, send me
a message, connect with me email It's B. D. Hughes
dds at gmail dot com. Either way is pretty easy
to reach me. I'm pretty damn responsive, So reach out.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
Cool thy Brad, Well, thanks so much for joining.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
I appreciate it. This is awesome time. I really appreciate it.
Real insightful. And guys, think about it. If you're at
the point of your career that you're just like, what
am I going to do next? And you get complacent
or you just wanted to see us in the future,
reach out to Brad, you know, follow him.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
He's real smart.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
Guys, got great content out there and it might be
something that listen to both adventure nothing gain, so give
give it a shot. Everybody, podcast Land, thanks so much
for listening. Be happy be Smile. Smile, and once once
again let's go next.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Worthole Marketing dot com three hundred and sixty degree digital
marketing solutions for your practice
Everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
This is doctor Brad Hughes, CEO and founder of Vision
Dental Partners. In this podcast, we're going to hit some
amazing topics from acquisition to practice acceleration and growth and
some strategies around that, and my favorite topic, which is
create and grow your brand.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Orthomarketing dot com three hundred and sixty degree digital marketing
solutions for your practice.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Well, hello everybody out there in podcast land. This is
Dean Steinman from worth On Marketing and guess what, we
are back with another awesome podcast for you.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
Now, I'm very psych today.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
It's end of May twenty twenty five, and someone's right
around the corner.
Speaker 5 (00:51):
As a Nick fan.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Tonight it's a big, big game for us, So if
any Nick fans are out there, and when you hear this,
hopefully after the fact, we already won and we're in
the in the finals. But tonight we're playing Game five
of the Celtics. So fingers crossed there anyway with getting
right to it. So I have a really spoke for
my guest today, So I have with me today doctor
(01:12):
Brad Hughes. And Brad is the CEO and founder of
really great organization, Visual Dental partners, and we're here to
talk a little bit about the future of practices and
acquisition and what's your end game and what you need
to look at and to be educated. I'm sure you
get emails all the time, you know, guys out there,
(01:33):
so it's how to sift through it and what to
look for. So Brad, welcome, man. How are you today?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Hey, excited to be here, Dean, that like that intro
and that introduction, Like, now I'm even more fired up.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
So that was all there?
Speaker 5 (01:47):
You go awesome, Yeah, we'd like to light that fire, bro. Thanks.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
So Brad, tell us a little bit about who is
doctor Brad Hughes.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah, been practicing and practicing Dennis for eighteen years. Graduated
from Indiana University in two thousand and seven, which from
the dental school, which doesn't seem like it should have
been that long ago, but now it's already been. Gosh, yeah,
just unbelievable. So time is flying. So I've been practicing
for eighteen years. Started out in right outside of Fort
(02:21):
in Indiana. I was a huge dental group in Leo, Indiana,
practice with my dad for a couple of years there,
just kind of had a big entrepreneurial spirit. So we've
from twenty nineteen on, we've acquired eight more practices and
we're now a nine practice group based out of South
Carolina in Indiana.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
And just living that.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
We're in the thick of it, we're in the arena,
we're figuring it out and.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
It's fun.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
So I always asked us to our guest because so
many doctors come on board and they decided to, yeah,
I'm going to try the you know, entrepreneurial hat on
instead of running a practice.
Speaker 5 (02:59):
So was your aha moment.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
To say, yeah, I'm gonna do a little bit of
switcheroo here and take on this this undertaking.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, you know, I I think it was pretty darn
early on. Like, I'm obsessed with the operation side, the
marketing side.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I like clinical dentistry.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I love the operational, the community involvement, the the marketing pieces.
Just kind of the game around how do we actually
grow a business, how do we get how do we
create a vision that that team members align with. How
do we build a practice that that we can build
(03:40):
local legends for our doctors in their community. I've been
obsessed with that, literally probably since my second or third
week in practice.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know, I was.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I was in our practice there with my dad, and
you know, very early on, it's like, hey, I think
we can like I think we can quickly double the
size of this practice, and and he's like, okay, well
I got one foot basically half out the door, so
go do what you want to do. And so we
just started kind of taking that piece. But it was
really probably twenty twelve, twenty eleven, twenty twelve, where twenty
(04:12):
thirteen where it was like, you know, I'm not moving
at the pace I would like to what's the problem here?
And I had to look myself in the mirror and
probably have about four other people tell me the problem
was me. And so we kind of took a bit
of a mindset journey and needed to get a little
bit more in an abundance mindset. I needed to figure
some things out and made a promise to myself, Hey,
I will go acquire a second practice after I triple
(04:34):
my first practice. And we were doing five by most
people's account, you know, we were doing it was a
good practice, it was very profitable. I probably would have
been easier just to have said, let's just keep moving
with this thing. But we went out tripled it and
probably around twenty sixteen twenty seventeen, and then in twenty
nineteen opportunity came along and so we acquired another practice
(04:57):
and we could have kind of gone from there.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
So as a dentisty people, you probably have two hats
on one. Obviously, pretend you don't even have your company.
Now you're you, and you're ever your dentist hat, and
you're not looking at a Vision dental.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
You're at Doctor Hughes Denteal. You probably get.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Two, three, four or five six emails a day from
potential people who want to acquire you, merge, et cetera.
So hey, what goes through your mind? Is a dentist
oh another one of these or you know are people
or you're looking at an ex strategy from day one,
you know, because I get these emails all the time
as well. You know, we're looking for it, you know,
(05:37):
but you're looking to sell you your agency, want to
sell your agency?
Speaker 5 (05:40):
And no, no, no, no no no.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
But in a while something does go through it talk
and obviously I'm not ready to sell it yet. But
you know, why does somebody Why would you think somebody
would even think about going the route of a partner
like you.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Well, I think there's there's you know, let's go back, like,
I'll take that one step further, and I'll say I
think it's the same reasons that when we do acquisitions,
I'm looking for good core value fits. Like we did
an acquisition with a great doctor, Randy Stauffer up in Elkhart, Indiana.
(06:19):
We closed on that practice March first, and he's just
such a good dude. And he came to me and
he's like, I've you know, he's fifty five, fifty six
years old. He's like, I've done the same numbers for
the last five years. I'm tired of just being complacent
in that number. I need help to get to the
(06:39):
next level. And I think you're the dude to help
get me there. And as we sat around and talked
for about two hours, when we got done, he had
tears in his eyes and he's like, I'm ready for that.
I'm ready for this. And I think, to answer your question,
it would be because I want to feel that same
way when somebody comes to me when I run out
of run way and and and I can't go to
(07:02):
a bank anymore and continue on our our our path,
and we want to bring on a strategic partner, I
want to sit down and have that conversation and feel
that exact same way because they hit every key point
and we align. We align from a core value standpoint,
we align from a future growth standpoint, because that ultimately
(07:23):
is how business deals work. I've done I've done one
deal that did not work out very well, and it's
because I should have seen the red flags during during
some of the due diligence. I probably just skipped over
them because I wanted to do the deal. But core
value alignment is everything. And so when somebody comes to
us and says, look, I love the personal brand that
you're building, doctor Hughes, I love the brand that you
(07:46):
guys have at Vision Dental Partners. I love the transparency.
I love the fact that you guys talk about the
things that you've screwed up. I love the fact that
you talk about the things that you've done really well.
That's who we're looking for in a strategic is that
we want to invest in you guys and help you
take that next two to three X jump. And I
want to leave that meeting going I'm fired up, let's
(08:08):
go do it. And I think that's what separates us
because at the end of the day, like I kind
of laugh, because there's so many groups or practices out
there who are like, you know, we're disrupting the space
and we're doing things different than everybody else. Bullshit, you're not.
We're all doing the same frickin thing. The only thing
(08:28):
that separates us from everybody else is brand, and everybody's
got their own brand. And I just want you know,
when somebody comes to us to acquire us, it's not like, hey,
are you looking to exit make some money.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I'm not.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I will eventually be looking for a strategic partner who
likes our brand and who aligns with that, and that'll
be the most important thing. And it's the same thing
that we look for in acquisitions ourselves.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
Love that.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
When I first get on with the practice and they
come to me to help them with the marketing, the
first thing I asked them is what makes you different?
Speaker 5 (09:01):
What's your differentiator? And nine percent of the practice have
no clue what that means, you.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Know, And they're like, oh, we give great service, We're
a family business, you know, you know we have the
best technology. Well my response to that is you're better,
You're better, and you're better. That's not a differentiator, that's
a necessity.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
You know, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
So from your perspective, what would you say is a
disruptor a differentiator for a dental practice. You know, when
his branding, it's not just a logo, it's positioning, it's
your message, it's where you fit in the community, because
you're part of a community. So what would you say
are the two most important factors in making a practice
stand out.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I'll give you a great example. So my dad started
my original practice. I was in Hughes Dental Group in Leo,
Indiana in nineteen eighty. So he graduated from Indiana University
down School nineteen eighty started, he graduated in May, started
that practice and August of nineteen eighty has not seen
(10:03):
a patient since two thousand and nine in that office,
and we have eight locations in Indiana. I'm the lone
soldier down here in South Carolina. So I still travel
eight hundred miles up there. I do a lot of
associate coaching. I still go up and run meetings, do
all of the things up there, and I can go
into that practice and there's still a lot of patients
(10:25):
that have been coming in since nineteen eighty six, and
they will still to this day. Here we are, what
sixteen years later, and they say, what's going on with
your dad? How's your dad? Is your dad still playing
a lot of golf? Is your dad still into fishing?
That man is an incredible local legend in that community.
(10:47):
And it's not because he was a dentist. It was
because he had positioned himself as a likable human being
and he just built a massive brand in that community.
And that's the differentiator. Had nothing to do with a
Google ad, It had nothing to do with direct mail, piece,
had nothing to do with any type of marketing. Was
just that he Yes, he over delivered to the patients
(11:10):
that came in for a long time, but they just
liked who he was authentically. And that doesn't mean that
everybody liked him, but the people who had commonality and
similarity with him and still come in that office thirty
years later, that's how you That is how you differentiate yourself.
Not everybody's gonna like me that comes in my office,
(11:30):
but the ones that do and I can build brand with,
and they trust me before they ever come in because
they've seen social media posts that I put out or
whatever and these are patients that stay pay and refer
to me at a very high level. They come in
because of my brand, not because of my Crown Preps
or my Root Canal or any other reason. They just
come in because they aligned with me. Otherwise they would
(11:51):
go to any number of I mean there's thirty dentists
in Bluffed in South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
They could go to.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Love that.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
It was like a marketing all day long with you. Yeah, Look,
marketing is a differentiator. Guys, planning simple. You know, if
you do not market yourself, you will not succeed in
twenty twenty five and plus you will not plan it simple.
If you don't invest money in your practice from marketing
advertising this perspective, you will fail plent one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And I think you hit the nail on the head earlier.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
So many think that that's they market technology and they
need to market themselves right. Themselves are the thing that
people want to come see. If you think a CBCT
is going to drive people to your practice, like, get
the hell over it?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That ain't it that? Like they don't know they think
everybody has that.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
And you know, I've bet a CBCT in my practice
for ten years it's not I've never had one patient.
I'm here because you have a CBCT. No, they're here because, hey,
my neighbors come to you and they really like you,
and I'm like, awesome.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
That's the key.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
And from one step further when it is position, taking
your brand and position out there. You could crow to
the cows come home how great you are. But if
your patients are the ones who do it, that's where
the differentiator is is they need to tell everybody how
great you are and spread the word to all their
friends on social media.
Speaker 5 (13:14):
Somebody comes into your office and you.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Were a game changer and you made their teeth whiter
and they hated their teeth before, or straight or what
have you. They want to tell you're in a smile business.
You want to basically share the well, share the happiness
and let them share it and tell everybody how great
it is. But the biggest poll that I see is
their doctors don't know how to ask and they're afraid.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
And you have to have that in place.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
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(13:58):
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Speaker 5 (14:05):
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Speaker 5 (14:32):
Wealth of Marketing. It's not just our name, it's what
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Speaker 4 (14:39):
What one bit of advice would you give to a
practice to help them scale successfully their marketing if they
could do today?
Speaker 5 (14:46):
What's one thing somebody could do today?
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I would take a multi prong approach.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I mean, there's a time and a place for Google
ads like I think you know, don't just waste money,
like track the data, know what you're getting, know what
you're not getting. If something's working, throw a little bit
more money at it, continue it to work. You're going
to get you know, there's going to be some patients.
Like it's just it's an attention game, right, So how
many eyeballs can you get on? You're going to get
a certain amount on from Google. The second piece of
(15:14):
that is I would say that there are a lot
who are not comfortable in front of a camera. Get
damn comfortable in front of a camera and start posting
on different platforms because people and their attention.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Is right here.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
And if you're on Facebook, Instagram at a certain level,
if you want to be on TikTok like it's it's
like there's you just got to get. You've got to
create some good content. People need to know who you
are as a dentist, just really not even as a dentist.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
They just need to know who you are as a
human being.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
They want to know whether you like I post content
all the time about how I like F one racing.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'm a private pilot. I don't eat a lot of bread.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I've got twin daughters that are into X Y Z
and they come in and that's what they're talking about.
It has nothing to do with dentistry. They're like, oh
my god, I was you know, like, if you like
F one racing, you probably like this is you know,
you're from Indiana. Do you like IndyCar racing? Because it's
Indy five hundred month in Indiana? Like, do you like that?
That's the stuff they come in talking to me about,
not dental stuff. And that's how you build relationships and
(16:20):
you move people to yes. At the end of the day,
we're just trying to positively influence patients to say yes
to things that they need.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
That's the game. So just you know, even if.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
You suck at it, Like there are plenty of days
I create content, I'm not that good and those other
days I'm pretty good at it and I've been doing
it for a little while. So like just start and
you know, you've got to focus on building brand. Brand
is dentistry is becoming so commoditized in the ortho space
and the general dental space and the oral surgery space.
In every space, it's becoming about price, and we need
(16:52):
to make it about brand. And that is a that
is a massive game changer.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Perfect segue to the next thing. So price, you know,
ideally price should never be an issue. If you get
somebody in your chairs for a new patient perspective, you
have really no excuse for letting them leave. Okay, So
what's one bit of vice that you could come to
somebody when it comes to price, because you might be
a little bit higher then than somebody down the block.
Speaker 5 (17:18):
So how would you.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Get somebody who And it takes a very unique person
to be able to overcome certain objections and do sales.
So somebody sits in your chair and they're looking to
do in plans for the ears, Lemons, whatever it is,
and well you're at two thousand.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
Dollars more than than the guy down the block. For you,
how do you respond?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Well, yeah, everybody has objections. I mean you and I
if we go anywhere, right, Like, I'm probably the worst.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
I don't go to a lot of medical appointments, but
like I know, when I've gone to the chiropractor, they're
always like, well, we want to take some extras. I'm like, eh,
don't worry about it, Like, just do what you need
to do. Let's let's just get moving here. Like I
ain't got a lot of time. It's like I'm one
of those bat Like if they would just if one
of these chiropractors would just explain to me the reason,
like let's just take the damn X ray one time, Hughes,
this is why you need it. But it's always just
(18:08):
like so my objection usually is time. If they're like, look,
it's going to take thirty seconds, do it, I'd be
like fine.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
So, like the objections, whether it's budget.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Time, maybe they're fearful, trust can be an objection that
you have to overcome. So but first you got to
go back to you got to understand what the patient values.
Number one, do they value function? Do they value longevity?
Do they value comfort? Do they value cosmetic? It's usually
one of those four things. So you've got to get
on their level.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And I see.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Dentists in orthodonis all the time where it's like you're
putting your own bias around what you think the patient
should value. Like I was coaching on Wednesday of this
week with one of our really good doctors in Indiana,
and you know, he kept talking to the patient like
I would I really think you need to Like I
(18:58):
really think you need to do this because I don't
want to.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
See you lose that tooth if it cracks in half.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And I'm like, I kept telling them, like, but it's
not about you don't want to see them. You got
to make it so that do you value longevity or function?
Because if you lose that tooth, it's a first molar
seventy six percent of your chewing efficiency. What is that
going to do to function? And you know, like most
people don't want to lose what they have. So if
it's not function, maybe it's longevity. Maybe they just want
(19:24):
to do the thing that's going to help keep them
keep that tooth in their head the longest. So like,
you've got to be able to meet them where they're
at and understand that it's not about what you think,
doctor so and so or what you value, it's what
the patient value. So number one, you got to dive
in and really understand what they value. Number two, then
you got to be over able to overcome the objection
and and you know, our teams can do that. You know,
(19:46):
in the general dental space, hygienis can do that, front
desk team members can can work on those things. And
sometimes as dentists we have to be able to overcome them.
But the main selling point is you got to understand
if your two thousand dollars more expensive, You got to
tell them how much value you're going to create, and
then you got to you gotta know what they value.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
The most, right and.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Then you know from there that that's pretty that's wildly influential.
And at that point, yeah, they become less concerned about
the money because now they know you're you're the one to.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
Do it the results, experience and what they get out
of it, what's in it for them? I always tell
people my favorite radio station is w i I FM.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
What's in it for me? And so we can do marketing.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
It's not about you, doc, it's about them. So anything
you push out it's about the patient, not about you.
Got two more questions for you, Brad. So you know
somebody is you know, we spoke about a guy that
you came with the other day.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
You got one of the you know, perfect match for you,
blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
So somebody is in their fifties now the sixties, and
they're kind of just at the point now where they
think of doing the next exit or what have you.
What are three questions that should ask a potential partner
like you to see if it's a right fit from
both sides. So I'm putting you went back in the
dentist chair, so you're getting contacted by you know, by
(21:11):
Vision Dental or by this practical with this or this
one or this group one are three questions that they
should be prepared to ask you because it's an interview
both ways. So what are three things that they should
know about their next potential partner or ask them in
order to feel comfortable.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
I think number one that they should always be asking
me is how how much can we grow in the
first twenty four months? You know, if you really want
to impress me, say twelve, Like that's because most practices
that we've come across that, I mean, that's always something
I'm looking for, is like, is there is there upside
(21:49):
in the first twelve months? But if they're thinking twelve
to twenty four months of growth, and you know, if
I've I've probably seen the data, if we're if we're
having a conversation at that level, I don't I don't
go in any acquisition less I really feel like we
can grow at least twenty five percent in year one
and so if if they if they kind of give
you the oh that that seems like a lot, you know, Okay, great,
(22:12):
Like let's dive into why. I mean, we're just gonna
we're gonna pull that lever, that lever, that lever, and
it's actually really easy. If that gets them excited, great,
But I think it should be because you can't just
stay status quo, like that's not the objective. If you
want to stay status quo, like, you really shouldn't be
selling your prowd. I don't like, you've probably waited too.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Long at that point.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
If you just want to stay status quo, like you
should have sold earlier when you were still in a
growth mindset, you're just not going to get the same
value in my opinion. But to me, that would be
Number one is like, let's let's get excited about what
we can do together. Number two it's how do we
grow new patients? Because I don't care if you're seeing
twenty two new patients or you know, we have a
(22:54):
practice in Bloomington in Indiana that averages over one hundred
and twelve new patients a month. We should be able
to grow both. If you're at one hundred and twelve,
let's add fifteen more month. If you're at twenty two,
let's go double it. And number three. I think the
next the third question should be how far are you
(23:16):
looking to go before we bring on a strategic partner,
because I think it's I think that's a really important
question because exit strategy. I don't care if you're a
twenty eight year old dentist or a fifty eight year
old dentist. It should be on your mind. Where how
do we maximize ourselves financially? Because everybody wants to sit
around and talk about ebit of this and ebit of that.
(23:38):
Like I'm much more concerned about cash flow than I am. Ebita.
It's become a fun sexy term that dentists love to
talk about, but it's but everybody needs to be concerned
about what's the exit strategy. If you're twenty eight years old,
it's you know that may morph. Like my exit strategy
now is way different than it was at twenty eight,
but I've always been thinking about it, and I'm sure
(23:58):
it'll be different five years from now. But but we
have a very set plan in place to when and
how and who we'll be looking for when that comes
about So I think they should be asking that question,
what what is the strategy to bring on a big
strategic partner to help us go from where we are
(24:19):
and keep this thing moving in the right direction. Because
that's the point of joining a group, right, is that
there should be financial gain. And that's one of the
benefits of joining a group like us is that we
got a lot of runway, Like there's a lot of
upside and and I know that has really been an
exciting thing for our partner doctors, is let's let's let's
go reach and sustain that upside. So I think those
(24:41):
are three pretty good questions.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
Cool, all right, So now it's going to time, you know,
shameless plug. So let's talk a little bit about vision
Danel and what you do. And you know, somebody's listening
and they're looking for a potential next partner.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
It was you, guys, bro.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, I mean, I you know, we're we're we're a
little bit of a DSO slash group slash DPO like
we were a bit of a hybrid group where I'm looking,
you know, if you want a partner and still retain
forty percent equity in your group and your practice, great
I'm super open to that. If you want to sell
one hundred percent of the assets, but you want to
work five to ten more years, open to that too,
(25:19):
and anything in between. I I'm not completely like we've
been successful in both of those models. We also want
younger doctors to work for us for a short amount
of time and then and then buy in at the
practice level. One of our rock star dentists in Indiana,
doctor Blake Wile at New Haven Dental Center, just bought
bought into his practice.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
We've got a few others that are doing the same.
I want partners in this game.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
And so even if I'm acquiring a practice at one
hundred percent, We'll go find another doctor who can come in.
You know, we'll keep that doctor on, but go find
another younger doctor that we can coach up and train
up and become a partner. So, you know, I'm the founder,
but I'm still working four days a week, so I'm
in the arena. I understand the challenges. We've got a
phenomenal management team. We've got we've got a fully baked
(26:06):
out HR department to help with the issues in recruiting
right now that we've done very well with. We've got
a great operations team. Our marketing department with Lex is phenomenal.
But we're also we do a lot. I also have
a ten person production team. We have eight full time
video editors. We have two content directors. I am big
(26:30):
on organic social and building brand and so if you
want to be a local legend in your community, I've
talked about my dad. I've done the same thing with myself.
That's the objective for our doctors is to become that
damn local legend that just dominates their community. And the
way that we do that is by getting attention on us,
(26:50):
and that's through social And you know, these aren't platforms
for sixteen year olds anymore. TikTok is not for dancing. Like,
this is real world stuff and it works, and and
that's our group.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
You know, we've done well.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
We'd like to add another probably three to four practices
over the next twelve months. I think we're fully equipped
for that from a management team standpoint, and you know,
I think overall we do a pretty damn good job.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Awesome, all right, Two final questions. One, so I'm giving
you two gifts. First gift is you get to go
back in time fifteen years ago what's one thing you
had telling Brad looking in the mirror and you're saying,
what advice are you giving yourself?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah, fifteen years ago, so I would have been turning thirty.
I'll be forty five here in just a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
I think the first thing would be would be a
big one that I coach and preach a lot is
get over the ego of doctor title, right, patients, You're
not moving pay to yes and being influential because you
have a title or because I have letters behind my name.
You're doing it because of who you are, in the
words that you say, in your body language. And I
(28:11):
think when you go into when you talk about case
acceptance and you think they're doing things because you're a doctor,
I think it's more manipulative than it is than it
is influential. And you know, so from a team standpoint,
I think I would have been a better leader fifteen
years ago had I dropped some of that ego, and
I think I would have been I think I would
have grown my first practice faster had I figured out
(28:34):
that I was the frickin' problem. And so I think
that's where I would start.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
Cool, all right, Then, Now I have my second gift
for you.
Speaker 4 (28:43):
I'm giving you the ability to have dinner with anybody
in history.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
Who you meet, who you who are you hanging with?
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Uh? This you know, this will be.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
If I could have dinner with anybody in history, such
a good question.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
I would go back. I would have dinner with.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
A forty year old Bobby Knight. Okay, you know Bobby
Knight growing up in Indiana, you know, in the eighties,
and I mean the guy was our god Indiana. Basketball
was our religion every kid in Indiana. Like you know,
if people think you don't grow up in Indiana or
(29:30):
at least then dreaming of playing basketball for Indian University
and Bobby Knight and all the things that we did,
and at least I certainly did, and it was it
was a religion in our in our community and in
our family. And I would love to have a conversation
with Bobby Knight in his prime, just because the no nonsense,
(29:51):
no bullshit.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
The general level of execution.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
I mean, find me someone who was better at it,
I you know, and just about life, just anything. I
think it would be an unbelievable conversation that'd be a
lot of fun.
Speaker 5 (30:09):
What's what's the first thing you're going to ask him?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Then you're the level of execution. How do you continuously,
every single day, consistently demand the level.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Of execution that you do, Because I think that's hard.
I think it's the hell out of everybody.
Speaker 5 (30:32):
That's why it scares the hell out of them.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I think that there was an element of you know,
he was kind of an intimidating guy.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
He was, but.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
I think you know, you look at those teams in
the seventies, early eighties, late eighties and eighty seven with
Alford and Keith Smart, you know, the early nineties with
Colbert Cheney and Greg Graham and al Hereson, Like those
guys were.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
They were just so good. They were so.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Competitive and they and they just pumped out so many
kids that you know, they went to class, they did
things the right way.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
He just demanded a level.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Of execution that and they loved him for it. You know,
he just could marry the two so well, and uh,
it just pretty phenomenal stuff.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
Still that he's the last coach to go undefeated in
the season and it's almost fifty years and nobody has
done it since, So that's one incredible milestone.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
There for sure. I think about it.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
Many you know, teams have been played college basketball in
the lest fifty years and nobody has.
Speaker 5 (31:30):
Gone undefeated since then.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
So cool, right, all right, Brad, you somebody wants to
learn more about you, talk to you, say what's up?
Just learn more information. What's the best way for somebody
to learn more about you?
Speaker 5 (31:42):
Catch up? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Really? Two ways?
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Find me on LinkedIn, Brad Hughes pretty easy, send me
a message, connect with me email It's B. D. Hughes
dds at gmail dot com. Either way is pretty easy
to reach me. I'm pretty damn responsive, So reach out.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
Cool thy Brad, Well, thanks so much for joining.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
I appreciate it. This is awesome time. I really appreciate it.
Real insightful. And guys, think about it. If you're at
the point of your career that you're just like, what
am I going to do next? And you get complacent
or you just wanted to see us in the future,
reach out to Brad, you know, follow him.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
He's real smart.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
Guys, got great content out there and it might be
something that listen to both adventure nothing gain, so give
give it a shot. Everybody, podcast Land, thanks so much
for listening. Be happy be Smile. Smile, and once once
again let's go next.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Worthole Marketing dot com three hundred and sixty degree digital
marketing solutions for your practice
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