In this episode of What's Best For The Patient Is Best For Business, Jerry sits down with Seth Turnoff, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Custom Medical Marketing (CMM).
They dive deep into the critical, often overlooked connection between marketing, sales, and patient experience in a private practice. Seth shares his unique perspective from his "Jerk Store" series on LinkedIn, where he breaks down bad sales outreach, and explains how his firm uses "searchless marketing" to target ideal patients through demographics and psychographics.
The conversation is a masterclass in why treating your front desk as a revenue-generating sales center, not just a logistics hub, is the key to sustainable growth. Jerry and Seth discuss the downstream chaos of poor lead handling, the danger of counting leads as revenue, and why the best marketing in the world fails without a system to convert interest into arrived, paying patients.
Key Takeaways:
• Marketing and Sales are a Partnership, Not the Same Thing: Effective marketing generates awareness, but a dedicated sales process is required to convert that interest into scheduled appointments. They must work in tandem, with data flowing back from sales to inform and improve marketing efforts.
• Your Front Desk is Your Sales Engine: Stop viewing your front desk team as merely schedulers. Empower them with the time, training, and systems to have meaningful conversations, set proper expectations, and gather crucial data on every lead—whether they schedule or not.
• Track Everything to Stop Guessing: You cannot improve what you do not measure. Implementing a simple lead tracker is essential to understand where your best patients come from, identify leaks in your funnel, and make data-driven decisions instead of emotional ones.
• Better Leads Lead to Better Conversions: The ultimate way to improve conversion rates is to attract higher-quality, better-fitting leads through targeted marketing. This reduces pressure on the sales team and creates a more efficient and profitable practice.
• Intentionality Creates Patient Success: Every patient touchpoint—from the first phone call and the check-in process to the clinical experience and billing—must be intentionally designed. Reverse-engineering the ideal patient journey ensures a seamless, professional experience that builds trust and loyalty.
Tune in for an honest, no-fluff conversation filled with actionable strategies to align your marketing, sales, and operations to serve more patients and build a healthier business.