Manage episode 512885122 series 3669814
A bigger ad budget won’t fix a leaky back door. Dr Larry Stanleigh joins us to show how sustainable growth in healthcare comes from relationships, not campaigns—and why most clinics overspend on SEO while underinvesting in trust. Larry’s path spans general dentistry, cosmetic work, periodontal care, and a deep niche in orofacial pain and TMJ, plus leadership in sports performance mouthguards that have supported Olympians to gold. That breadth shapes a clear stance: treat the person first, align care to what they value, and let results fuel referrals.
We dig into the diamond rule—learning what each patient truly wants and matching your recommendations to their goals—so conversations land and acceptance rises. Larry breaks down the marketing trap: local patients search “near me,” maps take over, and a clean site with accurate listings outperforms pricey ranking wars. He shares how one superfan generated tens of thousands in revenue, why sponsoring what your fans care about beats billboards, and how simple tracking turns anecdotes into strategy.
Inside the practice, we tackle the bottlenecks that stall growth: turf wars between front and back, gossip that corrodes trust, and schedules built without clinical context. Larry’s team agreements push issues to direct conversations, while Insights Discovery profiles give everyone a common language to adapt and lead. From there, we zoom out to whole-person care—spotting pelvic imbalance behind clenching, linking sleep-disordered breathing to day-time symptoms, and coordinating with the right partners so results stick. And for the numbers-minded, Larry explains how he cut supply costs in half by fixing systems, not haggling line items, then scaled capacity with pre-planned triggers for hiring and fit-outs.
If you manage a clinic or lead a wellness business, you’ll leave with a practical blueprint: build trust, track what matters, design your growth path, and make sales unnecessary. If this resonated, follow the show, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review—what’s one tactic you’ll drop and one relationship you’ll deepen this week?
👤 Guest Biography
Dr. Larry Stanleigh is a Calgary-based general practice dentist, speaker, and coach who helps health professionals create relationship-driven systems that build trust, improve retention, and transform team culture. With over 38 years of clinical experience, Larry is also the CTO of a Canadian sports performance mouthguard company, a lecturer on business systems, and the author of The People in Your Life Are a Gift. His focus on human-centered leadership and internal marketing has helped practices scale from six figures to multimillion-dollar operations.
- Website:
- Email: 📨 [email protected]
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/captdrlarry
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptDrLarry
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captdrlarry/
- Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-stanleigh-a964449/
Chapters
1. Meet Dr Larry Stanley (00:00:00)
2. Journey to Dentistry and Niche Focus (00:01:45)
3. Relationship-Based Business Systems (00:04:40)
4. Balancing Clinic, Coaching, and Travel (00:06:50)
5. Why Costly SEO Misses the Point (00:09:50)
6. Wasteful Spend vs Local Presence (00:12:40)
7. Fans, Referrals, and Targeted Support (00:15:05)
8. From Education to the Diamond Rule (00:17:05)
9. Personality Profiles to Lead Teams (00:19:20)
10. Trust, Skepticism, and Younger Patients (00:21:10)
11. Bottlenecks: Communication and Retention (00:22:55)
12. Agreements That Stop Gossip (00:25:15)
13. Whole-Person Care Over Silos (00:27:00)
14. Pelvic Imbalance, Clenching, and TMJ (00:29:10)
15. Money Lessons: Know Your Numbers (00:31:00)
16. Reducing Supply Costs, Boosting Margin (00:33:10)
49 episodes