Twelve questions to ask a dental marketing agency before you sign
Most practice owners I meet have been burned by an agency at least once. Usually not by fraud, just by a gap between what was implied and what was delivered.
These twelve questions close most of that gap. None of them is hostile. A good vendor will answer all twelve quickly, and will probably be pleased you asked.
On the work itself
1. Who actually does the work, and where do they sit? Account manager, offshore team, software with nobody behind it. All three are legitimate. You just want to know which.
2. What happens in the first 14 days, day by day? Vague onboarding is where timelines die. Ask for the sequence, not a promise.
3. What do you need from my team each week? “Nothing” is almost never true. A programme that quietly requires four hours a week from your front desk is a different purchase than one that does not.
On the money
4. What is the total first-year cost, including setup? Get one number.
5. Is there a percentage of production anywhere in this agreement? And if so, does it apply to hygiene only or to treatment too? This question changes the price more than any other.
6. What is the minimum term, and what does cancellation cost?
On proof
7. Can I speak to two practices like mine? The most useful question on the list. A vendor with real clients will arrange it.
8. Where does that statistic come from? Ask it about any number in the deck. A lot of dental marketing statistics trace back to the vendor quoting them.
9. Are any of your testimonials incentivised, and are the people in them clients? The FTC’s endorsement guides require disclosure of material connections, and since October 2024 its rule on consumer reviews and testimonials prohibits fake reviews and testimonials outright, with civil penalties available. A vendor who has thought about this will answer easily.
On compliance
10. Will you sign a BAA, and is every subprocessor in your chain covered? If patient data touches their system, they are a business associate under HIPAA. This is worth walking through properly.
11. Whose brand is registered for texts sent to my patients? If it is not your practice, ask why. Carrier registration has to match the brand on the opt-in. Here is why that matters.
12. If I leave, do I keep my phone numbers, my data and my reviews? Get this one in writing. It is the question people wish they had asked, and three clauses decide the answer.
How to read the answers
You are not looking for twelve perfect answers. You are looking for the shape of the responses.
Specific answers to hard questions, and an honest “I do not know, let me check” to one or two, is a good sign. Smooth answers to everything, with no detail and no hesitation anywhere, usually means you are talking to a salesperson who has not seen the delivery side.
The single best signal is question seven. Everything else can be rehearsed.
Our answers
For what it is worth: we are a two-person operation in Hoover, Alabama, the owner answers the phone, the price is published with no revenue share, the guarantee has a terms page, and we have no testimonials to show you because we do not have the clients yet. If that last one rules us out for you, that is a reasonable decision and I would rather you make it on accurate information.
If you want numbers for your own practice before talking to anybody, the report asks five questions and never asks for patient data.