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This Dental Specific Podcast is dedicated to the Dental "Entrepreneur" Michael Dinsio, Founder of Next Level Consultants, delivers #TRUTH when starting up a dental practice. From the very first step to getting the keys of a dental practice, Michael shares his raw & unscripted playbook with you. Not only does this podcast provide you with "What To Do" but more importantly "What Not To Do". With over over 15 years of experience & over 150 past clients, Michael delivers an educational and informative program in a real and genuine way. Start w/ Episode 01 - as we go through a STEP by STEP process.
Startup Unscripted.
The questions you have with
the truths you need to hear.
Help doctors get into
practice the way they want
to get into practice.
Hashtag truth.
That's why we put it out there.
What we want to do is we
want to bring truth to the startup game.
And now your host, Michael D'Anzio.
And today I have one of the
best here in studio.
We've had some technical difficulties,
but I think we're running here.
I think we're running here,
but I think we're good.
I don't know.
Well, let's just keep going with this.
But actually,
before I introduce officially
our guest today.
A couple housekeeping items.
We folks are moving,
as you can see on your screen,
for those who are YouTubers,
we're moving to an
all-inclusive kind of new
brand called Dental Unscripted.
All right.
So you all are listening to
me right now through Startup Unscripted.
And it's that red brand.
And then those of you that
are like following us with acquisitions,
that's dental acquisition unscripted.
So we had two brands.
It's kind of complicated.
We'd like to simplify things
and get it to dental unscripted.
And the other bonus to this
idea is that we are at next level.
Consultants are going to be
splashing in practice management stuff.
So it's not just startup and
acquisition tips and tricks.
As you all are very aware,
we're still going to do that.
But this Dental Unscripted
new brand is going to be startup,
acquisition, how to run a business,
front office issues,
how to renegotiate your fees maybe,
all kinds of fun things.
Because a lot of you guys
have been following me for about three,
four, maybe even five years.
now and you're in and you're in ownership.
So we're going to we're
going to be giving you guys
some more things to
consider and think about.
So Paula, my partner,
will be on and Stefani and
Livia and Nicole and Deb,
all the coaches at next
level are going to contribute.
So we're super excited about that.
OK, without further ado,
let's rock and roll here
with this particular episode.
And I'm really excited again
back to the original idea here,
and that is to interview a manufacturer.
So this is equipment, guys.
So as you're going through
the process doing startup,
you need equipment.
And today I have someone from ADEC,
the ADEC in studio, Quinton.
Quinton, welcome to the show, brother.
I appreciate it.
Thank you for having me.
Introduce yourself.
Introduce yourself.
All right, will do.
So Quentin Flores,
I am a ADEC territory
manager out of the Seattle area.
So my partner, Billy Effingham,
and I kind of cover Western
Washington and Alaska for the company.
Alaska.
You go up there a lot?
Uh, need to get up there more.
Yeah.
I have, have been up there.
Uh,
we have some great partners that we
work with up there.
Yeah.
Um, but yeah,
so I've been in dental for shoot, fifteen,
sixteen years now.
Wow.
Yeah.
Uh, so I started, uh, a while back, uh,
working, uh,
Selling consumables for Horace Kolzer.
Okay.
And then got into technology
with Dentsply Sirona on the imaging side.
And I have had the privilege
to be working for ADEC now
as a territory manager for
the last three years in this market.
So I've kind of touched a
lot of different areas in
the dental office from a
manufacturing perspective.
Got a deep bench.
Yeah.
It gives me a good perspective on,
you know.
So why did you choose ADEC?
With all that experience, you're like,
you know, ADEC's a knock-in.
Why...
Why go into bed with ADEC?
Yeah, I mean, from the manufacturing side,
it's kind of a no-brainer
if you get the opportunity.
That was a softball question.
I'd like to create a sexier story for you.
Do it.
Oh, you don't got one?
No, no, not really.
No, but from a manufacturing side,
ADEC is still doing things
in a very old-fashioned way.
And what I mean by that is
we're a family-run company
that is fortunate enough to
not have to look at things from,
a stock price or, you know,
make decisions based on, you know,
the ebbs and flows of being
a publicly traded company.
Our founders, Ken and Joanne Austin,
created an environment and
we're celebrating our
sixtieth anniversary this year.
What a powerhouse.
taking care of our customers
and our business partners
in the field that we get to
work with every single day.
You know, now, you know,
you're part of that family.
We're tasked as territory managers with,
you know,
being that forward-facing
individual for the company
and just taking care of
customers and taking care
of people and having concern for people.
So some of these things
you've heard because you've
been down to ADEC.
And it's just when the
opportunity came up,
uh to partner with my my
last partner which was andy
hayes and he just recently
retired yeah after forty
two years um that in itself
should say something the
fact that you know forty
two years he was still
still trucking along and
doing great things for the company and um
yeah it was just a
no-brainer so I'll just
leave it at that yeah no no
I I mean I think we could
you could we could go on
and on about adec and the
reputation we can get into
some of that later but um
it speaks for itself the
name's just a powerhouse in
the dental industry as you
all know it's um it's it's
just a an iconic brand in
the in the industry you all
know so uh hence why you're
on the show um and I'm
privileged to have you guys so
But let's kind of get into
some brass tacks of true
startup unscripted style.
You know, for the listeners, it's like,
okay, you know, manufacturers.
So there's some other players out there,
of course.
There's ADEC.
And I always get the
question kind of like,
You know, how does this like Henry Schein,
Patterson, Benko, Burkhart,
all these people that
represent or can sell your stuff?
I know some of those can't.
Right.
But we're speaking as a
generic sense here that
there's a lot of other
manufacturers out there and
there's a lot of other dealers.
And I get that.
I just got it this week.
Like, hey,
can I just call ADAC and just
work with them?
And now it's not how it works.
Right.
you want to break that down
kind of like dummy style for all of us,
because it's pretty obvious
just because I've been in
the industry for a while, but like,
I think for the doctors,
they want to understand how
this kind of works.
So if they wanted to work with a deck,
for example,
They can connect with you,
but they can't buy it through you.
So can you walk us through that?
Yeah, so I appreciate the question.
And yeah,
I have been asked that question
before too.
I bet.
So it's not the first time.
No.
So we have always gone
through the model of distribution.
And that's from the
standpoint of some of the
partners that we have in
the field took very good
care of Ken and Joanne from the start.
And in return,
we're very loyal to our
partners that we've done
business with for a long time.
So our dealers in the field
and I'll kind of keep
things specific to my
region because I don't know
all the distributors in
other parts of the country.
yeah I'm kind of tunnel
visioned into the seattle
market so when we're
talking about burkhart
henry shine and patterson
yeah here here locally in
the seattle market and in
alaska um we really depend
on those people heavily uh
to be you know kind of help
spreading the message and
talking about the adec uh
equipment yeah and what
adec can offer you know to
our customers and the doctors out there
But it's also they're equally, you know,
partners in it with us.
And I use the word partner.
You know,
it's maybe different than your
typical manufacturer
distributor relationship
because they're the ones
really out there diagnosing our equipment,
you know,
helping us when we do need to
make repairs.
Because, you know,
even though ADEC is amazing equipment,
of course, you know,
there's going to be some
stuff's going to break.
It's a machine.
It's a machine.
And then those people are
giving us feedback too.
So not only our field and equipment people,
but then the technicians as well.
I mean,
if you- The techs at like Patterson Shine,
Burkhardt Bank, all those guys.
Those individuals are giving
us feedback on our
equipment that Ken Austin
took very seriously.
And we've made alterations
to how we do things based
upon feedback from our distributors.
That's cool.
So what you're saying is like,
It's not just selling it,
but there's a service part
to it that you guys can't
deliver to the client, to the doctors.
Who's listening?
There's no way.
I mean, so in our territory in Seattle.
So like I said,
my partner's name is Billy.
You know,
I'd like to think that we're
above average functioning
people when it comes to
representing any type of
equipment or product.
Slightly above average.
That's okay.
As long as I'm slightly above average,
I'm pretty realistic.
There's no way we can be all
over the place.
Right.
We can't be, you know,
in Bellingham one minute
and then down in Olympia the next.
There's just no way we can do that.
Folks,
that's like our drives is what he's
describing there.
I thought everyone here was
familiar with Washington geography.
Yes.
You can't be on the two
separate sides of the state.
You cover the whole state of
Alaska and Washington.
So you can't be in Juneau
and you can't be in Seattle
at the same time.
there's there's absolutely
no way so yeah without you
know our distribution
partners um we could not
take as good of care of our
customers as we wanted to
right so yeah I mean it's
it's more you know having
more whatever you want to
call it soldiers in the
field you know out there
being able to really just
take care of customers
because that's what it
comes down to at the end it's not
We need a bigger, you know,
network of people like
selling our equipment.
Yeah.
Because if we're not taking
care of those customers,
no one else is going to
want to buy that equipment.
Totally.
So it's all about just being us,
being able to take care of people better.
That makes sense.
Through our distribution network.
You don't have, so how many,
how many ADEC reps roughly are there,
representatives of
Ish.
Ish.
I would say probably seventy five.
So seventy five people can't
service the entire country
of the United States.
No.
And so some territories have
one individual.
Some territories have two, three,
depending on market size.
But, you know,
compared to some other
manufacturers out there,
they might have less than
twenty nationwide.
Oh, wow.
Right.
So, you know, it's it's pretty unique.
Yeah.
That we're still carrying
such a large amount of
people in the territory manager position.
Okay,
so service is the clear answer that I
heard there.
Taking care of you guys,
if you wanted ADEC,
they literally deliver ADEC data.
locally to you with guys
like Quinton who support them.
So,
so actually walk us through like what
that's,
what your support role then is to
the dealers,
because you play a really
integral part to,
to the deals here or the,
the opportunities,
the projects here locally, right?
Like you're getting involved
with floor plans.
You're,
You and the dealer,
let's just call it Shine for fun.
You and the Shine rep are
working and putting
together a project for Dr. Smith,
whatever.
What is your role to the
Shine rep in something like that?
Yeah,
I'm glad you brought up Dr. Smith
because I just talked to her last week.
I just made that up.
So wait, I don't know Dr. Smith.
No, I'm joking.
We'll talk later.
We'll talk later.
I think they need to consult.
Yep.
So it varies.
So with, you know,
a Henry Schein equipment
specialist for Dr. Smith, you know,
we can be doing,
we like to be as involved
as possible because, you know,
believing in partnership,
because in my role, it can be,
it can be as simple as,
Yeah,
helping somebody build a quote for a
four eleven chair, a doctor stool,
a certain delivery system.
That's very surface level stuff, right?
That's pretty easy where the
job gets more fun.
And I think where we have
better success is when, you know,
I'm working with that
equipment specialist.
to dive into from the start
what you know the doctor is
looking for like what is
their goal right yeah um
what do they want out of
practice manager or
ownership excuse me is this
their first practice
obviously we're talking
startups today but is this
practice two practice three um
How do they like to practice?
Where do they like their equipment?
Understanding the workflow.
What are you trying to do?
Do you not want as much
storage in the rooms anymore?
Okay,
let's factor in where that central
storage is going to be.
What is the budget?
Starting to work with more partners,
right?
So like our equipment specialists,
space planners, contractors.
We're getting more involved, I would say,
from an ADEC side into a lot of those
In our world,
we call them nontraditional partners.
Yeah.
Because I think you could
look twenty years ago and
it was ADEC territory
manager and equipment specialist.
And that was that was it.
Yeah.
Right.
That was it.
Yeah.
Things are evolving.
People are understanding, you know,
different aspects of the
dental market specifically.
Yeah.
And that it is a really good
industry to be in.
Yeah.
From a lot of different aspects.
So you guys do encourage
that communication,
that conversation with doctors.
Yeah.
I, from my perspective, I think it's key,
you know,
because there's a lot of smart
people that are getting
involved in different deals,
but there's also a lot of people that
may not know as much as they need to know.
Yeah.
Right.
And,
and so figuring out who those people
are is always difficult.
And what I've found in my
time in dental is,
is speaking about the
equipment specialists in our dealers.
If there's one person, um,
or he or she is going to
know the most about
quarterbacking and entire
part project from start to finish.
Yeah.
It is still that equipment
specialist with combination of, um,
they call them different titles.
So I'll just call them your field rep,
you know, from one of the distributors,
like that combination
should have you covered all
the way around from every
single person that you need.
Right.
So us working with them and really it's,
it's kind of like a chameleon.
Each opportunity we work, you know,
with a perspective, you know,
dentist and practice owner
is going to look completely different.
Right.
It's never the same.
Let me ask you this question.
Um,
Let's let's let's talk about
a sense a sensitive subject,
but it shouldn't be.
Yeah.
So I think we just need to
talk about it because it's
not that weird.
But like if I had a doctor
who oftentimes has worked a
deck in their school and
they're familiar with that,
that equipment and they want a deck,
that's what they want.
They know it lasts long.
They know what to expect as
far as quality and all the things.
And they just want a deck.
Right.
But they don't have a
relationship with the dealer.
All right.
So they want to talk to
shine and Patterson.
Let's just say, how does that work?
And I don't really need to get into like,
you know, pricing, but like,
how do you handle, like,
is that a problem?
If a doctor wanted a deck in
there and they oftentimes do talk to,
let's just say shine and Patterson.
Cause you guys sell through
both of those guys, right?
Those, those companies.
So how, how does that work?
Cause I think that's the
question that I get is, is like, well,
why can't I just go through
Quinton instead of going through shine?
Well, they don't do that.
Well,
I don't really have a relationship
with my Henry shine guy or
the Patterson guy.
I'm just kind of, I hate to say it,
but they, they're shopping.
They're, they're legitimately shopping.
How does that play out behind the scenes?
And you don't have to get
too far into that,
but are you offering the
same price to both of them?
Is that how that works?
yeah so from the standpoint
of what adec offers to our
distributors there's no
price difference yeah right
that's what I figured we
don't do anything special
with you know a b or c yep
uh that we wouldn't do with
x y and z so there you go
so it's consistent so it's
not like I can go to shine
and get a better adec price
quote unquote or patterson
for a better price it
doesn't work that way it's
it's all going to be very
relatively similar from any
of the dealers now
It's interesting that you
bring that up because like,
because I get that question and I'm like,
look, this is this is how it works.
And the manufacturers offer
price and it just is what it is.
Yeah.
And I think like if someone
were to ask me that question,
like what and like who
should I work with in my market?
Yeah.
It's a tough question because, you know,
a lot of times we are Switzerland, right?
Yeah.
I can't go out there.
If I'm out there
recommending one over the other,
I probably don't have this position,
right?
They're just as much your
customer as the dentist is.
So that's a tough one for you.
But I would say back to
who's ever listening or
whoever is asking that question.
Yeah.
I mean, you have to do your own research.
You should talk to the
different people at those
distributors if you don't
have a prior relationship and figure out,
because this person can do
so much for your practice,
not only from a day-to-day
practice management,
your supply management,
but from the equipment standpoint.
If you're going to embark on
this journey where
We were just talking, Mike, what,
a few minutes ago,
like you're going to get an
eight hundred thousand dollar loan.
Right.
For a startup practice.
Let's say you hopefully you
can get that amount and
you're going to go into
practice ownership.
This individual from
whatever dealer you're
going to be working with is is there.
Oh,
they're in charge of a huge chunk of
money.
Dude.
So huge.
In fact, I literally just I mean,
I have this conversation weekly,
but like I I literally just.
I was talking to a doctor and he is going,
he's going all in with a
contractor without any bids.
And he's going all in on his
people without any kind of
like budgeting kind of checking, check,
check, check.
Right.
And that's fine.
And it's all good.
But my comment was simple.
It was like, Hey,
there's two categories that chew up.
Eighty-five percent.
If not, maybe ninety.
probably eighty eighty five
percent of the total budget
the total budget of
whatever you're getting
from bank of america
huntington provide name
whatever bank however much
they give you construction
and equipment is eighty
five percent of it so if
you're not looking at just
those two categories
could be leaving some money on the table.
That's all I'm saying.
That's all I'm saying.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think- But it is about
service though.
It is about service and what
you're going to get out of it.
And that's why I wanted you
to say that the price is the same.
Yeah.
Because it is.
It is.
Price is important.
I mean,
obviously when we're talking startups,
cashflow is king, right?
If you don't have cash,
you can't move forward with a project.
If you
If one portion of the budget
takes too much up,
the other portions of the
practice are going to suffer, right,
in some way or the other.
But, you know,
I think from going back to
that trust factor and
developing a relationship,
because what I'm starting
to hear a little bit too much of.
And this could be market related.
Who knows?
could be market dependent, sorry,
market dependent.
Yeah.
But is, is people will say, um,
or they don't have as much
trust in their dealer.
And absolutely.
I think it's also on that doctor, uh,
or whoever that person is to
develop that relationship because those,
I'm telling you that our
distribution partners,
they are the best single
source of information
really when you're doing a startup.
They have done so much of it
and think about it this way too.
So when you look at,
Okay,
if there's a lot of good people
involved now,
we've already listed some of
them from real estate
agents to contractors, consultants.
I would say from the
standpoint of if you look
at all those people and look at how long-
the team but look at those
individuals and see how
long they're attached to
that practice throughout
the first year second year
five years ten years
fifteen years career so
some of those individuals
you don't have to go
through all of them but
when their portion of the
project is done yes they're
out they're out right
that's right and so but you
think about once again my
market burkhart henry shine
patterson it's their job
to not only help you with
practice startup and practice management,
but they're the people that
are coming in on a monthly
or every other week basis.
So whatever they're helping you with,
there's no running from that, right?
They're back in there making
sure that the advice they gave you,
the equipment they recommended.
And if the equipment goes
down or something was
installed wrong or whatever,
they got to deal with it.
They got to deal with it.
So, I mean, I think if there is,
anyone to trust in this
relationship it's the
dealers because they have
more invested into the
success of your practice
than anybody else I agree I
agree um I think that's
right I think I think it is
I think that's that's the
that is the the the
conversation and that is like the um
That's the thing to really
focus on is that those
dealers are your partners,
but they also have to earn
your business and they have
to put in the work and show
you the options and go
through the pricing.
And actually, let's pivot.
I'd like to pivot this
conversation because part
of the dealer's value to
the project and doctor for
the relationship to you is
is getting the right
equipment for the right
price that also cash flows
your business and so it's
like that waterfall right
yeah and we've been
spending a lot of time here
locally excuse me and and
figuring out how to get
some of the best of the
best equipment which I
believe adex up there um
and not because you're in
the room but it's the facts
But still be able to not
literally blow the budget.
We just talked about eighty five percent.
We can't go over one hundred percent.
We got to stay within one
hundred percent of what the
bank's lending.
And so how do you make it work?
And part of the dealer's job is helping.
you and me and the doctor
figure out how to make the budget work,
right?
And what are you seeing in
your world where startups
can't afford your product?
And what are some of those things?
Because I don't think people
really know that there's three levels of
of equipment value.
I don't think people know that.
I don't think that's a
common thing unless you've
gone through the process.
Most of my startups don't
even know there's a three-level deal.
Yeah, it's interesting because...
Explain what I mean,
because I don't... So what
Mike's referring to is that, you know,
we have three different dental chairs.
We actually just introduced
the fourth specialty chair
for ortho and pedo.
Oh, I knew that.
There's four.
But we have a five-eleven, four-eleven,
and three-eleven.
And the pricing varies
between each of them.
And, you know,
it's important to note that
the quality...
And the ROI in terms of
ownership doesn't change.
You know, there's just obviously options.
It's no different than levels of car.
That's right.
Right.
You know,
if you buy I'm just I hate car analogies,
but they're so simple.
It's easy to understand.
If you buy a Toyota,
it doesn't matter what
model of Toyota you buy.
The level of consistency is
there and the reliability is there.
I drive a Lexus.
Right.
And that's a Toyota.
My wife does, too.
So I understand that.
And that's you saying I drive a girl car.
Is that what you're trying to say?
You went there, Mike.
You went there.
I'm Alexis Guy.
You could have just moved along.
What can I say?
I'm Alexis Guy.
You know,
but do we sell as much three
eleven chairs for eleven to five?
And we don't.
But it's because we're kind
of a creature of our own
success is where we've done
such a good job of when
someone looks at a three eleven chair,
but then sees the price difference.
Yeah, they go to a four eleven.
OK,
but I would have no problem putting one
of our three elevens into
anyone's practice who's listening,
who I meet in person.
High end or low end practice.
Doesn't matter.
It's a great chair.
I would put that into if if if if.
family member,
my sister was starting a
dental practice and that
was what fit her budget,
I'd have no problem putting
that chair in there.
So, you know,
we do have the varying levels, but,
you know, to your point,
I would say like two years ago,
even because I've been with
ADEC three years, you know,
like I looked at our market
specifically and with that
going into details, you know,
it's nice being closer to ADEC,
which is down in Newburgh, Oregon,
wine country for any of you.
that are looking for an
awesome trip to go look at
dental equipment, but also, you know,
have a little fun at the same time.
Everybody's been going to the other one.
All my clients are going to the,
what's the deal?
Newburgh's the place.
Nashville, yes.
Nashville's cool, but it's not Newburgh,
Oregon, man.
No.
I've never been to Nashville, by the way.
I've been there once for our kickoff.
Awesome facility.
But, you know, you don't get to,
in my opinion,
you don't experience full
ADEC because what makes
ADEC special is the people
and seeing how the dental
equipment is made.
And you can see that in
Nashville in a fifteen minute video.
So don't worry,
I'm not knocking it for
anyone like it's amazing.
But for me, there's it's a no brainer.
So what you're saying is
because I've never been to Nashville.
And you're right.
Whenever I've gone to the ADEC tour,
it's happened multiple times.
And you took Paula and I not too long ago,
my partner,
and we got to see the whole thing, man.
And people are the difference maker.
So you're trying to tell me Nashville,
you don't get that feel.
And that's a huge part of the tour.
You know,
there's there's no you can't you
can't you can't replicate the, you know,
seeing how the actual chair is made.
Now, don't get me wrong.
Like you said,
we have a lot of people
going to Nashville and it's
not like the experience.
But my partner used to say,
if if you're a dentist or
you're in the dental
industry at one point in your career,
make a chance, you know,
take a trip to Ada because
it'd be like if you're a big car person.
and you get to go to any of
the big manufacturing sites,
whether it be, you know, you're in Italy,
you go to see Ferrari, you go to Ford,
right?
Like it's that experience.
If that's what you're
passionate about and that's,
what's been able to drive your success,
you know, not only, you know,
professionally,
but then obviously you get
to carry that into your personal life.
And if it's part of related to, um,
your ADEC chair or your dental equipment,
seeing the thought process behind it.
And for us,
it's a great example of what
makes it different because
we don't hide that we are
some of the most expensive
equipment on the market.
Everyone knows that, right?
Like everyone knows quality.
Everyone knows reliability,
ergonomics with ADEC,
but they also know we're expensive.
Yeah.
But that's something that, you know,
some companies might shy away from,
but we fully embrace it, you know,
with those reasons.
And going back to, I think,
where you started the
question about startups and
ADEC a couple of years ago,
it was specifically in my market.
I was like, wow,
we're not doing a lot of
startups and great market share.
But, you know,
when I was just like seeing
the deals that we are involved with,
a lot of startups were not part of that.
has done a tremendous job
from the top down,
looking at where our
opportunities as a company
to grow have been.
Yep.
And startup was one of the
startup was probably one of
the main areas that we needed to.
Hence why you're on the show.
Is that, is that.
Yes.
Yeah.
They were like, you're going to do,
go do this podcast.
I was like, I don't want to, I have a,
I have a face for radio, but they're like,
you're going to do this.
So it hasn't hurt me.
And I got face radios.
Fair enough.
Yeah.
We're not,
we're not winning any beauty
pageants in this room.
No, no, no.
But we've come out with a
lot of programs and ways to
look at how can we help
doctors because you're
right coming out of school.
I think we looked at it and
this is not from a, um,
not from a standpoint,
I'm not trying to say this
as we're trying to be like
boastful or things like that or brag,
but like when you're using
ADEC equipment in your university, yeah,
a lot of people want to
continue using that product.
That's what they're used to.
That's what they're comfortable with.
And, or, you know, it does...
It does suck, frankly, when, you know,
you go into practice
ownership and you're like,
this is what I want,
but I can't get that.
Then I have to practice so
many years and make so much
money before I can actually
get that product.
So, you know,
I think we looked at it from
a standpoint and wanted to
come up with programs that
could help us target that.
So, you know,
we can we can go into that now.
We can go to it later.
But like we're starting to
work with a lot more
startups now than we did.
Let's just call it round
number five years ago.
And I'm seeing that, so I'll back that up.
Can I be honest?
It's my program.
It's your show, man.
ADEC, and you actually probably know this,
when you got the job,
you were probably like, you know,
Mike's not a big fan of ADEC.
You probably got that feedback.
It's not true.
It's not that I wasn't a big fan.
I just wasn't a fan of the price.
Of course I...
I mean, I drive a Lexus.
Everybody wants to drive the Lexus,
but they could only afford the Toyota.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Toyota's a freaking awesome car.
In fact,
I know that my car is a Toyota
with a stupid L on it.
I know that.
It's the same car.
It's a great car, whatever.
But it's what I want, a Lexus.
But I couldn't always afford a Lexus.
And so my startups, folks, you guys,
future startups,
Budget has to be a very
important thing to you.
There's a there's a lot of a
lot of issues down the pipe
if you don't focus on that.
Right.
But it just didn't it just
didn't pencil Quentin.
Yeah.
And I wanted it to.
And so.
Um, but you're probably like, Oh wow.
Like Mike is part of it.
And you're probably thinking
it's cause you're charming
self and it's cause of the relationship,
but actually it's,
it's really what your
company and you and all,
all the ADEC crew has done.
Yeah.
And you guys have made it
more affordable and that
goes for equipment,
core equipment to cabinetry, to the whole,
to the whole nine yards.
So, um, you have listened,
you guys have gone down that path.
Do you want to highlight anything there?
Yeah.
No, I mean, I think it started, you know,
for us expanding.
So what we call it is a
smart start program.
Right.
So really what it's designed
for is doctors that are
within the first two years
of practice ownership.
Right.
And it doesn't matter that
you're what your age is,
is if you go out into a DSO
for ten years and then you
jump out into private practice ownership.
Mm hmm.
you're still in that Smart
Start program within that
first two years.
Right.
And so we looked at that.
And what we initially were
doing with that program is
we were we're passing on
We have different discount
tiers depending on, you know,
the size of a purchase, you know,
through your distributor.
And I'm not going to go into those details,
but essentially you can max that out.
And so what we do with our
Smart Start program was we
pass along that biggest
discount that we can right off the bat,
which equates to about
twenty five percent off our retail.
Right.
And so that was a huge start.
But, you know, we had good traction.
Off your retail price.
Off our retail price.
That you're passing on to the dealer,
basically.
Yes, that's right.
And so I don't talk official
pricing a lot because that's not my role.
Not expecting you to.
And this whole that's not, you know,
what is the wheel in the
cog cog in the wheel type of thing?
That's not what I do.
That's what our distributors
do is they talk the price
of the equipment.
But where it really changed
is it got into mechanical room.
So we have mechanical room products.
So it's called Quiet Core Plus.
And so what we added to that
program a little while back is that,
of course, when you're doing a startup,
you need a vacuum and compressor.
It's actually one of the
most important pieces of
equipment in your practice
that you never really think about.
Yeah.
except when it goes down.
And so we did a program
where added to the smart start,
where if you purchase a vacuum,
you get a free compressor
game changer in itself, you know,
won't go into any names of
our competitors,
but it put us into price
ranges with certain companies that,
that people were like
double checking quotes being like,
how is this possible?
And I was one of those actually,
because I,
I mean, probably about twelve,
eighteen months ago,
I'm looking at quotes and
being like and it had
cabinetry and and and it
had all the mechanicals and
the core equipment.
It's all there.
And I'm like, no, this can't be right.
Yeah.
It literally was like that.
So now clients can have ADEC
quality and afford to get
into practice as a startup.
It's a fact.
It's a fact.
And not only did we have the
mechanical then,
we came out with a new
additional line of
furniture and cabinetry
that is a little bit more cost effective.
Yeah,
you lose some of the features of our
full Inspire line, but
you know, for a startup, you know,
like when we're buying our
first house or first anything, first car,
you don't always get what you want,
but there's still ways.
My first Lexus wasn't as
nice as the Lexus I drive now, by the way,
but it was a Lexus.
I'll need to see a picture of that.
Yeah.
It's like the starter Lexus.
I've jumped around to too many brands.
I haven't stayed consistent to one brand.
So yeah, so we did that.
So that was a huge component of that,
right, in cabinetry.
Because just a caveat,
what we kind of require is chair,
delivery, light,
and a twelve o'clock unit
to be part of the program.
Like the compressor and
vacuum is optional.
That's something you can or
can't take advantage of.
If you already have it,
if you bought it in a
six-seat space and it has mechanical room,
then great.
Continue using it if it still works.
Now, Clinton,
I'm just going to go on record.
A lot of my clients don't do
lights anymore.
So what's the solution there?
Because you said it had to be in there.
Yeah.
Because they're loops.
They're doing loops now, dude.
It's just how it is.
I would say when it comes to lights,
we'll have a conversation.
I don't want to get too into
the details of making exceptions.
But there's a solution to this?
There can be solutions.
But I'd say the biggest
solution at the start.
It's a trend.
I can't stop it.
It just is what it is.
So a loop company will tell you,
because we believe in loops.
I would never tell you or anyone.
You look at me cross-eyed.
I'm like, don't use loop lights.
You absolutely should.
But you should understand
the relationship of those
loop lights with an overhead light,
with your room lighting and
how that has an impact.
And everyone- And your assistant.
Yes.
They play a part too.
I mean,
and when you're going into practice
ownership, Mike will tell you,
anyone will tell you.
you know, keeping your staff, you know,
happy and not having that
staff turnover like that
should be a consider and consideration.
Not saying it's the most important part,
but, you know,
no one wants to be turning over, you know,
staff.
But going back to that,
it's it's it's hard for, you know,
if most of the startup
people listening to this are, let's say,
late twenties, maybe early thirties.
Yeah.
Just like with anything,
it's hard to think about
your body and what your
body is going to be feeling
and your eyes are going to be feeling.
So I'm forty one and I've
had perfect vision my
entire life and it's just
starting to fade.
And my gosh,
how much of a difference that
makes in certain lighting and things.
So unfortunately, for some of this,
you have to project out a little bit.
But we are and that is part
of the ADEX story.
Take care of your body.
Trying to take care of this.
Right.
Take care of your body.
Eat right.
Yeah.
Eat right.
Personal chef.
Yeah.
Let's not get crazy, Quentin.
We can't afford that.
We're broke startups.
You don't argue with the body.
That's an argument you will not win.
In the forties.
And I can speak to that.
It's starting to fall apart for sure.
But have a conversation with your ADEC TM.
And if you're thinking about
a startup and you want to
look at ADEC equipment,
thank you in advance for considering us.
But talk to your ADEC TM
locally in your market.
Go make it happen.
There's conversations that can be had.
So but that's that's kind of
what we're looking at.
And we're talking two rooms.
Right.
So we're not you know,
it's not a situation where
it's like four or five, six, seven,
eight rooms, because, you know,
the only time people from
my experiences were looking
at it that way was during
covid when scarcity brought demand.
So it's like, OK,
I need these five chairs
now because I don't know
when if I start with two,
I have no idea when I can get three,
four and five.
I'm glad you said that.
because um you're right like
there was a day um maybe
you guys remember this
maybe you don't but during
covid there was like ships
out in the base not
delivering stuff right like
computer chips and nobody
you know there was a supply
and demand issue and labor
and it was just all wacky
during that time and you're
right the dude the
turnaround on a chair was like a year
Yeah.
And it was like, what is happening?
What's the turnaround now?
Just real quick ish.
I mean,
we're probably right now four months,
three months,
probably a month and a half.
Holy crap.
I would say so.
So so to that point,
I actually want to talk
about this because in the
markets that have really
high construction and we
are in one of those,
we're like one of the
highest in the market.
I help clients in other
parts of the market where it's a fraction,
almost half actually,
in other markets for construction.
And so all of this is kind of like levers.
You pull on this lever, it goes up,
pull on this lever and it goes up, right?
Back down.
for those of you on YouTube
that are seeing the hand gestures.
But it all factors, right?
You got to factor and put it on the budget,
make sure it works.
And we've had a lot of
conversations about how do
you make two operatories
work for a startup?
Well,
as a consultant that talks to you
guys and is with you
through opening day and scheduling,
you guys are so programmed.
I think I talk about this in the program
If you crush it and get
thirty new patients your
first month crush like
thirty new patients your first month.
That's two to three patients
max per day working a
twelve day schedule.
Two to three patients per day.
If you had two operatories
that cover you for two to
three patients that day.
Elliot,
you're not working on a patient the
whole day and one column
and another patient the whole day.
That's plenty.
I hope you're not.
No, that's plenty.
I mean, well,
maybe it's a full mouth rehab.
I don't know what kind of
dentistry you're doing.
But the point is,
is two ops actually is fine.
You can you can start with two ops.
And and when you need that third,
which is probably in six months,
because if you see two to
two to three patients a day, OK,
in six months,
if you if you reappoint
those same patients right in six months,
then you're going to have
four to five patients in that day.
Yeah.
Right.
And so two ops absolutely
works if you have to.
Any, any, anything to add?
And you just, I think, you know,
from a budgetary perspective, because,
you know, how I try to operate is, is,
you know,
and we haven't been working
together for half a decade, Mike,
but I'm very realistic, right?
You know, um,
do what your budget can dictate,
but know that like the, the program,
our smart start program,
you have it for two years, the pricing,
the price.
And that's where I was going
to go is if you want, you know,
if the say you don't need
that additional chair chairs,
plural for a year and a half,
Adam in a year and a half.
Yep.
Right.
And the turnaround is not an issue.
Turnaround won't be an issue.
And that's the thing is like,
we understand.
So, you know,
without going into the details,
we'll get you the equipment
you need within that discount range.
And that's something we were
very close with.
Once again,
the distributors on letting them,
you know, communicating, Hey, when,
you know,
so that's not something you do
throw in your calendar and be like,
Oh gosh, you know, twenty twenty six,
you know, October thirteenth or whatever.
I got to order my third chair.
Yeah.
So that's you have you have
so much going on as owning
your practice and to worry about.
And so like part of.
that program but part of you
know ADEC as a whole is and
why we kind of call our
classify some of our stuff
into the core equipment
category is when you're
dealing with patients when
you're dealing billing
insurance and your own
employees running a
business which I think you
know sometimes when you're
going through school you
don't realize as a dentist
that you will be running a
business and you're not
going to be just be
operating in this little
oral cavity yeah you know
all day you're running a
business in practice the equipment
the core equipment that's
driving your ROI should not
be something you think about every day.
Like you should,
you should love the
investment that you made.
But if you're, but I tell you,
if you're thinking about
your ADAC chair every day,
there's a problem.
There really should be
something you don't have to
think about because you just, you hop in,
it works.
Your body feels good at the
end of the day.
And because, you know, the amount of, if,
If you have downtime, at minimum,
you're going to lose
fifteen hundred dollars a
day if you can't do any
sort of dentistry out of
out of an operatory.
Right.
So, yeah, just just should work.
I love it.
It should work.
Well,
we've kind of come to our place here.
We're a few minutes in and I, you know,
the big takeaways for me are, you know,
a tech quality startup price.
what that relationship
between you and the dealer
looks like pricing,
the pricing questions and concerns, um,
the,
the service level that you can get
from a guy like you in the field, um,
all good things,
any last minute kind of
like comments that you
really wanted to tell everybody today,
don't feel,
don't feel the need or pressure,
but you know,
Any, anything you want to add and,
and we'll close this baby down.
Yeah.
I, I think, you know,
with being in dental for such a long time,
it's for those of you that
are listening and if anyone's listening,
that's not involved in dental, um,
you need to find a new hobby by the way.
so those those of you that
are in dental right this is
an awesome industry yeah
it's funny because on the
manufacturing side you'll
see people hop around to
different jobs and stuff
like that people don't want
to leave because whether
you're a dentist you're an
assistant you're a practice management um
know or or obviously then on
the manufacturing side or
sales side it's an awesome
industry to be in for the
most part it's recession
proof I know we go then ups
and downs with elections
and different things but
for those of you listening
that are thinking about
starting a project you
you've picked something
where the failure rate is
super minimal it's true no one fails
I don't want to say no one
because you can get
yourself into some trouble.
But for the most part.
Equipping six ops right at a
gate could be one of those.
That could be a problem
unless you have some family backing.
Right.
But you're not defaulting if
you have family backing.
So, you know,
you've picked an industry
where you are going to do well in.
And when you think about it, you know,
some people can go into
their profession right out
of undergrad or something like that.
The amount of time you have
invested into becoming a
dentist is tremendous.
Right.
So I think any decision that you make.
you should put some serious
thought into it and you
should demand the best out
of the equipment that
you're looking to get,
but also the people that
you're working with, right?
I mean,
no one likes high maintenance
people to work with,
but like if I were in your position,
I would demand from any of us, right?
That you're getting, you know,
what you need,
because these are big
investments that you're making,
but just know if you have
the right team behind you,
which I know this is kind
of the point of your podcast,
you bring in all these
different players with
different perspectives and views,
You will do really well.
But then there's also a
level of success that a lot
of people have.
And then there's a whole
nother level that a certain
amount of people get to
where things can get really, really good.
Yeah, it's true.
But it's, you know, I know.
Next level.
Next level.
But I mean,
if you take care of your patients,
just like our patients are
you and our distribution
partners from an ADIC perspective,
you know,
your patients are your customers
and your partners that you work with.
You take care of your
patients and you trust kind
of the people around you.
It's a great journey that
you're about to embark in.
And I lucked my way into this industry.
I had no idea that even
there were dental sales reps, you know,
when I was twenty five years old.
And I'm very,
very thankful because I think
I'll be doing this
hopefully for a long time.
I don't see doing anything else.
I think that's great.
A great note to end on.
And, you know,
we're appreciative that
you're on that Ada could
represent on the program.
Of course, folks,
if you have any questions,
as always below is going to
be Quinton's information
and any information that he
wants to pass on to my
marketing team to provide to you all.
But, you know,
if you're interested in
having a relationship with
Ada and you're doing a startup,
or any project for that matter.
I think it's worth it,
especially with the
programs that they've put together.
So, Quint,
thanks again for being on the program.
Of course.
Thanks for listening, whoever did,
and appreciate the invite, man.
Yeah.
All right.
Talk to you soon.
Thanks again.
And remember, jump over,
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Thanks again for always,
always listening and being
a part of the program.
Bye.
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