Levin Group has selected the winner of the second Levin Group Total Ortho Success Practice Makeover. Dr. Michelle Gonzalez of San Rafael, Calif., has been chosen to receive free, one-year management and marketing consulting programs from Levin Group, one of the country’s leading dental consulting firms.

Gonzalez, who started her own practice in 1996, told Ortho Tribune she is looking forward to increasing production and referrals and decreasing stress in the practice.

“This opportunity to work with Levin Group is going to help me get the right systems in place so that my practice can continue to grow,” Gonzalez said. “These are my prime years in practice, and I need guidance to take us to that next level so that we can practice more effectively.”

During the yearlong journey, Gonzalez will work closely with two Levin Group consultants: one who will focus solely on the management systems in the practice and the other who will focus on referral-based marketing systems. Doing both consulting programs simultaneously will increase Gonzalez’s practice’s production, profitability and referrals while also lowering the stress level in the practice and enhancing professional satisfaction. All of these improvements will pave the way for Gonzalez to achieve financial independence sooner.

While the economy is on the road to recovery, Gonzalez is on the road to having a higher performance practice with exciting growth. Throughout 2010, Ortho Tribune readers can follow Gonzalez’s progress every other month with a new installment profiling the changes being made and their effect on the practice. In this uncertain time, it is more important than ever for orthodontic practices to update their systems, properly train the staff, keep morale high and stress low, and deliver “red carpet” customer service to every patient. Gonzalez and her team are ready to meet these challenges head on!

Here is a sneak peek at the Levin Group Total Ortho Success Practice Makeover experience:

Total Ortho Success — Management Consulting Program

Using the Levin Group Method, Gonzalez and her Levin Group management consultant will focus on the following practice areas to grow practice production and profitability:

• Scheduling
• Vision, goals and LifeMap
• Change management
• Case acceptance and patient finance
• The orthodontic treatment coordinator
• Executive coaching, communication and team building
• Financial planning

The management program consists of three phases over 12 months. Each comprehensive training phase features expert lectures, interactive workshops and private conferences to discuss her individual practice’s issues. For Phase I, her Levin Group consultant will come to her practice, train her team and assist with implementing new high-performance practice systems. For Phase II and Phase III, Gonzalez will visit the Levin Advanced Learning Institute for two days of intense training. Throughout the year-long Total Ortho Success Management program, Gonzalez will also receive support and guidance through pre-scheduled bi-weekly calls with her Levin Group consultant.

Total Ortho Success — Referral Marketing Program

Gonzalez and her staff will engage in Levin Group’s Total Ortho Success — Referral Marketing Program simultaneously with the management consulting program described above. During this 12-month period, she will work with another Levin Group Marketing consultant who will provide her practice with customized referral marketing strategies.

They will work together to create a strategic marketing plan. Through weekly telephone calls with their Levin Group consultant, the practice’s designated professional relations coordinator (more on that topic in future articles) will implement at least 15 referring doctor and 15 patient referral marketing strategies to increase referrals to the practice.

Stay tuned for the next article in the series when you’ll find out what Gonzalez’s goals are for her practice as well as her challenges and how she and Levin Group approach their next steps together. You will also meet the Levin Group consultants who will be guiding her through her practice makeover journey.

Levin Group Total Ortho Success, Levin Group Method and LifeMap are trademarks of Levin Group.