Your Best Year Yet | Strategic Goal-Setting, Team Meetings & Community Marketing with Zach Shelley

🎯 Key Philosophy: "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We're really good at being comfortable with being comfortable." - Kirk Teachout

Stop reacting to the calendar and start planning your practice's success. In this conversation, Zach Shelley breaks down the strategic planning framework that helped his practice consistently generate over 300 new patients per month for 24 months straight. This isn't about New Year's resolutions—it's about building systems that work year-round.

📚 What You'll Learn: ✅ How to pre-plan meetings for maximum team accountability ✅ Why 3-5% annual fee increases are non-negotiable (and how patients won't even notice) ✅ The trimester meeting system: Front office, assistants, hygienists, and full team rotations ✅ Community marketing strategies that generate real ROI (movies in the park, trunk-or-treat, back-to-school events) ✅ How to prepare for predictable chaos (January insurance changes, summer vacations, end-of-year rushes) ✅ Why tracking quarterly goals reveals whether you're on pace—or falling behind ✅ The difference between having a culture and defining your culture

⏰ Key Timestamps: 0:00 - Welcome to Zach's new studio 0:32 - Where to find Zach: Management Unfiltered Podcast & Dental Office Manager Leadership Facebook Group 1:41 - Where were you? Where are you going? The annual planning question 3:51 - Why practices miss the mark on yearly fee increases 5:40 - Meeting with yourself: Solo practitioners need planning too 6:10 - The fee increase truth: Patients don't even notice by week three of January 6:40 - Get comfortable being uncomfortable (Kirk Teachout wisdom) 8:18 - Pre-plan your meetings NOW—before production fills the schedule 9:13 - Community marketing: 300+ new patients per month for 24 months 10:35 - What culture really is (hint: you already have one) 11:53 - The definition of YOUR culture: Toxic, healthy, or thriving? 13:38 - Stop acting reactively to the calendar 14:22 - Start today, not tomorrow: How to begin planning right now 15:04 - Use AI to stay accountable (ChatGPT for meeting plans, scheduling, resources)

👤 Who Is Zach Shelley? Zach Shelley is a dental practice management expert, co-host of the Management Unfiltered podcast (part of Dental Unfiltered), and founder of the Dental Office Manager Leadership Facebook group with over 18,000 members. His expertise spans operations, marketing, phone systems, AI implementation, and building thriving team cultures. Zach's strategies have helped practices achieve consistent growth through intentional planning and community engagement.

🔥 Why This Matters: Most dental practices operate reactively—surprised by the same challenges every year. January insurance changes. Summer schedule gaps. End-of-year fee anxiety. This conversation gives you a proactive framework to stop the cycle. Whether you're an owner dentist, office manager, or team leader, these strategies help you plan ahead, build accountability, and create a culture where your team thrives. The calendar happens every year. It's time to get ahead of it.

📂 Related Videos:

[OM Leadership Academy: AI & Phone Mastery with Zach Shelley - Episode Title]
[Kirk Teachout on Leadership & Team Culture - Episode Title]
[Fee Strategy & Practice Growth - Episode Title]
[Community Marketing That Actually Works - Episode Title]
🔖 Tags: #DentalPracticeManagement #ZachShelley #BeyondTheBuzz #DentalAI #OfficeManager #TeamMeetings #FeeIncrease #CommunityMarketing #DentalLeadership #PracticeGrowth #GoalSetting #DentalCulture #ManagementUnfiltered #DentalOfficeManagerLeadership #StrategicPlanning #Dentistry2025

💡 Ready to brush up on AI for your practice? Check out Laura Nelson's "Brush Up on AI" book and community for everyday AI tools that keep you accountable and efficient.

🎙️ Connect with Zach Shelley:

Management Unfiltered Podcast (with Kirk Teachout)
Dental Office Manager Leadership Facebook Group (18,000+ members)
🥭 About Beyond the Buzz: Real AI for Dentistry: No hype. No fluff. Just practical AI implementation strategies for dentists, office managers, and dental teams. Hosted by Laura Nelson with industry leaders who bring real-world experience to every conversation.