Craig Beyer, MD

Prior to meeting Fast Track Marketing, we used a professional ad agency that specialized in LASIK. They mainly used radio and newspaper ads but, the year previous to us switching to Fast Track, they began a direct mail program using postcards. That program was not very successful. The radio campaigns were not very successful either even though we spent a lot of money on them. We had success with newspaper ads in the first 2-3 years but then it too gradually dropped off to almost nothing. These were supposedly the experts in the LASIK advertising field but our costs were continually rising without a corresponding increase in the number of patients. Our bottom line was suffering which of course it will, when you increase expenses without increasing revenue.

Fast Track Marketing approached us and asked me to listen to the Monopolize Your Marketplace CDs. I thought the approach described there was really different and made a lot of sense. Next, I looked at the LASIK research Fast Track had done and I gained confidence that they might know what they're talking about. When I viewed their business contract and saw that the majority of their income would only come if our practice increased its profitability significantly I began to believe that this company was really different from all the others. So, we hired them.

Fast Track immediately came in and began working with our people to improve our sales process. They provided scripts for every step of the sale and role played with our people over the phone to make sure they could really use the script effectively.

Next they began testing all of the various advertising media we were using to find which ones worked and which didn't. We were amazed to find how much money we'd been wasting on ineffective media. They created a Free Report called "Today's Facts about LASIK" that was immediately used as the "offer" in our advertising. They filmed and produced a DVD called "Candid Answers about LASIK" that shows me performing a LASIK procedure, takes the prospective patient through the entire exam and consultation process and then shows half a dozen past patients talking about their fears and concerns before LASIK, what their experience was with our practice and, how wonderful life is now after LASIK. This DVD provides a wealth of information for prospective patients and became our "Free Offer" once it was completed. Our patients have loved it and comment on it often.

Our profitability is up significantly since Fast Track took over our advertising and we are expecting it to continue to increase as their program continues. Life has become so much better with a steadily increasing stream of new patients and Fast Track taking total responsibility for our marketing and advertising. Hiring Fast Track was one of the very best decisions I've made for my practice.

Britt A. Buckley, MD

I own and operate the Buckley Vision Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I've had this practice for about 20 years and about 9 years ago I began specializing in LASIK while others on my staff manage the other surgical and optometric parts of our full service practice.

Prior to Fast Track Marketing we used an in-house marketing director and a media placement agency. We are a sizable practice and spend a significant amount on advertising. In fact, in a marketplace of about 450,000 people we were running on 11 radio stations and 7 TV stations including Cable. Our number of surgeries had not increased in the previous two years and yet our cost of advertising was continually rising. I was beginning to feel like I was on a treadmill, working harder to continually feed the advertising engine.

We didn't initially let Fast Track have control over our advertising placement but after a few months saw that their lead tracking system enabled them to know which radio stations and other media were cost effective and which ones weren't. It was refreshing to see a marketing company who really paid attention to the expense side of the ledger and help us identify and get rid of the money wasting stations we were spending a fortune with.

The ads they produced were ads that everyday people can relate to. In some of the ads, I was featured talking about technology and even my own experience having LASIK while in others, we used celebrities or past patients to tell their LASIK success stories. It's been real effective.

Early in our relationship Fast Track produced a DVD about our practice and about my professional background which they began offering along with the consultation in all of the ads. Once we allowed them to implement the complete Monopolize Your Marketplace system including training scripts for the telephone reception people and sales scripts for following up with prospects, our number of leads, consultations and surgeries increased immediately. And, once we gave them control of media placement we immediately saw our advertising expenses decreasing without sacrificing the quantity of leads coming in.

The idea of reaching the entire population of LASIK prospects rather than just the "now buyers" is very appealing. We recognize that this is creating a sustainable pool of prospects that, due to the ongoing educational messages we are sending, will develop loyalty to us and choose our practice when they are ready to have LASIK.

We just completed the biggest March in terms of number of surgeries, revenue and profitability in our 10 year LASIK history and our advertising expenses are still dropping. We are very optimistic that our results will continue to get better and better. The monthly management meetings we have with Fast Track are very helpful for me as I am able to get good insight into what is and is not working and where they are planning to make changes to continue strengthening our marketing and advertising.

We've found Fast Track to be both competent and flexible in developing and implementing our marketing programs. Their lead generation techniques are highly effective and I really like the way they test the various media and track the results to help us get the best value for our advertising dollar. I recommend them highly.

Office Manager, Beyer Laser Center

When Fast Track first approached us, I was skeptical. I've heard all the promises from ad agencies before but have never seen any of them who were really able to deliver what they promised. Even the agencies that specialize in LASIK seemed more focused on trying to build our brand than bringing in new patients. I finally figured out that we simply didn't have the budget to build our Brand, we needed to generate leads and bring in more patients. In the past, marketing was always a big money pit for us.

I was impressed with the Monopolize Your Marketplace CDs. They really made a lot of sense to me where they describe eliminating platitudes and creating ads that focused on customer hot buttons. The game plan Fast Track laid out sounded like it was well thought out and could work if executed properly. Of course, there's where my skepticism came in. Would Fast Track actually do all of the things they said they would and, would the program work as well as described?

Now, after almost a year of working with Fast Track, I can say that not only do they really know about marketing LASIK surgery but, they deliver everything they promise. I am continually impressed by their innovation and follow through which is a rare combination in the marketing and advertising world. Fast Track does the groundwork necessary to make sound decisions when placing advertising. We have worked with ad agencies in the past who, I believe, placed ads without researching the media to have facts from which to make decisions about which media to use. I feel like a lot of our money was wasted in the process.

Fast Track works on every aspect of increasing profitability from reducing non-productive advertising media to creating sales programs. For instance, Fast Track manages an ongoing patient referral program, has developed programs to help us generate more referrals from ODs, and they even help us with material for sporting events and health fairs. Of course they handle all of our outside advertising but they are really involved with every aspect of the marketing and sales process. They are our marketing department.

Now, with Fast Track managing our marketing I am free to focus on improving our ability to sign up patients from consultations as well as managing the staff. Our practice is flourishing and life is good with Fast Track Marketing. I recommend them highly.