Managing the agency and leaving cleanly

Hiring the agency is the easy part. The practices that get value from an agency are the ones that stay involved after the contract is signed: they check the numbers, answer questions quickly and make decisions based on new patients, not on how busy the reports look.

Monthly reporting tied to new patients

Every month, the report should answer the same few questions:

• What did we spend, split into ad spend and fees?
• How many calls and form submissions came in, and can we see them in our own tracking?
• How many booked new-patient appointments did that produce, checked against our practice software?
• What is the cost per new patient for each channel, compared with previous months?
• What changed this month, and what will be tested next?

Impressions, rankings and clicks can sit underneath those numbers. They shouldn’t replace them. Ask every new patient how they found you and record it, so you have your own number to compare with the agency’s. The budget and ROI guide shows how to track this in a small office.

Review results on a schedule

Look at the monthly report together, briefly. Then, once a quarter, step back and compare results with the goal you wrote down when you hired them. Give each channel a fair amount of time: paid ads can be judged sooner, while SEO and a new website take months. Agree at the start what result, by when, would make you change course, so the review isn’t a matter of mood.

Be a good client

Agencies do better work for practices that approve content promptly, send real photos, tell them when the schedule is full or a dentist is leaving, and let them hear how the front desk handles calls. If calls are coming in but not booking, no agency can fix that from outside; the problem is at the front desk, not in the ads.

How to leave an agency cleanly

1. Before giving notice, confirm the practice has owner or admin access to every account: domain, hosting, profile, ads, analytics, social media and call tracking.
2. Download copies of the website, content, photos, ad creative and past reports.
3. Check the contract for the notice period and handover terms, then give notice in writing.
4. Arrange the transfer of tracking numbers, or replace them carefully on the profile, website and ads so patients don’t reach a dead number.
5. After the handover, remove the agency’s access and change any passwords you shared.
6. Keep the final report as your baseline for whoever comes next.

Leave on good terms where you can, and tell them honestly why. A clean exit is easiest when ownership was right from the start, which is why the contracts and ownership chapter matters most. The free checklist for this guide covers every step on one page.