"I go back in my mind to when I first contacted Sterling," says Dr. Wagner. "I had some family and financial matters to deal with and I was starting a new office. My accountant and my father were both telling me, 'Be conservative. If you're going to build a practice build it little by little.' And somehow that didn't seem right.

"So I went to the Sterling introductory seminar and when I heard what they had to say, when I saw the speed of action, I said, 'That's what I want!' and I signed up.

"I really didn't have the money available," recalls Dr. Wagner, "So I borrowed the money and bought the program and Sterling did such a good job for me that I paid it back in nine months!"

What was the most important aspect of the Sterling system?

"What really took me by surprise at the time was the Basics of Organization course, when Hubbard says this organizational system can handle three people or three hundred, or three thousand. This was really the basics of organizing and the information about organizing boards and job descriptions which define duties and responsibilities and how to do the staff functions, all that was key and the implementation of this with the consultant help greatly increase our efficiency. This resulted in a higher level of patient satisfaction which also increased my word-of-mouth referrals."

Wagner, like many Sterling clients, has lots to say about the work atmosphere at his practice.

"Sterling was instrumental in the training of my staff," he says. "Now I have competent and loyal staff. And now that the clinic is expanding and I'm getting associates and so on, I really see the loyalty of both the patients and the staff to me. Besides the fact that I'm able to deliver higher quality dentistry, I believe it is also because of my own confidence and knowledge of the business side of the practice; the staff and patients are tuned into that.

"In any case, when I started with Sterling, I was producing less than $20,000 a month; I now do much more than that and I work the hours I want.

"One experience I want to share is that I called to sign up for a Sterling seminar and they wanted me to pay in advance. Well, this was at the beginning and I said I'll just bring money and pay at the door. But the registrar insisted. But then I thought, if these guys handle their finances this well, they can help me handle mine. So I arranged to pay for it in advance.

"And I was right; they do help you get in control of your finances. Now, with more and more managed care and insurance programs, you are really put at a disadvantage when you sign up for them. But Sterling helps a dentist with the business side of the practice so he or she is not so dependent on the DMO programs.

"With Hubbard's data and Sterling's implementation, I got my life back.

"And that's certainly one of the most important things about it."