Referrals that build empires: How to grow your practice through word of mouth
In private practice, referrals aren't just leads — they arrive pre-trusted. A physician colleague vouching for you carries more weight than any ad you could run. But building that referral engine takes more than good medicine. It takes systems, intentionality, and showing up before the patients do.
Dr. Derica Sams opened Pediatric Digestive Health and Wellness in Georgia eight months ago and is already hitting patient volumes that typically take 18 to 36 months to reach. Zero paid ads. She built it on referrals, door-to-door relationship building, and a team infrastructure set up before the doors ever opened.
If you're a physician or clinic owner looking to grow without burning your marketing budget, this is the conversation to watch.
Our speaker
Dr. Derica Sams
Founder, Pediatric Digestive Health and Wellness — Loganville, GA
Dr. Sams is a board-certified pediatrician with subspecialty fellowship training in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition. After training at Vanderbilt, she returned to Georgia and opened her own private practice — reaching near-benchmark patient volumes in eight months through referral networks, integrative medicine, and same-week appointment access. She's also an Edge customer who built her operational infrastructure before day one.
Highlights
- How Dr. Sams used real estate marketing sheets to find the right location — for free — before spending a dollar on rent
- The referral basket strategy: handwritten notes, branded poop stress balls, and why old-school beats digital for physician outreach
- Why promising same-week access — in a specialty with 12 to 18 month wait times — became her most powerful differentiator
- How her Edge VA built the referral tracking system, mapped local practices, and handled inbound faxes from day one
- What she wishes she knew about insurance credentialing before opening — and how to avoid that learning curve