This is the month to focus on upgrading accounts.  In March, you should focus on converting new accounts from February into “A” accounts.  Plan a campaign focused on turning your “B” accounts into “A” accounts.  Every account that you convert in March will increase your sales for the year exponentially.

In summary, by focusing on prospecting and qualifying activities in January, focusing on opening new accounts in February and upgrading accounts in March, you will be well on your way to a great year.

Monthly Reminders:

Nurse’s Week plans should be in place by now.  It occurs the second week of May and any specialty giveaways should already be ordered.  If you are planning advertisements for Nurse’s Week you should have the space reserved (especially if you are doing medical publication, billboards or bus stop ads) and the message for the campaign should be in place.  The marketing people will need to produce the creative and the copy now.

Holidays and Important Dates:

Doctor’s Day
Saint Patrick’s Day
Orthodox Lent
Lent

Excerpted from 101 Home Care Promotional Strategies that Deliver Legendary Results Without Busting Your Budget! by Michael Ferris

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Will you please start equipping your admissions team with logo laden pens so that they can give one to each customer, patient and family that they visit?  This will build name recognition and provide the phone number (make sure to put the phone number you want them to use on the pens—the customer service center).

“Passing the pen” is one of the clumsiest games that hospices play.

The family will need to sign some forms, so why not just give them a pen to use (and keep)?  Besides, sharing that handheld pen can spell trouble in flu season!

Tip:  Make sure the ones the team uses have your logo too!

Excerpted from LEGENDARY RESULTS: Managing Referrals & Increasing Admissions Vol. 2: The Admissions Process by Michael Ferris and Polly Rehnwall. 

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Many hospices page the team to notify them of a death, even it if isn’t their patient. When we send a page, we’re saying, “This is important.” And it is. Anytime we lose a patient, we want to know. If losing a patient is important, so is gaining one. If you want to make admissions (and mission) part of your culture, then why not notify the team of an admission by pager? And don’t think that a voicemail is the same thing. Voicemail tends to be put on a much lower priority list and doesn’t have the same impact as paging. When a pager goes off, everyone notices.

Excerpted from LEGENDARY RESULTS: Managing Referrals & Increasing Admissions Vol. 2: The Admissions Process by Michael Ferris and Polly Rehnwall.

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This week’s hospice sales tips are in regard to building strong relationships with skilled facilities (SNFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs).  By maintaining very strong relationships with these facilities in your service area you will grow a predictable hospice patient census.  Here are the keys to growing these important referral sources:

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