There are only two ways to grow referrals:

1) Gain referrals that would have gone to the competitor

2) Expand a referral source’s use of home health

Think about the process to gain each type of referral differently. When competing for referrals, you need to sell using competitive advantages. How you can make their lives easier is important. Know how you compare to the other agency they are using. Never trash the competition, but you should always make sure to know what is most important to the referral source and how you compare in those areas.

To expand a referral source’s use of home health services, you must first understand how they currently use them. Then ask good questions about the types of patients they serve and the ones that cause them the most challenges. This will enable you to present your services as a viable solution to them. These can many times be the easiest referrals to garner as they are ones that are currently going without. These referrals are good business and you are truly benefiting the community.

Excerpted from Field Guide to Selling Home Care Services with Legendary Results by Michael Ferris

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What can we do with that awful part of the registration visit where you have to ask an 85-year-old man when his retirement date was and if this is work-related or due to black lung disease or an accidental injury! You feel almost apologetic as you ask questions that seem either out of place or meaningless to everyone.

So, don’t ask the questions! Medicare requires that you bill properly, but that doesn’t mean you have to ask questions. You can use “the assume approach” instead.

Example: ”Mrs. Brown, there is some information Medicare needs to make sure that they will be the primary payor for your hospice care.

I assume you retired at age 65 (then you figure out what year that was). I also assume that this isn’t related to an accident or work injury. And you’ve never claimed benefits for black lung disease, right?” (And so forth). By using the assume approach, you don’t ask people strange questions but you get the right information!

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

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They still work as a way to get new business for the agency.  The key is to find topics that are of interest to the local medical community.  Making the class interesting and enticing will get you a lot more attendees than if the hook is only that they get CEUs (continuing education units).

Who do you want to attract?  Determine that before you develop the course.  This gives you the ability to design the course for the desired audience.  Make sure to have CEU approval for RNs, MSWs, Case Managers and Insurance Agents.

The potential topics are too numerous to list here.  Suffice it to say that there would have to be plenty of different ones available.  Typically you will want to have a core program that you do every year and several related topics offered during the course of the year.  There may be new topics that come up—so be flexible.

Your programs can be delivered to a specific practice or facility.  The most effective draw (unfortunately) is food—but the more unusual and interesting the subject the less you have to depend on food to get the people in the seats.  Try to find a large meeting room in the medical building or hospital.  Ideally you want them out of their office but within the building.  Invite not only the practice that you originally booked the presentation for, but also the others in the complex. 

Try different times of the day and week until you find what works best for your audience/attendees.

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

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If you believe that service is a commodity, something that can be mandated and learned from outside sources, then you are not committed to service excellence. A commitment to service excellence means you attempt to delight your customers in everything your agency does. You cannot achieve remarkable service by simply installing new policies and procedures. You cannot adopt best practices from others and simply expect consistent service as a result. You should look at the outcomes achieved by best practice companies and then analyze how you can achieve the same outcomes. You must act to serve in everything your agency does and closely watch the results. Then you must act to resolve any service breakdowns. Those breakdowns are any that your customers declare. Service is only truly effective when it is meaningful to your customers and they are aware of it.

Leaders in your organization must demonstrate their commitment to service by always acting first to serve the customer and then taking care of anything else. A committed service leader cannot walk past an unanswered ringing phone or an unresolved customer need. They, by their commitment and very nature, must ensure that the customer is served and the staff are supported and empowered to serve. Their commitment, and that of all of their staff, emanates from the knowledge that the customer is the reason for their agency.

Excerpted from LEGENDARY RESULTS: Managing Referrals & Increasing Admissions Vol 1: Referral Management by Michael Ferris and Polly Rehnwall

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