Don’t Forget the “Little Guys”
Posted by Mike Ferris on Thursday, June 14, 2007 and posted in SalesMany times we are all focused on making sales calls on the physician, discharge planner or other person at the top of the referral food chain. But all too often, if you don’t have a relationship with the others surrounding them, you will find yourself being frustrated and not understanding why the referrals aren’t coming in even though you have had great meetings with the bosses.
The person that calls in the referrals (we’ll call them the referral clerk) is probably the most important person in the entire process. If they are not on board with using your home health or hospice agency, you may have a hard time getting the referrals. The physician sends a referral to you but it doesn’t show up. Upon investigation, the referral clerk tells the doctor that they tried, but the agency couldn’t take the patient or were too hard to work with. Without the referral clerk being onboard, your chance for long-term success in the account is in jeopardy.
Others in the accounts would include all of the support people. The receptionist, medical assistant, office manager or the gatekeeper in physician practices can all be important allies. They can help you to get information, can put in a good word for your organization and most importantly won’t be getting in the way of your referrals. In skilled facilities, everyone including the receptionist, biller, work clerk, certified nurses aide, MDS coordinator, activity director, housekeeping or foodservices personnel can be important to your success. They are the extended family for the long term care patients and can be an important influencer in the selection of a hospice provider.
The best way to make sure that these people in support capacities are on board is to treat them with respect and interest. Find ways to make your interaction with them personal. Ask them for their names and make note of them. Later you can use this information along with birthday, favorite sports team, college, hobby, family or pets to demonstrate that you did pay attention and are taking the time to do something personal. If you take them an item that is personalized, you may be the only one who does so. The doctors get many items from drug representatives and others, but the support people typically don’t. Nothing expensive, just thoughtful. Take them something on a visit when you are not taking anything to the rest of the office for maximum impact.
Your investment in building relationships with these support staff will pay long-term dividends. You never know when you will need their help or that they will be promoted. They can help you get the appointments and the face time with the key players. They know what is going on and can provide info about others. If they go to work elsewhere in the community, they will be a valuable asset in another office. It is a veritable merry-go-round in the local medical communities, you never know where they might show up!
You will find yourself not competing with pharmaceutical reps, but rather receiving preferential treatment. The long-term investment is probably less than trying to make your way into a new account by taking a large lunch as your entree to the account. Be creative, have fun and make some friends.
