Cultivate Your Inside Salespeople
Posted by Mike Ferris on Friday, March 14, 2008 and posted in SalesIt is possible to increase your referrals by 50% or more, simply by training the inside salespeople to ask for referrals. The people in your intake department must be viewed as the inside sales force. They should be not just taking orders but making suggestions and asking questions. It is totally appropriate for them to ask the referral source if they have any other patients that the agency could serve.
Many times intake coordinators have the most contact with the referral sources. This has always been a very important point of contact for your agency. The level of service provided by the intake department will color the impression that the referring entity has of the agency. But of equal importance is the relationship that will promote referrals and make sure that the agency is receiving a maximum number of referrals and fully meeting the needs of the customer.
To put a face with the voice on the phone, take the intake coordinator out to meet key referral sources. The more they bond, the more the phone will ring with referrals. People like to deal with people that they like. Encourage your intake coordinators to have pleasant (but at all times professional) conversations with the contact at the referral source. The intake coordinator should communicate what they know about the contact with the outside salesperson, and vice versa, so that maximum relationship building may occur.
Another place to look for a boost in referrals is from internal referrals. We frequently find that agencies have untapped potential from internal referrals. Those are the referrals that are generated internally by your staff. If your agency has more than one line of service or division, make sure that the divisions are making cross referrals. There will always be people that your staff know that are in need of home care services. Have an easy way for them to have their friend or relative taken care of in short order. The referrals that are generated internally must be captured or they will be going to your competition. Reading this you may think that this goes without saying, yet in agency after agency we see these referrals slipping away.
So, immediately after reading this and frequently thereafter, ask yourself the question: “Am I doing everything possible to encourage my sales force (that now includes everyone associated with the agency) to get those extra referrals?” Analyze every possible connection and make sure that the systems are set up to make it really easy. If your people have to move a mountain to get the referral to be taken and served by the agency, then they will not take the time or effort to make the referral. By doing all of this on a consistent basis you will see a substantial increase in your referrals.
