|
|
"The
pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty." |
|
In This Issue:
Our Top Picks
LEGENDARY RESULTS: Managing Referrals & Increasing Admissions (Vol. 1 - Referral Management)
LEGENDARY RESULTS: Managing Referrals & Increasing Admissions (Vol. 2 - The Admissions Process)
Field Guide to Selling Hospice Services
Field Guide to Selling Home Care Services
Sit in on a class for FREE!
52 Week eSales Training Course
17 Proven Methods to Grow Referrals for Legendary Results in Home Care & Hospice (eBook)
Want More? Click Here
|
Dear Friend, Wow! This is one of my favorite times of the year! The industry
association conferences get into full swing, my trees have leaves again, the
beautiful flowers are out and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are on. The last weekend of May is a very special time as my oldest son,
Ted, is getting married. We are really looking forward to this joyous time and
are very proud of him and our new daughter-in-law. Mike Ferris Sometimes Big
Companies Make Big Mistakes Everyone remembers the fiasco with
"new" Coke. Coca-Cola, normally a very smart marketing organization, forgot who
their customers were. In their haste to compete with the Pepsi generation, they
had not taken the time to consider whether their core group of customers would
drink this new version. When changes are made to a successful product or
service, if you lose the established customers you have lost ground. In
hindsight I would guess that Coca-Cola would have been better off creating "Old
Coke" -- a version that would cause their established customers to get
nostalgic, warm and fuzzy. In home care marketing we must learn from the
mistakes of others, both inside and outside the industry. TWO DATES, TWO LOCATIONS! If you're considering attending either of the Square One Boot Camps in May, we encourage you to RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW. As of today, we still have openings in both sessions but spaces are filling up quickly! The cutoff date for the discounted room rates at the hotels in both Las Vegas and Chapel Hill is fast approaching and we don't want you to miss out! JOIN US: MAY 4 - 6, 2009 For details, and to lock in a seat, click here. OR MAY 18 - 20, 2009 For details, and to lock in a seat, click here. To view a brief video of what makes the Square One Boot
Camp experience so special, click here! Make Plans to Join Us for AdmitRight™ Boot Camp in June! June 9 - 10, 2009 To learn more about the Hospice Referrals and Admissions Boot Camp, click here. Registration Options: Both Days, One Person, Tuition Only - Click Here Both Days, 2+ People, Same Organization - Click Here Both Days, One Person, Tuition + DVD - Click Here ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED -- THIS PROGRAM WILL SELL OUT! Next Step Advanced Sales Boot Camp to be Held in June! Two and one-half day Boot Camp experience open to graduates of the Square One Boot Camp and top producers. June 22 - 24, 2009 The Experience: Each Bootcamper will submit a presentation in advance of the training along with other homework assignments. This program is for serious home care and hospice sales professionals who are ready to take their sales to the next level! As with Square One, there will be extensive video role play with the students broken into groups of home care or hospice sales professionals. Registration Options: To lock in a seat with a $500 deposit (balance due on May 22, 2009), click here. To lock in a seat with your full payment, click here. 52 Week eSales Training Course Our groundbreaking and highly-acclaimed 52 Week eSales Training Course is available for one to one hundred students. It provides a weekly lesson (takes about 30 minutes to complete) that will keep your sales team members' skills sharp. Students have said that the course supported them in becoming better at their profession, increased their referrals and forced them to review the basics. On average, our 52 Week eLearning participants have increased their referrals by over 31%! "It was a very well developed course with specific
lessons to home care and hospice. I have learned tremendously from this course
and will highly recommend to others." Special offer for Sales Leadership Letter subscribers: Enroll up to 10 students for one low price of $599 (does not include audio CDs)! Click here to take advantage of this offer. Sales Tip The keynote speaker from NHPCO MLC last week on Day Two was Pat
Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, A Leadership Fable
and the Field Guide, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team. His talk
got me thinking about the dysfunctions of the sales teams in our industry. The
dysfunctions that he outlines in his model are very applicable to your sales
team and organization. They are: Sales plans which are prepared in partnership with the sales team will foster better buy-in and empower the sales team to set realistic sales goals. Some organizations make independent sales assumptions for budgeting purposes and then pass these numbers down to the sales department. If that is the process at your agency, it would be advisable to change this process to allow the sales team's intimate involvement in planning. When developing the forecasts for the upcoming period, one must gather as much data as is available. Having accurate data is critical to the process and whenever the data is not reliable be sure to proceed carefully and conservatively. Historical data should be analyzed to determine trends and any seasonality. Before basing your forecasts on the trends reflected in the historical data, make sure the underlying factors are still valid. The team must be committed to the attainment of the projections contained in the sales plans for the process to have the best chance of being realized. Being conservative with estimates and projections allows the
sales manager to be the hero after the numbers come in rather than at the budget
meeting. From Technical
Expert to Professional Advisor One of the major hurdles that admissions teams face is making the leap from being givers of information to providers of professional advice. There are two levels of professionalism that admissions nurses and referral coordinators achieve. First is the technical expert, meaning their expertise is in giving information. Most hospice admission teams feel that this is their job, but fail to recognize that it is the next level that takes them into the realm of the true professional. Listen to them. Technical experts provide information. Professionals listen. That's why the concepts of "info visit" or "info call" are actually insulting to the profession. So take them out of your vocabulary! Patients want their needs and goals understood. It is a precondition to having their problems diagnosed and treated. But most hospice nurses are so focused on wanting to be the technical expert that they start talking about the program and medical interventions before they even ascertain what the patients and families want from today forward! Important! Technical excellence can actually impede advancing to a professional advisor. That's because the desire to be the teacher and teller gets in the way of listening. And when you listen, you learn how to say things so that they will listen to you! The more you talk about your program, the less interested you appear to patients and families. Stop selling technical competence. Most hospices focus on technical competence. Just look at your brochures. They're all about you and how wonderful you are. However, most patients and families make selections based on emotions. If they feel their needs will be met by your team, then they'll use you. It's not that you have art therapy or that the nurse visits twice a week. It's that they feel they can trust you with helping them today. Give them your recommendation. You believe that hospice is the best choice for patients and familes at the end of life. And you believe that the longer they are in your program, the better the experience is for them. Then tell them that! The worst mistake the technical expert makes is to discuss options with families and leave them with one more difficult decision at a difficult time. Questions & Answers Question: How do you burn the word "complaint?" When a message of concern is raised, I see it as an opportunity to learn more. How do we get the staff to see it as the same? Answer: I could not agree more. Every problem is an opportunity. When I am teaching customer service principles, I like to point out that everyone has a fundamental choice -- you can have a problem be a good thing or you can have it ruin your day. It is their choice, and it sounds like you are willing to help them make the right choice. Great customer service is cultural, so the leadership in your
organization needs to be on board with the program and lead by example. You can
serve as a catalyst along with others to make it happen. You are definitely on
the right track! I have an ortho office with three physicians. One is on my "A"
list and the other two physicians have just changed to being employees of a
local hospital (that has its own very aggressive home care agency). The office
staff has been divided also, so some are now hospital employees and others are
not. I continue to be positive and reinforce the ongoing great service we can
provide but I feel I have hit a brick wall with the two doctors who have joined
the hospital team. Another principle that is demonstrated in this scenario is the need to have relationships with each physician and their staff. If your relationship is really only with one of them and staff, then when something happens you are on the outside looking in. But with all situations like this (no different than many other scenarios), you want to be probing for what subset of patients are the ones that would be best served by your program and work to get those from the two doctors who have gone to the other team. Also, work extra hard to make sure you maintain the "A" account relationship with the one remaining independent. A good thing working in your favor is that many orthopedic
surgeons have enough clout (they bring in lots of income to the hospital) that
they can direct where they want their referrals to go. Service and
differentiation will give you the most positive results. Supercharge Your Referrals, Revenues and Profits! Headed by two industry powerhouses -- Michael Ferris and Polly Rehnwall -- Our Marketing, Sales and Customer Service Consulting Division is designed to give you the easiest experience possible by providing the most comprehensive solutions to supercharge your referrals, revenues and profits! If it only took one phone call to deal with all your marketing and sales needs, would you make it? In an environment of growing competition and shrinking margins, you have to increase volume and improve market share in order to be successful. That means having a skilled sales team, quality marketing strategies and a customer service model that improves your conversion of referrals to admissions. With every type of solution we provide, you won't just beat the competition -- you'll establish your competitive advantage for years to come! Our Proven Process: - Evaluate and assess talent, model and process Delivering optimal results begins with an evaluation of your sales, marketing and customer service program in order to design solutions custom tailored to your agency and your area. Our experts know home health and hospice, bringing years of marketing and sales experience and best practices to you. Customized Solutions: Have one or a few specific needs? We can guide you through creation and implementation quicker and with more success than anyone else. Below is just a small sample of our capabilities: - On-site Sales, Marketing, or Customer Service Consulting and Training With just one phone call, you can tap into all the resources and knowledge of the home care industry's touchstone consulting powerhouse -- Simione Consultants. We have an ability no other company can offer -- the only one-stop shop to handle all your marketing and sales needs. Simione Consultants, LLC was the first organization of its kind dedicated entirely to home care -- a commitment we continue to maintain today. For more than 40 years, we have demonstrated we understand and are responsive to the changing and diverse business needs of home care and hospice organizations. Value Driven, Success Outcomes More than 800 home care organizations have trusted the team of experts at
Simione Consultants, LLC to get them through the challenges of yesterday and
today, and to gain the leading edge for tomorrow. We provide expert assistance
to hospital-based and hospital-affiliated agencies, visiting nurse associations,
hospices, small proprietary agencies, and large national chains. The size,
capabilities and commitment of our uniquely qualified consulting staff offer
unparalleled industry insights and innovative yet practical solutions. Our track
record of engagements with successful client outcomes is unmatched. |
|
This newsletter and all content and information contained herein are the property of Simione Consultants, LLC and may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the publisher. 176 East Main Street, Unit 8 | Westborough, MA 01581 | (800) 653-4043 | (508) 366-7409 | Join our mailing list to receive new products, helpful hints, speaking dates, and more! |
|
