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"Energy
and persistence conquer all things." |
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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
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Dear Friend, The summer begins! Now that Memorial Day is behind us and the
Fourth of July looms, it is time to kick into high gear to generate more
referrals. What are some themes to adopt? Think of those changes that effect
your referral partners and the patients they serve in the summer months. (See
the Sales Tip section below for some more specific ideas.) Best, Mike Ferris Let Vision and
Values Drive Your Marketing Program Who your agency is and what it stands for may well be the most
important part of your sales and marketing message. The ability to convey the
mission, vision and values of the organization will have a tremendous impact on
the effectiveness of your marketing in the community. The sales and marketing of
home care and hospice services is an inexact science. The product or service is
an intangible and the customer typically does not have a need for it when
contacted. So your message has to connect the prospective customer with the
benefits of your agency's values for them. The focus must be on building a
relationship with each prospective customer that is based on shared beliefs.
These will always be the strongest long-term relationships. There's still room for your agency to attend a first of its
kind program specifically created for Hospice team members interested in
increasing referrals, admissions, census, efficiency, profitability and beating
the competition! Led by Michael Ferris and Polly Rehnwall, the nation's leading
experts on hospice and home care sales, marketing and customer service, this is
two jam-packed days of learning how to supercharge your hospice referrals and
admissions! JUNE 9 - 10, 2009 CLICK HERE for more details (including the agenda) about the Hospice Referrals and Admissions Boot Camp. 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
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. To lock in a seat for Next Step Advanced Sales Training Boot Camp, CLICK HERE.
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%! "I so appreciated learning how to be a better salesperson
from the best in the business! I learned how to be more organized, what to say,
how to partner with the gatekeepers, and how to overcome their objections. With
all of this I now have more confidence in myself and in what I am doing as a
professional salesperson." 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 What are some trends that you can use to energize your summer
sales? Here are a few to think about and apply to make your summer the hottest
sales season of the year: When replacing any sales person, the territory must be re-evaluated and assigned based on the abilities of his or her replacement. Every changeover should be handled differently depending on whether the outgoing sales person is leaving the agency or transferring internally. Of course, the way in which the sales person departs will dictate how the sales manager moves to handle the reassignment process. If the sales person is leaving the agency on good terms or is moving with the organization into another capacity, then the transition can be accomplished in an orderly manner. This is the ideal situation. However, often the transition must be handled under less than ideal conditions (e.g., the sales person is leaving the company for a competitor). In these cases, the sales manager and other senior members of management must quickly contact the "A" accounts in that person's territory to reiterate how much the agency values their business. Be careful not to malign the departing sales person, but rather to underscore the importance of their business and value of the long-term relationship. Regardless of the story or the speed of the transition, it is critical that the transition be accomplished in a manner that, in the long run, will build even stronger relationships with the agency's referral sources. The sales manager will prove his or her worth when dealing with territorial transitions. The changeover must be as seamless and orderly as possible! Don't forget that every sales territory must be designed with future modifications in mind. Plan for either territory expansion or contraction as future sales people are added or removed. The initial territory design must take long-term projections and plans into account and recognize that modifications will be made that reflect changes in the agency as well as the community in which it operates.
Ask Polly A key part of the admission process is informing patients and families of their rights and responsibilities under hospice care. But many hospice admission nurses are interpreting "being informed of" as "reading every word to!" A scene from "Law and Order." "You have the right to "sounds like we've just handcuffed the patient and are advising them of their right to remain silent and contact a lawyer! Don't patronize. Focus group research indicates that patients hate being treated like they're five years old and deaf. While your staff certainly doesn't intend to be patronizing, their actions can be interpreted as condescending. Important reminders: Old doesn't mean deaf, and reading something out loud to someone doesn't mean they understand it any better. If they are cognitively impaired, shouting and reading every word isn't going to help. What works. Good eye contact always works wonders. Remember to talk to the patient, not the paper. And lowering your voice actually makes people pay more attention. As you take out the form, tell the patient that these cover the things they should expect from us and the things that will help us do a better job of caring for them. Highlight and summarize. Then highlight key points and summarize what they mean. Example: "Mr. Jones, this section means that it's very important for you to call us if your wife is having pain or something changes in her condition. Don't be concerned that it's 2:00 a.m. and feel you should wait until morning. That's what we're here for, and that's what it means by your responsibility to keep us informed." Team tip: Go through your form with a highlighter to indicate the key points you want to summarize. Then, when it's time to reprint, put these in bold type, so it's easier for you (and the patient) to review. Don't call it the "Bill of Rights." On one recent visit, the program rep said, "and here's the bill of rights," to which the patient responded, "Why am I getting a historic document?" Good question! It's "Patient's Rights and Responsibilities." Think about adding "caregiver" to that as well, because the caregiver and family are key parts of our program, too. Advise them to read it over. Always advise the patient and family to read it over carefully before the next visit so they can ask questions and get answers from the care team. Tip: If it's especially long (I've seen some that are 4 pages), make it a little fun by telling them that they can use it as good bedtime reading or that there'll be a test, so study hard! Questions & Answers Question: Physicians feel that facilities are paid quite well to care for their residents and that they see no benefit in "milking" the system by having hospice see patients that reside in a facility. Many facilities are now forming their own end of life teams. Do you have any suggestions? Answer: The physicians need to understand: 1) That there is no duplication of services. That the hospice pays the room and board (depends on state regulations). 2) The added value of having hospice trained staff, volunteers, chaplains, etc. 3) That hospice is about the needs of the family as well as the patient. They receive bereavement support for a year after death that is invaluable to the families. 4) That the patients paid into Medicare all of their lives and have a right to receive hospice services at end of life. 5) That there is big difference between hospice and an "end of
life" program at a skilled facility. My manager wants me to keep calling on some accounts that have
no potential and I don't like them. What should I do? I hate calling on this
handful of accounts. My second answer is that you are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe they will never refer and that you dislike them, what would you expect to have happen? Certainly not success! We create our own destiny and success doesn't come from a negative visualization or from dread. So, if you are going to call on the account, approach it knowing that you will be successful.
About Us 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. |
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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! |
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