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"Adversity does not build character, it reveals it." |
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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, How is Your Summer? Mike Ferris Marketing in the
Age of Prospective Payment (Note: This is a repeat of an article published after the PPS system was operational. I thought it had a lot of validity in today’s changing market, so it is reprinted for your enjoyment as originally published.) In all aspects of home care management under PPS, agencies have
to focus on employing management best practices. One area of management focus
needs to be on the agency's sales and marketing program. When looking outside of
the home care industry, you will discover that the sales and marketing programs
are central to the financial planning and performance to the company. Why should
home care be any different? 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%! ". . . keep up the great work in educating and
empowering marketing professionals to fulfill their life purpose by making a
difference in the lives of others through the wonderful benefits of home health
and hospice services." 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 One more thing you must know about your key accounts is what the
key player's vacation plans are. There are several reasons for this, but most
important is to ensure that you are making it easy for the referrals to continue
to come to you -- even if they are out of the office. Part of your job is to
make them better at their jobs and make their lives easier. Reassure them that
you will take care of all of their home care or hospice referrals while they are
out. Ask them how you can make that easy for them. Ask them what they have
planned for home care and hospice referrals, information, etc. Find out who will
be filling in for them in this role, have your key contact introduce you to that
person and let them know that you are able to make it real easy when they have
referrals. Field coaching by riding along with the sales team provides the best method for training and support. Ride alongs should be unannounced until just a day or so before the date. Make sure that the sales team has fully booked their schedules (this should be the case regardless of whether the sales manager is riding along). The sales person should be instructed not to modify their schedule in any way just because they are going to be observed for the day. Without the element of surprise, it is too easy for sales people to "pad" their schedule with easy sales calls or accounts the sales person has a good relationship with already. The sales manager will be most effective when the sales person is observed under normal conditions. The sales team will probably complain about not having enough time to "prepare" for the outing, but that's the point! Sales meetings are another way to practice good sales management. Beware that there is a fine line between having too many meetings which pull your team out of the field, and having too few, which make the team feel isolated and unsupported. Strive to achieve a balanced approach to sales meetings. The sales team should feel supported, communicated with and motivated. Create the sales agenda in advance and share with the team so that they can prepare for the meeting, if necessary. The meeting should include important agency and industry information, new sales initiatives, sales tips and techniques, as well as success stories from the field. Recognize the achievements of any individuals in addition to those of the entire team. Remember that favoritism has no place in home care and hospice sales teams! Bring in guest speakers whenever appropriate and available. Make sure that you review the material that they will cover, the message to be delivered and the intended result. Educating the sales team on a variety of items will pay long-term dividends. Be wary of wasting the team's time because they have more productive things to do! Take turns leading the meeting with other members of the sales team and members of the management team. Again, planning and coordination is key! If the sales manger is going to be absent from a meeting, make sure that the meeting is even better than if they were there to conduct it. Every sales manager has a responsibility to recognize the contribution of the individual team members and acknowledge any items learned from them. Humility is a virtue for the sales manager -- no one likes a know-it-all, especially from leadership. Take care of the sales team and demonstrate that you are there to provide support. Everyone on the team must know that they can count on the sales manager to back them up. This is the best way to earn respect. Once you have gained the respect of your sales team, they will produce greater results and do what it takes to make the entire team look good. The old saying that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care is very true in their relationships between sales person and sales manager.
Ask Polly So you get the call from the hospital and the discharge planner says that the patient is scheduled for discharge in a couple of days. Since she doesn't express a lot of urgency and it's 3 in the afternoon, you decide that it's okay to schedule a visit for tomorrow or the next day. Wrong! Why? Just because the referral source isn't urgent doesn't mean that you don't have to be! Here's a few reasons why: "Same dollar" competition. As patients and familes become more informed about post-acute options and benefits, it not only helps hospice, but everyone else who is competing for the same Medicare dollar, including home care and skilled care in nursing homes. Home care. Here's the scenario: A good home care liaison is always talking to discharge planners and physicians to recommend home care as an option if patients aren't comfortable going home with hospice care. If you haven't seen the patient yet, the referral source might suggest that the liaison drop in and give the patient a brochure "just in case." It happens a lot, and all of a sudden you could be on the losing end. If you had shown up on the same day, it may have deterred the discharge planner from suggesting that home care see the patient. And even if home care did drop by, your visit would hopefully have convinced the patient that hospice is the preferred option. Skilled care. The same is true with skilled care in rehab facilities. More nursing homes today are actively going to the hospital to meet with discharge planners, patients and families, and so the competition grows. The hospital. While the discharge planner may not have sounded urgent, they always are. Good DCPs want to get things tied up as soon as possible, so getting hospice consents and transfer plans in place before the day of discharge is one more thing off their to do list. The physician. Let's not forget the physician in all this. The heat is on them to get the patient out of the hospital. You may be able to facilitate an earlier discharge by reassuring the family that they can handle this at home and getting a good care plan ready now. Questions & Answers Question: I have a referral source that is a country doctor and claims his patients are too independent to accept home care coming into their homes. How do I handle that? Answer: Just like any other objection, you need to find out what he means by this and whether the doctor is serious, or just blowing you off. Assuming he is serious then you want to make sure he knows your agency is a specialist in dealing with exactly these situations. Tell him one of your nurses is from the area and understands the independent attitude of her neighbors. Let the doctor know you will handle that part; all he needs to do is identify those patients that would benefit from your services. Ask him to refer as if that objection didn't exist, and the patients will receive the care they need and have paid for (in taxes) all of their lives. Question: How do you maintain your business growth? Manage, develop and PROTECT your existing accounts. Get your best accounts to expand the use of your services. Ask your best accounts, "Who else should we be working with in your practice (at the hospital, etc.)"? Always be networking, asking staff who they know, etc. Basically, never take your eye off the ball, keep your ear to the ground and be a superstar!
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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