Dear Friend,

February is Heart Month

What are you doing for heart month? I know that you are probably getting tired of hearing about this theme, but I cannot emphasize the opportunity too much. Always go with the momentum! One of the basic tenets of martial arts is to use the momentum of your opponent to your advantage. In this case you are using the media blitz and widespread publicity buzz around heart month and heart disease to your advantage. Delta Airlines' flight attendants, for example, are encouraged to wear all red to promote heart disease awareness. Look around you and you will see what is happening in your community. Be a part of this and a leader in the awareness of the important role that home health and hospice play as a solution for the many patients currently at risk in their homes with heart disease.

Better to spend your time and resources promoting you as a solution than giving away Valentine's Day goodies. One is the right thing to do and the other is just lazy!
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The 7 Keys of Highly Effective Home Care Marketing: Part 2 of 2

by Mike Ferris

In the last issue of The Legendary Sales Leadership Letter , we went over the first 3 keys to building an effective Home Care Marketing plan. The marketing plan developed by each home care organization will determine, in large part, its success over the next five years. We may not know the future of Medicare rules, regulations or payment rates, but we do know that competition for those patients will continue to be intense.

The last 4 keys to Home Care Marketing and Sales success are:

Packaging and Specialization

Everyday there are more agencies that are creating specialty to programs to meet the specific needs of their customers.
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Got an IPU? Beware the Mecca Syndrome
by Polly Rehnwall

Hospice inpatient units, either freestanding or in an existing care facility, are on the rise in many markets today. And most offer a very attractive alternative to other inpatient options, such as hospital floater beds or designated rooms in a nursing home.

Beauty can be a liability. However, our pride can get in the way of making sure we don't oversell the unit. If we position it as too attractive, it becomes the premier place to be, resulting in delayed hospital discharges or disappointed families who thought they could just be admitted anytime.

We call this the "Mecca Syndrome," in which the unit becomes the ultimate destination for patients and families at the end of life.
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LAST CHANCE TO JOIN US FOR NEXT WEEK'S
SQUARE ONE BOOT CAMP!

FEBRUARY 8 - 10, 2010
Courtyard Marriott Chapel Hill ($129 per night)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
(800) 321-2211 for reservations

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

With the nation's most comprehensive Sales Call training, Square One Boot Camp breaks down each step of a referral boosting Superstar Sales Call into easy to master steps.

What sets Square One apart from other programs is the custom role play scenarios that incorporate situations each Sales Rep will encounter in their own territories. Sales Reps who graduate have hit the ground running as soon as they return home -- with some even increasing their referrals by up to 200%!

With small class sizes and acclaimed Home Care and Hospice sales coaches, you can't get a more customized Home Care and Hospice Sales training anywhere else -- guaranteed.

We have a strict limit of 18 students per class to ensure the low student to instructor ratio and hands-on training. Send us your liaisons and we will send you back highly trained home care and hospice sales professionals.

Here's what some of our recent graduates have to say about their Square One experience:

"The whole experience was very comfortable. What may have been a dread to some, turned out to be a complete growing experience for me. Our small group size (we had 6 people) seemed to help in how we were able to talk to one another and not feel intimidated by one another. Our group was just different enough in that we all could learn from one another. Our instructors were the ‘bomb.’ They were a perfect fit for us. Each one had their own style and was so polished. This workshop was like visiting the 360° mirror in the show 'What Not to Wear.'  I was able to get a good look at who I am and how I can be the best at what I do. The instructors were coaching us not only to be good sales people, but more than that, how we can take our own 'good stuff' and make it better. They taught me a whole new way to believe in me."
~ Cindy Dunlap, Liberty Home Care and Hospice

"This has been the BEST professional training I have been a part of. I am walking away with a feeling of empowerment that I know I have a workable plan using the tools and skills I have learned in Square One Boot Camp. Mike Ferris, his instructors, and Square One Boot Camp are money well spent by my organization!”
~ Andrea Little Gray, Four Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS (INCLUDING THE AGENDA) AND TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT!

Building Your Team (Part 2) - Interviewing for Legendary Results
by Katherine Northcutt

One of the most important tasks of a Sales Manager is to build a great team focused on growing referrals. Identifying, evaluating, and selecting internal and external talent are essential skills for leading an extraordinary sales team. In our previous column, we learned the steps to take in preparing for the interview, but now we get to the fun part: the interview.

While many of you do not think this process is fun, by now you are much more prepared and not having to "wing it" should at least make things easier.

Some of the fear of interviewing comes from apprehension about asking the wrong questions, either from an evaluation standpoint, or legally.
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February is Cardiac Awareness month. How are you/your agency preparing?

Click here to take survey....

The Missing Ingredient: How to Boost Your Agency's Referrals in Only 3 Days
Home Care and Hospice Industry's #1 Sales Course Now Available at Your Doorstep

While you get slightly different experiences walking through the halls of NAHC conventions and NHPCO conventions, the one thing you'll always find in common is what's whispered in the corner between Sales Managers and discussed between CEOs at their expense account dinners: Square One Boot Camp.

No other Sales and Marketing course in the country has had more success from its students, and acclaim from their bosses. William Deary, CEO of Great Lakes Home Health and Hospice, says "our referrals have grown significantly and our conversion rates improve each month. The consulting, coaching, and support has been critical to our success."
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In each Legendary Sales Leadership Letter we answer your questions. Send them to us or call (800) 653-4043 and we'll make sure that yours are answered in a future issue.

Here is this week's question answered:

Question:
What is your favorite way to ask for a referral?

Answer:
I find it easiest to ask for a referral based on the conversation I've had with my referral partner. If I've done a good job asking needs assessment questions, it becomes very easy to say something like "based on our conversation today, who can you think of that we should be caring for?" Many salespeople find asking for the referral to be difficult or uncomfortable. What you will find is that by working closely as a partner with your customer, understanding their needs, and presenting a solution that fulfills those needs, you will find yourself in a position where asking for the referral is the natural next step.