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In This Issue:
Our Top Picks
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)
Upcoming Training and Speaking October 12 - 15, 2008 Fort Lauderdale, Florida
November 17 - 19, 2008 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Dear Friend, In this issue, you will find tips and tricks to better discuss why to use your agency, provide Legendary Service to the referral partners, learn to better handle objections by watching politicians and be the very best at your job! The next issue of the Legendary Sales Leadership Letter will be coming to you from the NAHC Annual Meeting. Look for the report to fill you in on any new trends or changes you need to know about. If you are going to be attending, promise me that you will come see me in booth 925, Simione Consultants. Both Polly Rehnwall and I will be there to discuss all of your needs related to keeping your phone ringing! We look forward to seeing you in the booth and at our presentations. Schedule Change: My presentation on Monday (session 317), which was originally scheduled for 10:30 to 12:00, will now be from 8:00 to 9:30 to accommodate a schedule change that enables Bill Clinton to speak from 12:00 to 1:00. Polly's presentation (session 418 – Multiple Services or Branches? Centralize Referrals to Improve Customer Service!) will still be from 2:30 to 4:00 on Monday. News you can use: CMS has come out with tough new guidelines for Medicare Advantage marketers. They are intended to stem some of the abusive practices and will prohibit telemarketing and other "aggressive marketing practices." For providers, this should also provide some relief from patients having their Medicare converted for the wrong reasons. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released final regulations that will “protect Medicare beneficiaries from deceptive or high-pressure marketing tactics by private insurance companies during the 2009 Medicare Advantage and prescription drug open enrollment period,” they announced in a September 15th press release. Best, Mike Ferris Potpourri Our industry and its member agencies are like potpourri; the sum of the ingredients delivers the result. You may be wondering, “why the title?” Well, in this issue I am touching on a number of topics in one column. Most are the result of questions posed to me over the last year or two or ideas that I had in my notebook for future columns. Not-for-Profit Agencies Does the profit status of our agency make a difference in our marketing efforts? This is an excellent question. I would contend that everything about your agency makes a difference -– especially if it is a differentiating factor. Not-for-profit agencies will want to stress that they are investing back into their communities. Most of the time these agencies have a long history of serving their communities and this should be underscored in the sales and marketing messaging. That being said, this is a point that will support your overall assertions about quality and service. It is not a feature that will carry a lot of weight –- when surveyed, referral sources say that all things being equal they like dealing with a not-for-profit agency. The same referral sources, when asked, said that they would not make a referral decision based on the agency’s profit status. Hospital-Based Agencies Pick the High Hanging Fruit Don’t forget to come back to get the “high hanging fruit” after you have gone after all of the “low hanging fruit.” Every referral source has some additional referrals hidden by details. Look for the opportunity to educate your referral sources about all of the uses for home health and hospice and you will get more of these referrals. Work with your referral sources to make sure that you are getting them to make best use of your services. Additionally, there are many referral sources in your market that are either non-traditional or are not high referrers. Look for ways to captivate that part of the market as well. Don’t assume that you got all of the fruit on the first pass! Easy is the Answer If you can make the referral sources' lives easier, you will earn their business. Look for how you can make it easy to work with your agency. Also look for ways that the referral source will perceive as making it easier. Customize your service protocols to fit their needs. Ask your referral sources how you can make things easier on a regular basis. Find out how to handle the orders and paperwork for them and you will earn business. (Paperwork is the number one complaint about dealing with home health and hospice.) If you would expect a pizza delivery company to provide top-notch service to earn your business, why shouldn’t your referral sources and patients demand the same? These are just a few of the items on my list, so watch for others in future columns. I hope they are helpful. If you have any questions you want answered, don’t hesitate to ask. Happy Selling and Marketing!
Sales Training Corner The last Square One Bootcamp of the year will be held: November 17 - 19, 2008 To lock in a seat with your full payment, click here. "This training is well designed and provides solid ideas and tips in order to improve sales. It also encourages participation and practice, which is a great way to learn. I would recommend this training to others in the hospice industry needing specific sales training." To view a brief video of what makes the Square One Bootcamp experience so special, 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%! "With the help of the 52 Week eSales Training Course, I have been able to increase our accounts by approximately 20% and have increased referrals and admits by an even greater percent. Thank you, and my company also thanks you!" 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 Do you think that successful politicians are great sales people? I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t, so my question is this: “Why aren’t you learning sales skills from them?” They are very accomplished at asking for your vote, handling objections and closing the deal. They have talking points that are appropriate and designed for the current audience and issues. If you are interested in the political process and watch interviews with politicians, watch closely for good examples of how to handle objections. Politicians are very polished at handling objections for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that they expect them. Sales people get tripped up because they get surprised by them or fear them. Politicians are prepared and they like them. When they handle a tough objection they are making the points of why they should be the one people vote for. Not only can a politician eliminate the objection in short order, but they are very practiced at turning that very sentence into a conversation about their key talking points. They are very smooth at saying something along the lines of, “I reject that premise,” and then move seamlessly on to their agenda. The politician seizes the opportunity to treat the question raised as if it were a point he or she would have reached very soon in their talk even if the interviewer had said nothing about it. The objection raised will frequently give you an opportunity to carry the suggestion it contains to the point where the idea will answer itself by becoming an absurdity or unimportant. Another tactic used for handling smokescreen objections is one simple word: “Oh?” You have to bite your tongue and let them talk next. It turns the objection back to the objector who now has to justify it. Maybe they’ll be less likely to throw out flippant objections next time. Their next objection will probably be the true objection, and now you’ve got something you can work with. So don’t shy away from objections; welcome them. When they come up it means that you have closed and when you get a genuine one, it shows the objector is interested. The other thing to learn from politicians is to have your talking points prepared and to stay on message. Know what you want to talk about, the benefits of these services to your intended audience, and the questions you are going to ask -- before you make the call. Be prepared and ready to get your services elected! Dreadful Dressing: The Uniform Solution At your next admissions team meeting, take a look around the table at how your staff is dressed and groomed. Then remember that these are the very people who are your front line reps, who are the first visual impression that patients and families have of your hospice care professionals. Then imagine how you would feel if you were referred to a new physician who came into the room wearing:
And then top the whole thing off with:
This is not an anomaly or a random case with a hospice or two. It is everywhere, and they look terrible! Some solutions: Set a dress code: A nice idea, but precise, detailed lists of what's allowed and what's not can lead to lots of confusion and misinterpretation. Just talk to your HR director, take 2 Excedrin, and don't call me! Get them uniforms: If you want to be sure that they are at least wearing the right thing (whether it's clean or pressed is still an issue), then require a uniform. I recommend:
Get them tote bags: Get a dark-colored tote bag with your hospice logo printed on it. Make sure it has several compartments to keep forms, brochures and assessment paraphernalia easily accessed and orderly. While the hospice movement may have taken root in the 70’s, it's now a true profession and one that should have an image to match. Do You Hold on to That Referral Ball? Start Using the Throw Away Ball Analogy Here's a great training tip for your referral center team. Think of the phone ringing as someone throwing you a ball. Your goal is to not only catch it, but hold on and run with it! The scrimmage: This is your professional referral source or consumer caller as they get ready to pick up the phone and call a hospice. (Hopefully your hospice.) The pass: The caller picks up the phone, calls your hospice, and asks for information about your services or tells the receptionist that they have a referral for hospice care. The catch: Does your hospice provide a clear, pleasant reception? Or do you fumble to pick up the phone and then put the caller on hold without asking their permission first? The handoff: Does your receptionist know where to send the call? Is there someone there to take it 100% of the time? Are you sure? Hold On and Run with It! The job of your referral coordinators is to hold on to that ball and never throw it back to the caller or referral source! Here are some great examples to use with your referral team: Physician office: The doctor's office calls with a referral outside your service area. Wrong: "Oh, we don't serve Hill County, but I can give you the name of a hospice that does." What's wrong? You just threw the ball back to the busy doctor's office. While you politely gave them the name of someone else, they now have to go through this all over again. Right: "We don't serve Hill County, but I'll be happy to take the referral and get a hospice that does. I'll call you back with the arrangements and any questions by 1:00. Will that work for you?" Your team asks: Can we do that? Of course you can! You're in the service business, not the screening business. Not only can you handle the handoff, but guess who becomes the referral source in the eyes of the other hospice? You do! Consumer caller: A family member calls and asks for information about hospice care. Wrong: After a lengthy program description, the caller is told, "We'll need to have a physician's certification of terminal illness. So all you need to do is have the doctor call us and then we'll set up a time to come out and meet with the patient." What's wrong? You just threw the ball back by making the caller take the next step. Right: "Let's schedule a meeting this afternoon to talk about your situation and see how we can help you. And we'll take care of contacting your doctor to let him know that you've requested some information about our services." The payoff. Whether you admit the patient or not, the family will be forever grateful for your efforts and will tell everyone they know about how wonderful your hospice is. Discharge planner: The hospital calls and asks if you take CareOne insurance. Wrong: "I'm sorry, but we don't. But thanks for the referral, and let us know if we can help with anything else." What's wrong? You just threw the ball back by not offering to help the referral source. Right: "I don't think we take CareOne, but let me check. If not, I'll be happy to find out who does. I'll give you an update by noon. Is that okay?" Your team says: We don't have time to do that, and besides, that's the discharge planner's job. While it may be their job, it's your job to help the customer. And by providing this level of service, you'll soon be the first one they call every time. Now celebrate. You just scored a touchdown!
Question: How important do you feel the marketer is when there is an issue/problem at a referral source? Should we handle the issue or leave it totally to the clinical staff to handle, since it is usually a clinical issue that needs handling? Answer: You are extremely important to the problem resolution. You are uniquely situated to discover what happened and communicate the issue and the resolution between parties. While you are correct that most of the time you cannot actually fix the problem, you must work as an important step in the process that is viewed as value added to both the referral partner and the clinical department. Question: How do I turn referrals into admissions so new referral sources have confidence in referring to me? I can't promise that every referral will be admitted. Answer: The number one element you need to focus upon is driving the referrals into the agency. The referral partners understand very well that an agency cannot take every single referral. My experience is that sales people make a bigger deal of the non-admit from a new referral source than is the case. But remember that you must take the lemon and make lemonade! Communication about non-admits is the number one thing you can do to turn this around to your favor. It gives you a way to really outshine the competition. Question: Six of our hospitals have their own homecare agencies. We do get the overflow, especially on Friday. Is there a way we can increase our referrals? Answer: The good news for your marketer is that if he has six hospitals in his territory, he has lots of potential business. The way to increase referrals is by making sure you focus on the highest yield targets within the hospital. In other words, spend your time in front of those who will refer the most patients to home care or hospice, and those who have reason to dislike your agency. Know how you compare to the hospital-based agency and look for reasons they should use you. Another strategy is to get the physicians to write specifically for your agency. Finally, make sure that your patients and referred patients in the hospital know they have the choice of selecting their provider. If you are on the hospital-based agency side of the world, you must earn the business of the discharge planners because you are the best choice to meet their needs, not just because they are told to do so.
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If, like me, you’re having a tough time wrapping your mind around 700 billion dollars ($700,000,000,000 or nearly three-fourths of a trillion), it is a LOT of money. It amounts to about $2,300 per every American citizen! (Not taxpayer or family, but every man, woman and child.) It is over seventy times the amount spent on providing all Medicare hospice services for a complete year! The good news is that America is truly the greatest nation in the world and we are resilient people. Thanks to your efforts, you are enabling the patients and families to receive the gift of home care and hospice. We will just need to not open our retirement account statements for a few months! Thanks for all that you do for your community and country; home care and hospice people are truly the most wonderful in the world. Good luck and Happy Selling! |
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