Questions and Answers

In each Legendary Sales Leadership Letter, we answer your questions. 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: “Should I be sending thank you notes following presentations, lunches, etc.?”

Answer: Yes, definitely, I would suggest sending handwritten thank you notes following any significant interactions with prospective or existing accounts.  In today’s world handwritten notes are rare and get a great response.  People appreciate that you have taken the time to send them a personalized note.  Make sure to reference elements of your conversation with them in the note and let them know what to expect from you as follow-up.  Use the opportunity to reiterate those points you want to drive home from your meeting.

Also, look for articles that relate to an interest of theirs or your conversation with them.  You can mail these to them with a note attached or even just a note on a sticky note.  This is another way to make yourself memorable in their mind.

Q: How should I proceed when an administrator of a facility says that they have an exclusive contract with a Hospice that they are satisfied with?

A: This is a great question, one that I receive with frequency.  The situation you outline is pertinent to many different situations that involve handling an objection that says the prospect is happy with their current provider(s).  There are several elements to your strategy:

1: Keep your ear to the ground for any changes - particularly dissatisfaction or service problems.  They will not tell you about them, but if you pick up on the information and can probe them at the right time, they will open up and you will have an opportunity.  The other thing to keep in mind is that there will be frequent management and staff change. 

2: Watch for any opportunity to place a patient in their facility and execute a one-time contract. 

3: Find out what is important to all of the players in the facility and any unmet needs or other ways that they could be using hospice services.  Many times the Director of Nursing or Social Workers will welcome an excuse to have another hospice agency as a resource and choice for their residents.  It is not easy, but well worth prevailing.

Q: How is Square One Boot Camp different from all the other Sales Courses and Workshops I have heard about, and what kind of success rates have you had?

Thank you for your question! I am very proud of the program we built and I love the opportunity to share with anyone who asks what Square One is really all about. To start, let’s just list a few of the things that our program has that others do not:

1. We have a small class setting (student to teacher ratio is only 4:1) in order to be able to tailor the training, roleplaying, and coaching to each individual’s territory, job, and experience. You can’t get anything more custom made for your agency or your Reps anywhere else.

2. Our program is very interactive, and every student does at least 3 roleplays designed to be simulations of real calls they will be making the week after training. They receive individualized coaching and one on one instruction in order to perfect their techniques for the field.

3. Our follow up and support after the training is for 1 full year, and includes access to our trainers, a 52 week support and refresher online course, field guides, forms, and coaching calls. We dont just do one off events, we invest in your Reps and ensure their success with our support.

4. We have the most video and written testimonials from students AND their sales managers and CEOs than anyone else. We pride ourselves on each graduates’ success.

Those are just 4 things that truly set us apart, and as you’ll see from the testimonials, the graduates of this program have gone on to be among the top Sales Reps in our industry.

Question: I read about CRM software and I’m considering buying in. Should I go ahead and take the plunge?

Answer:

First, we should go over what CRM software is all about. Yes, it stands for Customer Relationship Management, but what does that really mean for you and your agency? Well, to put it bluntly, relationships are the biggest key to success in our industry. Our relationships with our referral partners especially. Some of the biggest home care and hospice agencies in the country - the ones who have the best numbers and win all the awards (like circle of life for hospice) view relationships as one of their most valuable assets - so it should come as no surprise that they have therefore invested significant time and resources into the management of those relationships. Whether using a paper system or an electronic customer relationship management (CRM) solution, they understand the need to know and document critical information about their customers and their referral sources - and to keep it constantly and consistently updated. By managing relationships using CRM software rather than a paper or whiteboard method (yes, we’ve seen these), they ensure that they are able to maximize relationships while reducing manual effort and the information that EVERY person in the agency should know whenever they have an interaction with a referral partner is just a couple mouse clicks away. Furthermore, they ensure that if a sales representative leaves the agency, the key information about their referral sources does not walk out the door with them - which can be absolutely devastating when it’s your ‘A’ accounts. If that reason alone doesn’t have you taking the plunge, than I don’t know what would.

Question: I read a sales book that talked about success comes from focusing on each quarter individually. What’s the best way to focus on having success this quarter?

As my friend Jim Meisenheimer says, “There is no fifth quarter!”

It’s important to focus on each quarter as if it’s your last. To use a football analogy, there’s 2 minutes on the clock and you’re down by 6 points. How are you going to go into overdrive and get all the way down the field to win? Focus the sales team on what it’s going to take to blow the fourth quarter numbers out and end the year exceeding all goals. 

Here is a good way to focus for success: Have a six pack for breakfast!  Every morning make a list of six important sales activities that will be accomplished during the day.  Focus on doing what it takes to make them happen.  By focusing your efforts on a manageable number of key activities they will happen.  If you choose your “six pack” well and accomplish them every day, you will be very successful.  Focusing on a limited number of important activities is key to blowing the quarter out.  After all, quarterly results are the cumulative total from the 90 (or so) days in the quarter.  Make every day count!

Question: From various articles I’ve read and marketing courses I’ve taken, it is not advisable to structure bonuses and other incentives around “number of referrals”.  Have you found a better way to track marketing progress/success other than just “number of referrals”?

Answer: Thanks for your great question!  The main thing to consider when establishing the basis used to determine bonuses and other incentives is the goals of the agency.  Make sure that what you are requiring to earn a bonus is consistent with the goals of the agency.  Another consideration is the quality and availability of your data.  Remember: do not over complicate the bonus structure, try to make the measures the simplest and the easiest to communicate.
You can structure bonuses on the number of admissions coming directly from the salesperson’s activities or from their accounts.  This would take the admissions that came in due to advertising response out of the equation.  I have always been a proponent of including all of the admissions from the salesperson’s territory - regardless of other advertising or marketing initiatives.  That way the salesperson is focused on delivering the best results and time is not wasted on splitting hairs on how the referral was generated in the first place. 
I hope this was helpful!

Q:  I’m trying to build referrals from an Assisted Living Facility in my market?  Any tips?

Answer: Whether you are marketing Home Health or Hospice, Assisted Living Communities present a great opportunity.  Like any other account type, it’s important that you ask good questions to understand the needs in the Communities you are marketing.  Determine how the Community is staffed, and who your primary contacts should be.  One thing that is very important in Assisted Living Communities is keeping their residents in their building.  Often times, residents go to the hospital, and then a skilled nursing facility, and never return to the Assisted Living Community.  You will need to validate that this is a concern for the Community you are working with, but I bet you will find that it is.  So how can you help?  Do you services allow people to stay in their homes longer?  That sounds like a great benefit for an Assisted Living Community.  Like with any account, ask good Needs Assessment questions.  And when the time is right to present your solution(s), talk in terms of benefits to the Assisted Living.  Oh, and remember to learn the language.  Using language like “community” and “resident” will set you apart from your competitors talking in terms of “facilities” and “patients”.  Find out what language the Community prefers and use it.  And one last thing, find out what Physicians make visits to the Community.  You may find that one of your physician referral partners spends time in the Community.  They may be able to offer some insight into the needs of the Community and how you can better work with them.  Good luck!

Question:

I’m going on vacation for 2 weeks, what should I tell my referral partners?  And who will take care of them while I’m gone?

Answer:

While vacations are meant for rest and relaxation, great salespeople often find it hard to be away from their territories.  And this worry is for good reason.  We know that if we ignore our referral partners, our competition will shower them with attention.  But rest and relaxation are critical to long-term success as a salesperson.  If you don’t take a break from time to time, you put yourself at risk for ineffectiveness and burnout.  To be able to enjoy your vacation, prepare your referral partners ahead of time, and ask for help from your team while you’re gone.  Find out who on your team is available to act as your back up while you are away.  It may be your Director, another salesperson, or someone else entirely.  Let this person know if there are referral partners that will need a visit or a phone call while you are away.  Work with your backup to establish a schedule of when they will call on your referral partners.  Do not make demands, but rather help your backup to determine when they could most easily call on your referral partner.  In many cases, a simple phone call will do while you are away.  No matter what backup procedure you establish in the office, be sure to let your referral partners know that you will be gone, for how long, and who they should contact in your absence.

And start this conversation early.  Do not wait until your last visit before you hop on a plane to tell your referral partners you’re headed to the ski slopes for a week.  Start these conversations as early as a month before your absence.  This builds trust with your referral partner, letting them know that you have their best interests in mind. 

For your best referral partners, try to introduce them to your backup before you leave.  Be open and honest with you referral partners, letting them know you will be on vacation, and when you will return.  Do not be tempted to tell your referral partners they can still call you while you are away.  As disciplined as you may be, the odds of missing an important phone call while vacationing with your family are high, and you shouldn’t take that chance.  Let your referral partners know what they should do while you are away, that they are in good hands, and that you will be following up when you return.  Then turn off your phone and your computer, trust in your team, and have a great vacation!

Question:

What do you think about calling on facilities in the evenings and on weekends?

Answer:

Actually, this is a great idea!  There are a number of reasons to visit a facility during off hours.  Often, key decision makers are expected to work at least one weekend a month, and some evenings, and these shifts are usually neglected by sales reps.  This could be a great time to catch that DON or Administrator that has eluded you during normal business hours – not to mention that family members visit most often on evenings and weekends.  When they are looking for support for their loved ones, they will turn to the evening and weekend staff for help.  If you are not visiting with the after-hours staff, will they refer those families in need of your agency?  Finally, the challenges a facility faces at night and on the weekends may be different than those they express during the week.  By discovering those additional needs, your solution presentation will become even more effective.  We don’t recommend off hours visits every week, but consider working it into your strategy, particularly in accounts where you may be struggling.

Question:

My manager makes us do role plays, and I hate it. How can I convince my manager that role plays aren’t necessary?

Answer:

Well, you may not like my answer, but role plays are critical to your success. You’re not alone; most salespeople cringe at the thought of doing a role play in front of their peers. For some reason, most reps would rather practice their skills in the field where business it at risk, instead of amongst friends. Role plays, however, are the best way to practice new skills, and work on improving existing skills. And your peers and managers can help you to see areas for improving your skills that you may not otherwise have recognized. If your hatred stems from fear, take a deep breath, develop a great pre-call plan for your role play, and allow yourself to be coached to even greater successes. Remember that by perfecting your skills in your office, you will positively impact your future success in the field.

Question:

How do I know when to take a prospect off my list?

Answer:

It is important that once you’ve assigned a prospect to your list that you work it effectively until one of 3 things happens: the prospect moves, dies, or retires, the prospect becomes an account, meaning they start referring, or you and your manager decide that the potential you once saw in the account is not in fact there.  Be careful not to jump to this conclusion too quickly however.  Relationships take time to build.  Until you are at a point in your relationship with your potential referral partner where you can ask “what is it going to take to get a referral”, you’re not ready to take them off your list.  If you have asked your needs assessment questions, presented you and your agency as the logical solution to meet the referral partner’s needs, and you still aren’t seeing the referrals, then it may be time to lay your cards on the table and ask “what is it going to take.” You will be surprised how often your customer will tell you exactly what it’s going to take.  At that point if you are able to deliver on what the referral partner is asking, then consider working the prospect a little longer.  Focus your efforts on what you now know to be the true need.  If you cannot deliver on what the customer is asking, then it’s probably time to move on.

Question:

I am a Sales Manager, and my salespeople are nurses.  This is great, except that they keep getting pulled from sales to help with clinical activities.  How do I set goals for them when their time spent actually selling is so unpredictable?

Answer:

In our industry, this is a challenge many agencies face.  When nursing staff is short, it’s very tempting to “borrow” a qualified salesperson to fill in.  While convenient, this is NOT a good solution.  The easiest solution is to clearly define the role of the salesperson before they are hired, and then strictly adhere to that role.  All members of leadership in the organization need to commit to adhering to the assigned roles, or else you’ll end up with problems like you mentioned.  If it’s too late for this, then it’s in the best interest of the organization to determine how the employees’ time will be split, if at all, and strictly enforce that.  Sales takes planning, focus, and consistency—ALL of which require dedicated time.  Once it is determined how much dedicated time the individuals will commit to selling, then you can set goals accordingly. 

Question:

Do you have any good marketing ideas for holiday giveaways?

Answer:

Instead of using giveaways to market during the holidays, why not focus your efforts on an actual holiday-centric marketing campaign?  Develop a holiday marketing strategy that includes a clearly defined message that illustrates the benefits your services offer to referral partners, patients, and families during the holiday season.  Let your referral partners know that you’re available 24x7, even during the holidays, as the greatest gift you can give your referral partners at this time of year is help with their workload, and peace of mind that their patients will get to remain in their home during the holidays.  And how about family support?  Family support is such an important piece of what home care and hospice are all about.  What better time than now to market family support?  The holidays are a time when family gets together, and their focus should be on spending valuable time together, not being caregivers.  Let us do the caregiving instead. 

If you feel like you have to spend money and take a giveaway, that’s fine.  But whatever you give out, don’t hinge your holiday marketing strategy on it.  In fact, none of your strategy should be about the gift.  Holiday gifts, by themselves, will not sell anything.  And always remember to check with your compliance and/or legal team before you give out anything to be sure you are practicing legal marketing activities.

Happy Holidays!

Question:

What is the best “ask for the referral” question?

Answer:

The best “ask for the referral” question really depends on the situation.  While something like “who can you think of that could benefit from our services today” is almost always appropriate, I wouldn’t classify it as the best question.  The better way to ask for the referral is to tie the question specifically to the types of patients you have been discussing with your referral partner, and include a benefit to the referral partner.  If your probing questions have led you to talking about a specific patient type, than I would ask for one of those patients.  Saying something like “which of your CHF patients can we get on service today, so your phone isn’t ringing this weekend” is a good example.  If your probing questions have led you to talking about a specific challenge your referral partner is having, and you know you have a solution to alleviate that challenge, I would ask which patients are contributing to the challenge and when can we get them on service to make that referral partner’s life easier.

Question:

How do we handle the objection, “We already refer to several agencies we’re very happy with and they are meeting all our needs”?

Answer:

Using the feel, felt, found method, you would answer:

I appreciate that you are happy with your current agencies. Most of my best accounts told me the same thing the first time I called upon them, but what they found was that we had the only ___ program in the area. Tell me what is most important to you when matching a specific patient with a particular agency.

Or you can answer, “That’s great. I am not looking to replace your favorite agency, but rather see how I can earn the ability to be your first second choice.”

Question:

What is the best comeback from being treated rudely?

Answer:

Unfortunately, most of us have been in this situation. So we’re walking into an account, we have a great plan, and it’s going to be a great call, right? And then we’re turned away, scowled at, or blown off. In some cases, we’re treated just plain rudely. So what to do?

The key thing to remember is: DO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY, and don’t respond in a confrontational manner. You may have inadvertently walked in at the worst possible time. For example they may have gotten some bad news or been yelled at, or there may be other outside variables that you have no control over. Their rude behavior, while directed at you, had nothing to do with you. So don’t take it personally, and don’t react with rudeness.

You’ve heard the old adage, “Kill them with kindness.” Apply it here. Smile, thank them for their time (regardless of how limited it was), and try again another, hopefully better, day. Too many salespeople, after encountering rudeness on a sales call, are afraid to return to that account. Don’t be afraid; regroup and try again another day. A lot of sales reps get so upset and end up making a mountain out of a molehill, and it affects their entire day, or even their entire week. As a sales rep, an occupation that puts us in many situations of rejection, it’s important to NEVER make a mountain out of a molehill. Most referral sources don’t know or care about who you are, and as such NOTHING is ever personal. Remember, always smile, keep a good attitude, and when you encounter rudeness: kill them with kindness. You never know, they could realize how they are acting and give you a referral!

Question:

I find the Feel, Felt, Found method difficult to use. Any suggestions?

Answer:

When using the feel, felt, found method, it is not important that you use the words “feel, felt, found”. What is important is the message. When using this method, all we are really saying is “I understand, you’re not alone, and there is a solution.”

The “Feel” statement is just a way of saying we empathize with the customer; we understand how they feel and they are right to feel that way. The “Felt” statement is really just validation; other people have felt the same thing, it’s okay to feel that way. And the “Found” statement is really the solution; others that felt the same as you did found that we offer the solution.

So find the language you are comfortable with in order to deliver this message of empathy, validation and solution to your customer. And remember to practice. The “Feel, Felt, Found” method can feel uncomfortable at first, but with practice will feel natural. A great way to practice is to use it outside of the industry. The next time one of your kids says “I don’t want to go to practice” or “I don’t want to eat my green beans”, practice the feel, felt, found method. I bet you’ll find you already use it and didn’t know it.

Thanks for your question!