"The best guide for Home Care Services - Hands down!"

"An essential resource to be carried with you at all times."

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:

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!