In this episode of “A Drink with the Hurricane,” I’m going to start off by painting a picture for you.
You are, a brand new Home Care Marketing Rep, and it’s your first few weeks on the job. You hear that Social Workers are in a position to refer you business. So you muster up the guts to go for it, after all…it is your job. You go to the facility, greet the receptionist, and ask for the Social Worker. And then…you get SHOT DOWN! Crash Landing!!! “She’s in a meeting,” “She’s busy,” “You don’t have an appointment,” or “She doesn’t want to see you.” This is the reality folks. Being a Home Care Marketing rep is a tough job!
This is exactly what happened to Tony in the dramatization video above, and its exactly what happens to us all when we try to get established into referral sources. Many of them don’t allow solicitors, are difficult to get into because of security/HIPAA reasons, and they are already working with our competitors. So how on earth are we supposed to get in there to earn their business? Is it even possible? Is it worth it? The answer is YES, WE CAN and IT IS WORTH IT!
The secret lies in our relationships outside of the referral source. You see, at every referral source, there are already several vendors who can go into the building without getting stopped by the gatekeeper. They have developed a long-standing, professional relationship with that account that results in referrals. They know everyone who works there, too. These individuals are what I call “Power Partners.” They represent other companies which offer services or products that are synergistic with ours, but they don’t compete with us (even though we are looking for the same client often). They go to the same accounts we do for Home Care Referrals, and because they’ve been doing for this for many years, they don’t get stopped like we do, because they belong at these places.
In the second example, you see me representing a Hospice company that is already getting referrals from this account. When I walk in, I ring the bell and sign in, just like everyone else. But notice what happens when Nicole comes to greet me? She recognizes me and knows who I am. We had some quick banter, I introduced Tony as my friend who works for a Home Care company, and then I tell her that he is shadowing me for the day. She’s fine with it, because she trusts me, and she even gives me a heads up that the Social Worker is busy, but the Administrator isn’t and I should start my visit there. Thanks Nicole! You’re awesome. I then open the door, as I have 100x prior, signal Tony to come in with me, and walk behind the scenes to blanket the referral source.
This is something I lived for nearly 8 years as a Home Care Marketing representative. Every referral source I was able to get into initially, I did so through other people giving me warm introductions. In time, I developed so many accounts that it would be a tit for tat trade off. (Meaning, I would introduce you to my accounts if you introduce me to your accounts). Eventually, I started doing this for new marketing reps myself, as a way to “pay it forward.” This is how the world works. Every marketing rep was new at some point. Every business owner had to take that first step opening their doors. That’s a fact of life. As a result, those more seasoned individuals often see something in us “Newbies” that reminds them of their earlier days. These are the folks we need to seek creating a power partnership with.
I have spent the last 3 years training 1000s of people on how to create power partners. These are all things I discuss daily in the Team Hurricane Forum on Facebook. It’s also a vital part of developing referral sources (including SNFs, which is the featured webinar of the month for March). If you’re not getting the referrals you want; if you could relate a little too much to this dramatization, or if you simply can’t get past the gate keeper at one account…then I strongly suggest you sign up for Team Hurricane right now. Get the know-how, so you can confidently do what you need to do in order to get those referrals. It is my mission to help those who want to be helped. My goal…help you BLOW AWAY THE COMPETITION!!!
