Home Care Marketing
It’s 4pm. You just walked out of another referral source that was too busy to see you. They took your information, they said they would call you if they had someone for you, they asked you to leave. You’re exhausted. It’s been a long day. You have had no success and are defeated. You think to yourself “Man, this is tough! I’ve hit all these places, spoke to 8 or 9 people. I think I’m going to call it a day and start fresh tomorrow. I’ve reached my quota, I’m good.”
Sound familiar? As I write this, I am reminded of the countless days I’ve felt the same way. It’s not something fun. This leads to marketing reps quitting or business owners giving up and closing their doors.
They say that the night is always darkest before dawn. And with that in mind, I want to encourage you to go for one last visit in the 4 O’clock hour. Right when you’re about to throw in the towel, that’s when you have your greatest success of the day.
In the video above, I mention Pat, one of our earliest clients from CA and share his similar story of how he was beaten down all day. He had reached his desired goal of contacts for the day, but nothing good came of it. He thought “Let’s go home”. But he knew his Coach and I would be disappointed in him for not going to that last account. So he buckled down, drove to one more potential referral source, a place he had been shot down before in the past, and mustered up enough energy for one more sales call. He walked into the account and everyone who saw him greeted him kindly. They sat down and talked with him, they discussed his services, and they even apologized for blowing him off previously in the past. He spent nearly 90 minutes there and got a referral in the process. He was so excited he called me directly (it was after 8pm as I’m on the East Coast) just to tell me what happened. I was so impressed with him in that moment.
It reminded me of the first time the same thing happened to me in 2006. I had been going, and going, and going. No one in any place had time for me. I wasn’t getting the referrals I knew I should. I was striking out and it was awful. It was 3:30 PM and I was sitting in my car outside of a referral source that I needed to go visit, but I thought to myself “I’ve reached my quota for the day. I can just go home, I don’t have to do this.” Something inside me said, “You’re here, just go in and say hello.” Well, boy am I glad I did. The social worker who had blown me off previously was so glad to see me. She said “Come with me,” and we walked out back and she took a cigarette break with me. She started talking to me about her day and all that had happened and how busy she was. She never has any time to see people, but she knew I was always there and she wanted to know what I did. So I told her. We talked for a good 30 mins. We went back into her office and she said, “I have someone who needs you. Can you see them now?” I replied, “SURE!!!” I grabbed my stuff and ran down the hall to see this woman who was desperate to go home, but couldn’t without round-the-clock care. This was the first of many clients that social worker would refer me (and it was 2×12 shift hourly case that lasted 6 months!)
This is why I can’t stress enough the importance of those last calls of the day. Yes it’s hard, yes if you met your quota, you can technically go home. But it’s always in the 11th hour when things happen. If you find yourself at your goal and it’s early, go above and beyond and hit that last referral source for a drop by visit. And if you’re struggling and desperate for business, the last hour of the day is one of the most productive hours to be marketing. Make sure you see people right before they head home. You may walk into a referral on the spot and can make a difference in the life of someone trying to go home for the next leg of their recovery.
God bless everyone and have a great week.
