Home Care Referrals
Good morning everyone. I just have to take a moment to extend a very big THANK YOU to the 150+ individuals from Home Care companies and our gracious Sponsors who attended the Hurricane Marketing Boot Camp last week in Washington DC. It was such an amazing way to celebrate my 10 year anniversary in Healthcare. You are all amazing and I am forever changed after having met and trained you. Can’t wait to see you all again in Phoenix for Hurricane’s Inside Sales Boot Camp 2.0!
In this week’s episode of “A Drink with the Hurricane”, you see a dramatization of something that I feel happens all too often with in our industry. We are talking about the Bribes! There are many out there (Fortunately, they represent a small percentage of people) that feel “If I take someone out for lunch, they owe me referrals!”
That is WRONG!
No one owes you referrals, or anything really, if you decide to take them out for lunch. That is not the purpose of the meal and thinking this way can lead you down the path of fraud and you’ll gain a bad reputation.
There are 3 reasons for these lunches with potential referral sources:
- Develop a Business Relationship – We have to drop by and visit our referral sources often. However, when we do, it’s rare we catch someone and they can sit down to talk to us for 30 minutes, leading to a deeper relationship. By treating someone to lunch, this gives us time to get to know that individual and strengthen our relationship. (Which happens to be the #1 greatest opportunity for business growth, as per the 2015 Home Care Pulse report) This MAY lead you to referrals.
- Find out their “Pain Points” – A pain point is something (a part of their job) that is difficult and they cringe at the thought of dealing with. A Difficult Discharge, for example, is a pain point for a social worker as she isn’t sure what the right course of action is. (or it’s going to take a lot to make it a safe discharge) This is where you come in as the solution to her problem. If you can convey this, I am certain you’ll get your referrals.
- Education – We are there to educate them on our business, the services or products we provide, and how working with us will help improve outcomes resulting in successful discharges. (and happy patients)
If you remember these reasons when you’re scheduling and completing these in services, you will be on your way towards getting the referrals you’re after. This will also help create and establish your reputation as a positive resource with in your market, which leads to a long term success.
There is one last point to be made here. If you ever come across someone in a position to refer you, and she are looking for a bribe, what should you do? Avoid that person as if she had Ebola! She will not last long in her position, because this is unethical and if she’s doing this for referrals what else is she doing? You may also blow the whistle if you have a strong relationship with the rest of the contacts at the referral source. (I don’t recommend blowing the whistle if you don’t, as it may be viewed as “Sour Grapes”. But if you know everyone well, definitely say something as they would want to know if someone’s asking for a bribe.)
Case and Point, always do right by your customers and referral sources, and you will know success beyond your wildest dreams. Leave your comments below, let’s get some discussion going, have a great week, and have fun out there. God Bless.
