Hi folks, Steve “The Hurricane” here, and for today’s episode of “A Drink With The Hurricane,” we’re gonna talk about turning a prospect phone call into a paying customer. So raise your glass and let’s toast to your success, cheers.
This is “A Drink With the Hurricane,” the talk show discussing all things growing your home care business. This video is sponsored by Home Care Evolution where we help home care agencies adapt to changing circumstances, transform their business so that they can thrive for years to come.
So in a nutshell folks, this episode is about inquiry management. You got a prospect calling you, you wanna be able to turn that prospect into a paying customer. There’s processes, there’s ways of answering the phone and so I’m gonna turn this episode over to Alex Winningham who’s one of our amazing coaches who excels at inquiry management. So take it away, Alex.
Hey there, this is Coach Alex with Home Care Evolution and in today’s video, we are going to go over how to turn a phone call into an appointment. Many, many, many clients that I work with have the challenge of turning an inquiry call into an assessment. And the reason is because either they lack confidence in what they’re selling, or they lack the awareness of how to set up that next appointment and how to have that authority on the call. So today I’m going to go over a few tips that will help you in scheduling appointments from the phone calls that are coming in.
So the first tip is understanding that everybody in your company should know how to do a sales call, everyone. If the phone rings, anybody could answer it. And if they answer and they say, “Hey, I’m looking for services, can you help?” And they say, “Yes, but let me place you on hold and grab somebody who can help.” Let’s pretend somebody’s not there that can help. “Oh, we’ll call you back. No one’s available right now,” click, they’re onto the next person. So the first thing that you wanna do is make sure that your entire team knows how to answer the phone if an inquiry comes in. It is super duper important that everyone takes ownership for that awesome phone call that’s gonna come in and that we can at least know the certain steps.
So you might be asking, “Alex, what are those steps?” Well, what we cover in lesson three of Advanced Training inquiry management is called Answering the Phone. We have what’s called an incoming prospect call sheet. And with this, it goes into exactly what we need to be asking for while we’re on the call. The three most important things that we need to know is the caller’s name and their relationship to the potential client. Also, we need to know their phone number and then we need to know who referred them. So, the caller and their relationship and how they’re related to the person, their cell phone number, and then who referred them to us. Knowing who referred them to us is super important for other reasons that we’ll get into in a different video but it ties back to marketing and being able to thank the referral source. Knowing where your business comes from is super important.
Now, back to how we’re turning this into an assessment. As you’re going through the questions that you’re asking the incoming caller from the incoming prospect call sheet, make sure to say, “Hey, before we go any further, is it okay with you if I ask a few questions, just to make sure that we’re the right company?” Nine times outta 10, they’re gonna say yes, that that’s fine. One time out of 10, they’re gonna be like, “No, I just need to know the price.” “I’ll help you with that.”
So as you go through the questions, you’re going to find out what’s the prospective client’s name, where do they live, what’s their date of birth, what’s going on, what’s the situation, what has them calling you today, are they mobile, are they able to use the toilet on their own, what’s their memory and behavior like, what sense of urgency do we see here, how quickly do they wanna get started, and then their height and weight. This lets us know kind of an idea of what type of care this person’s going to need and how soon they’re going to need care. And then before you get into setting up the assessment, make sure that you have some key points to communicate to the person that’s calling in. Let them know, are you licensed, bonded, and insured? What kind of training do you do with your employees? And do you have a minimum? If so, what is that minimum? Is there a cost for their initial consultation? Probably not, but what you can do is say, “Hey, we don’t charge for an initial consultation to discuss services and options and only discuss rates if they’re asked.” And then if you do need to give them the rates, give them a range, give them, “The cheapest service in our area is $28 an hour and the most expensive is $40 an hour. We’re not the cheapest, but we’re also not the most expensive. We’re usually right somewhere in the middle. It just depends on the level of care that your loved one needs and we’re able to assess that by seeing your loved one in person and getting that appointment set up. Plus the sooner we can get an appointment, the sooner I can get the perfect caregiver for your loved one.” That gives them that sense of okay, this person’s gonna take care of me. It also gives them the sense that you are the expert and that you are in control of the sales process.
Next, we’re going over when you’re answering the call a couple of things you can do. Stay calm and collected, have a helpful and customer service oriented mindset and smile. People can hear smiles through the phone. And I want you to maintain control. So that takes us back to when they’re asking a lot of questions, then they’re running the call. So switch it back by showing them that you are the expert and you start asking them questions. Now remember if they want the price, Steve the Hurricane mentions the bathroom remodel example. So in this example that you can also give to the prospect that’s calling in, kind of think about it like this. If you were calling a bathroom remodel company, they would not be able to give you a quote over the phone. They’d have to come out, they’d have to see the area, and they’d have to go over the different materials and the different timelines that they have and kind of what your goals are as far as your budget goes. Same thing goes for home care and we’re doing a lot more than just remodeling a bathroom. Remember to practice active listening, and qualify the lead. Track all the calls that are coming in. And did you know that those who are tracking are making on average an extra $800,000 per year? It’s amazing so make sure you’re tracking everything, make sure that you’re calm and collected. You’re helpful, you’re smiling, you’re confident and that everyone in your office knows how to take a call. And you can do that with the prospect call sheet. Hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed recording it and sharing this information with you and we will see you on our next video. Coach Alex, over and out.
Alex, thank you so much for that. That was fantastic information. So folks, if you wanna be able to get more referrals, get more caregivers, work less hours and make more money, then do yourself a favor, click the link below and register right now for the Home Care Evolution conference, where I promise to give you everything you need to blow away the competition.
So folks, I’m Steve the Hurricane and I spent three days teaching all these people how to–
“Blow away the competition!”