Recently, I watched the movie Home Alone with my family. While a movie about the earth’s two most inept burglars might not seem like it relates to your services, you may want to look again.
I want to explore some key moments of the movie Home Alone and how its timeless message also mirrors many home health, private duty, and hospice providers (and their sales people).
Key Moment #1: Kevin is left ALONE
Obviously the entire movie centers around eight year old Kevin Mcallister being left home while his family travels abroad. This is a nightmare scenario for any parent for sure, but think about Kevin. At first he is elated to be home without this “family oversight” that is causing him so much stress. I imagine many salespeople relish the freedom that their position allows. Some will thrive and even rise to the occasion like Kevin, but even more will act like the 8 year old child that is left home would normally act. Confused, unsure what to do, and not able to get want they want (referrals).
Key Moment #2: Thieves come to take the Mcallister’s Possessions
I mean, if the door knob is that hot, why hold on to it? If there is a blow torch blowing on your head, why just stand there? You think you are bad at your job?! They were awful! Your competitors are out for the same business you are. They want your referrals and many of them will resort to whatever means necessary to get the business that you are working for. How do you prevent them from taking your business? Process…but we’ll get to that in a moment.
Key Moment #3: The “scary” neighbor reconciles with his son
This is a huge moment in the movie. The original perception was that the neighbor was a murderer that somehow escaped justice and was now living next door! That perception was proven false. He was actually a caring man who ultimately took a chance that lead to a beautiful moment with his son where they spent the holiday together.
What do you think your referral sources think of the services you provide? Do they see a caring agency that makes a daily business of changing the lives of their patients or do they see another provider asking them to do more work so you can get paid? That’s a tough one for many agencies. You have to reconcile the experiences that have lead them to dislike working with agencies like yours to the joy that comes from working with you.
When you can shift their perception (just like the neighbor and Kevin sitting down and getting to know each other at the church), you can help them to see you for the beautiful, life-altering superheroes that you and your agency are. Without the opportunity to prove it, however, you are going to live as the misconception instead of the miracle you are.
What do these three key moments have in common? They all speak to the responsibility of your salespeople, reps, marketers, or liaisons. They control the reputation and census volume of your agency.
Knowing that, have you:
#1: Left your salespeople on their own with little guidance?
#2: Sent them out without a process to differentiate from their competitors (ultimately letting your competitors steal your referrals)?
#3: Neglected to provide them with the tools necessary to CHANGE the way they are seen by their referral sources?
For many agencies the answer to all of these questions is yes. Not because they are bad agencies, but because we are not used to spending resources on preparing our salespeople to be successful. We expect them to be good already. We often hire folks with a book of business already in hopes that they will immediately bring referrals.
Imagine instead, how powerful giving your team a sales process (the clinical equivalent of a care plan) to follow that would get them the results that both you and them want. Now imagine it costs less than a referral in most cases. You really don’t have to imagine. The tools you need are already out there and they are ready to be used.
Consider:
PDGM for Marketers and Liaisons: This short course includes access to a pre-recorded educational webinar training and supporting PDFs (including the presentation).
Orientation to Home Health, Hospice, or Private Duty: Digital comprehensive guides to understanding how each business line works.
High Performance Sales Academy: The 5 Step Selling Process explained with supporting video training, educational video games, and PDF/Excel Documents for download.
High Performance Sales Coaching + The High Performance Sales Academy: All the process training from the HPSA + six group coaching calls with Cheryl and Melanie and a separate course designed to further your strategic approach to your market.
Masters of High Performance Selling: MIPS? Care Plan Oversight? Giving Presentations? The Masters of High Performance Selling is the next step in the High Performance Process. It’s built to take relationships you have built to the next level. Hours of video training, educational supplements, and
The Roadmap to Referrals: Your ultimate guide to positioning yourself for referrals is found here. A strategic plan for all 52 weeks of the year with diagnosis based education, handouts customized with your logo and info, and a monthly group webinar that will prepare you for each month. This proven strategy is easy to follow and has lead to massive referral increase. Bonus: Home Health is now optimized for PDGM! Sign up before the 13th to get started!
By clicking on the above links you will be taken directly to the checkout page for each program. If you’d like more info you can explore them on our homepage or email mike@homecaresales.com to arrange a demo.
Make sure your team isn’t Kevin McAllister this year. Give them the proven tools for High Performance.
Happy Holidays!
– Jason
About the Author:
Jason Lewallen is Vice President of Marketing
for Home Care Sales
He can be reached at:
Email: jason@homecaresales.com
Phone: 615.815.7907
PS: Might want to consider…
If you are a home health, hospice, or private duty agency who struggles with:
- educating your referral sources
- not having professional handouts with the correct clinical/treatment info
- not knowing what to say to drive referrals
- not having time to train your sales team about diagnosis specific info
…then the Roadmap to Referrals program is the answer you have been looking for. Agencies are using this methodology to gain more referrals and position their entire sales team as experts.
It’s a plan for every week of the year and can lead to double and triple the referrals you are currently getting. The investment is a mere $500 per month. That’s less than a fraction of a referral!
***Home Alone is the trademark of Disney Media and 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved.
