What can you learn from a 250-year-old tree in Alabama about home care sales and home health marketing
As we come to the 3rd week of working with teams across the country during the pandemic this morning, I reflected on the emotional journey I have witnessed with the agencies we work within our consulting business as I sit under this magnificent 250-year-old live oak tree.
First, there was denial – I heard reps and owners saying, “Oh, we will not be out of the field long. A week tops, and then we will be back into our referral sources.”
Next, came fear – “Oh no, how are we going to market? What is going to happen to our agencies?”
Then came anger – reasonable great humans lashed out about things that usually would have been no big deal. People misinterpreted well-intentioned actions as something nefarious.
Last week – about Tuesday, I saw a dramatic shift in the teams we work with – it was their ability to stand up and not just accept their “new inside sales role” but start to “own it”!
They were making headway.
Referrals were flowing again.
They were having meaningful conversations with their referral sources. They were becoming stronger, steadier, just like this oak tree.
I imagine this oak tree has seen a lot over its 250 years. We live on the plot of land that has been long attached to the Grand Hotel just a mile away. The hotel was converted into a hospital during the civil war again turned over to the Air Force in WWII. And still, it stands watching over all of us. The oak’s steadiness and strength continue to give us perspective. We love this tree. It holds the swings for the boys, and it gives us shade and makes us feel safe and calm. That is the feeling that we are drawn to – safety, comfort, strength, steadiness.
That is also what your referral sources are drawn to – safety, comfort, strength, steadiness.
That is what I felt this week – the reps had a plan, they had their scripts, they had meaningful sales actions to do, producing results, and they felt powerful!
When you feel secure in strength you can take risks and do things you haven’t done before (like my 21 year old and husband deciding to climb a tree – See pic above…)
I loved to see that this week. I have been reading a ton on mindset – since I believe so much of how we make it through this pandemic as Home Care Sales reps, Hospice Liaisons, or Home Health Marketers is about mindset and the ability to “skill up.” I have read it takes about 14 days for new business skills to become integrated. (this makes sense to me as an OT – we used to say there is a golden period of 2 wks to get a patient to integrate their prosthesis – if they learn how to do ADLs without the prosthetic, then they never would use it. I think we can apply the same concept here with our teams)
And for our teams who have had a daily plan, script, and requirements, its been about 10 days of them executing the plan.
This gives me hope because it means we can reproduce it with your teams.
Together we are stronger!
We have our empowerment energy on “High” so that you can take your new skills and drive referrals to your agency even in this uncertain time. People need you more now than ever!
Your voice is the voice that needs to be heard right now!
Shine bright!
Serve more seniors!
Melanie
#HomeCareStrongerTogether
