Has anyone ever said to you, “What do you have to lose?”
I’ve heard it a million times. Usually in relevance to a risk I’m considering or in the face of a challenging piece of work that I don’t want to do.
As an example, my wife likes to remind me that we bought a 100 year old house. We can’t hire a handyman for every little thing. “Why not give it a try? What do you have to lose?” She often prompts me to give repairs a shot. As a result, I’ve become quite handy over the past two years.
Today, I want to talk about what you have to lose in regards to making sales calls. It may sound controversial, but I believe you have a great deal at risk when you step out of your comfort zone and begin to challenge your referral sources for patients they may not be referring. Let me explain.
I am of the mind that referral sources need help identifying patients. They see potential home care, home health, and hospice patients everyday that they don’t refer. It can be scary for you to challenge their inaction. Here is the thing: What you will find in most cases is that your referral sources don’t see it as an argument, but an educational moment.
Yes, you may be saying something like, “My doctors wont listen to me because the believe they know everything!” Well, that can be the case. However, you will also find physicians that have the clinical knowledge to see the value of your services.
They know the danger a CHF or COPD patient is in. They know which families are struggling to manage their mother or father in the home. They know which patients have a terminal condition that are trying to make the most of their remaining time. They know that part. What they don’t know is that you offer REAL solutions for those patients.
They see so many company reps for so many different things and have come to believe that many of them just want to take advantage of their patients’ medical benefits. They (just like you) often have the best interest of their patients in mind.
Back to the question:
“What, exactly, do you have to lose?”
If you challenge them you risk a great deal. I’ve listed some of the possible outcomes below for your reference.
- What if your physicians create too many admissions on a Friday? How will you staff them?
- What if your patients get better and don’t need your services anymore?
- What if word gets around that you can do this for practically ANYONE who meets the criteria?
- What if your patients get better and don’t need your services anymore?
- What if word gets around that you can do this for practically ANYONE who meets the criteria?
- What if your agency has to hire more staff? Imagine the work involved with hiring and training!
- How will you process the thank you cards? There is only so much wall space in your office.
- What if other agencies like DME or Home-Infusion Pharmacies try to partner with you due to the amount of good work they see you doing? Managing partnerships isn’t always a walk in the park.
By now you can see that I’m just being humorous. Above I outlined some of the challenges that successful agencies face. There is really only one minor risk. They might say no or not refer. At which point, you will move on. It’s really simple.
You have so much to gain. Seniors (or your patient population mix) have so much to gain. Even your referral sources have so much to gain. Healthy patients make many more billable visits than ones who can’t leave their home!
Don’t let fear of them saying “no” keep you from offering benefits to EVERYONE! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Have a great week!
– Jason
About the Author:
Jason Lewallen is Vice President of Business Development
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 52 Wk 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!
