Following Up on Home Care Referrals: A Professional Guide
When a new lead comes to your home care agency from a trusted referral source—be it a current client, a local healthcare provider, or a Medicare coordinator—what’s your next move?
Effectively following up with leads requires careful planning and practice. In this guide, we’ll outline the essential steps for reaching out to new referrals and converting them into clients.
Key Considerations for Managing Home Care Referrals
1. Ease of Referral: Ensure it’s simple for your contacts to refer clients. Provide them with both print and digital materials to inform their referrals. For current clients, run email campaigns that facilitate easy contact sharing.
2. Speed of Follow-Up: Quick follow-ups are crucial. The longer you wait, the higher the chance a competitor will secure the client.
3. Immediate Customer Journey: The customer journey begins as soon as your agency is mentioned. Make a positive first impression.
4. Persistence: Closing sales with home care referrals requires persistence. Remember, 80% of sales close after five follow-ups.
5. Lead Qualification: Not all leads will be ideal clients. Conduct phone screenings promptly to vet them. If they’re not a fit, refer them to another service provider, maintaining reciprocal relationships with other agencies.
Steps to Follow Up on Home Care Referrals
1. Prepare with a Sales Script
Equip your sales team with a consistent script to guide calls, ensuring all points are covered and maintaining a uniform strategy.
2. Acknowledge the Referral Source
When contacting the lead, explain how you received their information.
Example:
Hi, I’m calling for Stacey DeMarco. My name is Gabrielle Coleman, I’m a client services director at Caring At Home. Rachel Short at St. Elizabeth’s Residential Care Center gave me your contact information. She mentioned that they did an evaluation with your father Charles and determined that home care may be a better option for him. I’m reaching out because I think we may be able to help. Is now a good time to talk?
3. Confirm Their Needs
Ensure you understand their requirements and confirm how you can assist.
Example:
I understand that you were looking for some personal care assistance for your father, like help with meal prep, maybe light exercise, some social activities. Is this right? Can you tell me a little more about what you’re looking for?
4. Demonstrate Your Expertise
Build trust and credibility by explaining why your agency is the right choice.
Example:
We have 16 years of experience providing in-home personal care for people like your father, and many of our personal care providers are licensed CNAs.
5. Schedule the Next Interaction
Secure a follow-up interaction, ideally a face-to-face evaluation.
Example:
I’d like to go ahead and get you scheduled for an evaluation with our clinical care coordinator Darren Sharpe. He’ll come by your father’s house and conduct an assessment and talk about your options. Would Tuesday afternoon work?
6. Thank the Referral Source
Express gratitude to the source who referred the lead. Send a personal message or make a phone call, updating them on the lead’s status.
Use this opportunity to discuss the quality of leads they send, ensure they understand your services, and offer further guidance. Ask how you can reciprocate.
Tracking and Managing Leads
At Home Care Marketing Pros, we excel in lead management. Our CareFunnels platform helps generate, organize, and nurture home care referrals, turning them into clients through thoughtful, organized processes. Want to see how we do it? Book your demo today.
