Welcome,

...to this edition of Stephen Tweed's Leading Home Care Report. This special report is for CEOs and senior executives of America's leading home care companies. This report is published every other Wednesday by Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company for our clients, friends, and advocates who want to grow their home care businesses.

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As I read through the introduction, I was amazed by the results of the research on charitable giving in America, and the paradox that was presented. It struck me that the lessons about charitable giving have some interesting potential parallels with running a successful home care company.

The author is Arthur C. Brooks, a professor of public administration at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His book is entitled, Who Really Cares: America's Charity Divide - Who Gives, Who Doesn't, and Why It Matters.

Brooks conducted an indepth analysis of charitable giving and volunteerism in America and a number of other countries to identify who really gives to others and who doesn't. The results were quite surprising. And his conclusions are supported by lots of data.

And you know me... "Dataman"... as one of my NSA speaker friends calls me. "What gets measured gets managed. What gets rewarded gets repeated."

Here are some interesting data points from Dr. Brooks report:

• Private charitable donations in the United States add up to one quarter of a trillion dollars per year.
• Three quarters of this amount comes from private individuals.
• That's more than the gross domestic product of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
• Average giving per household has nearly tripled over the past half century.
• 225 million Americans give money each year (75 million never give to any causes).
• More than half of American families volunteer their time each year.
• There is a very bright line between the people who give and those who don't. People who give time and money tend to give a lot of it.
• People who give to charity are more likely to be generous in informal ways as well.
• Givers are more honest; they are half again as likely to return change mistakenly given to them by a cashier.

This last point is an interesting one. The other day I was in my local bagel store. After receiving my order and paying, I noticed that the clerk had charged me for my bagel and newspaper, but forgot to charge for the coffee. I called it to her attention and paid the balance. A woman standing in line expressed pleasant surprise at my action. How come? Maybe she would not have done the same thing. What about you?

What does this all have to do with being a leader of a successful home health care company? Read on!

Get the book, Who Really Cares, online at Amazon.com

• Religion
• Skepticism about government in economic life
• Strong families
• Personal entrepreneurism

The results show that:

• Religious people give more of their time and money than secularists
• People who believe that government should take care of people give less of their time and money than those who don't depend on government
• The American working poor (like home care aides) are very generous relative to their income
• Charitable giving is learned, reinforced and practiced within intact families

What does this mean to you as a leader in home health care?

1. If you run a not-for-profit agency and count on contributions to support your nonprofit mission, you'll want to look to these people for donations.

2. If you run a hospice and are looking for volunteers, you'll want to find these types of folks.

3. If you run a private duty home care company, look for over age 40, religious, conservatives to hire as caregivers. They are more generous with their time, and more dependable and reliable.

Whether you are personally religious or not, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, this book will have some insights that will turn upside down your previous thinking about who cares and who doesn't. You may not agree with the author's conclusions, but you need to look at the data and consider his message. It may give you some totally new insights on how to lead your organization forward. And it will alter your viewing point of charitable givers and volunteers in your own community.

Tell us what you think. Hit reply and write back a note giving us your take on this interesting and perhaps controversial concept.

By becoming a member of Home Care Sales Manager Interactive your sales manager or marketing director will get:

• A bi-weekly electronic newsletter with new ideas on improving sales & marketing
• Access to a members-only web site with articles, sales tools, and a growing list of resources from industry sales & marketing professionals
• Monthly sales manager teleconferences to share ideas and ask questions of other sales managers
• Complimentary copies of CDs from our Leading Home Care teleseminars
• Downloadable audio files of previous sales manager teleconferences
• Members only discounts on Leading Home Care's latest products
• Preview copies of white papers and research reports on sales & marketing research

If you want your sales manager or marketing director to have regular access to the latest ideas and information on home care business development, click on the link below and have that person become a member of Home Care Sales Manager Interactive.

Click here now to become a member!

One way we can help you grow is to train your sales representatives. We're bringing our high-impact sales training boot camp to a city near you in cooperation with your state home care association.

Join Michael Giudicissi, Sales Training Specialist, for a one-day, high-intensity sales training experience brought to you by the California Association for Health Services at Home.

February 26, 2007
Courtyard by Marriott Midtown
Sacramento, CA

February 28, 2007
Marriott Ontario Airport
Ontario, CA

Visit the CAHSAH web site for more details, or to register

It takes innovation, creativity, passion, and persistence. In a brand new, down-home, practical marketing manual published by Leading Home Care, Angie Landmesser and Trisha Menoni give you the details of their innovation and creativity. They show you step by step how to apply their ideas to get more referrals that turn into admissions. They’ll stimulate your thinking to come up with your own innovative ideas that will work for you in your marketplace.

This e-Book is divided into 10 Rules. Each rule features very specific action steps and first-hand examples. You'll have all the tools, forms and ideas you'll need to launch your own expert marketing campaigns.

Last but not least, the authors have created an appendix with web links to 19 resources that will help you implement each action. They'll even tell you the best sources to buy supplies for your campaigns.

For more information, or to order your copy, click here:

Stephen is a past-President of the National Speakers Association, a 3500 member international society of experts who speak professionally. He is also the father of a 37 year-old son who is physically disabled and uses the services of home care on a daily basis.

Meet the entire Leading Home Care Team