Leading Home Care Report #115 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Overcoming the Tension Between Clinical and SalesCreating Alignment to Grow Your BusinessJuly 18, 2007~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In this issue...-- Some Tension is Healthy-- Five Ways to Reduce Unhealthy Tension Between Sales and Clinical-- Making the Approach: Advanced Sales Training for Home Care Professionals-- Certify Your Home Care Sales Professionals-- Help for Hospital Based Home Health Agencies-- Latest Postings on our Blog: Home Health Care Leadership Minute-- Thanks for Your Kind Notes-- About the Author-- Permission to ReproduceWould you agree,
. . . that there seems to be constant tension between your sales representatives and your clinical managers or intake team?
Yesterday, I flew to Tampa, FL for a meeting with two Executive Vice Presidents for one of the fastest growing home health companies in the country. They asked me to come down to meet with them to discuss their organization structure, and how they can be sure of having the right structure in place to double the size of their company in the next three years.
One of their concerns is this tension between sales and clinical. Here's what I told them:
Some Tension is Healthy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Every organization I have worked with over the past 30 years has had some level of tension between sales and marketing, operations, and finance. Tension between these three areas of your business is normal, and can be healthy.Where this tension becomes unhealthy is when the sales representatives or the clinical liaisons get so frustrated with the clinical managers that they stop going after the business. Or, they just quit.
Or the tension can be unhealthy when the clinical managers think you are only looking for new patients, growth, and profits and you don't care about patient care, quality, or compliance. When they get scared about these issues, they dig in their heels and don't budge.
When this issue came up, I asked my new clients a simple question.
"In those offices with the most tension, are they short staffed in nursing?"
"Yes, they said. How did you know?"
Well, you see, it's pretty simple. Whenever we see a home health agency that is short staffed, it creates a tentativeness on the part of intake and clinical. They are less willing to take new patients. They find ways to not accept a case.
Then the marketing people get tentative in their efforts because they don't want to disappoint a good referral source by asking for a referral and then not being able to admit the patient. It becomes a vicious circle. Not enough staff. Clinical becomes less willing to accept new cases. They push back on intake. Intake becomes tentative. They refuse cases. Sales reps get upset. They call intake and complain. Intake blames clinical.
The result is that there is no focused, aggressive effort to grow the business. Growth slows. Your competitors begin to erode your market share. If you're not careful, you'll find yourself losing referral sources because you're not there to help them take care of their patients.
Five Ways to Reduce Unhealthy Tension Between Sales and Clinical~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Healthy tension between sales and clinical is normal. Here are six things you can do to make sure that tension does not build into conflict that gets in the way of growing your business:1. Set Clear Sales Goals
Set SMART Goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based - for your sales and marketing activities. Let your clinical managers know that they need to support the sales and marketing team in achieving those goals.
2. Clearly Define Admission Standards
Work with your clinical managers to clearly define your admission standards. Communicate the standards to your sales people so they are clear about which patients you will and will not admit. It's their job to education physicians, discharge planners, and other referral sources about the criteria for patient admission to home care.
3. Hire Ahead of the Curve
Always be recruiting nurses and therapists, even when you don't have an opening. If you find a great clinician, hire them immediately. Then turn your sale team loose to find new patients to fill the visits to keep the nurses busy. In this day of nursing shortages, you will rarely be overstaffed with nurses.
If you find yourself with too many nurses and not enough patients, it's because of this tension between sales and clinical. If you can find the nurses, your sales team will find the patients.
4. Track Referral Conversions
Set up a system to track every referral that comes into the agency, and the % that are admitted. Use this information to meet with sales and clinical to work out issues that are getting in the way of growing the business.
If sales is bringing in a large number of referrals that are not admitted, then you need to get both sides together to look at the specifics. What is keeping those patients from being admitted? Not enough staff? Patients don't meet the requirements? Clinical is getting too picky about the cases they'll take?
5. Create Accountability
Hold both sales and clinical accountable for growth. If you are not getting referrals that turn into admissions to meet your growth goals, bring the two sides together. Work to get them in alignment and focused on the goal. Don't let them stay in a mode of placing the blame on the other side. They need to be working side by side to achieve your mutual goals.
6. Train Your Sales Reps to be Team Builders
As part of your sales training process, teach your sale representatives how to create teamwork with the intake department and the clinical managers. If they are bringing in referrals that are not being admitted, they have a responsibility to work with intake and clinical to find ways to get more referrals that can be admitted. They need to sit side by side on the sofa focusing on the problem, not arguing back and forth across the table about who is to blame.
Making the Approach: Advanced Sales Training for Home Care Professionals~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Strategies and insights to grow your home care sales team, make more effective sales calls, and get more referrals that turn into admissions.
Are you looking for information to help your home health care sales representatives be more effective in bringing in referrals that turn into admissions?
Are you looking for a detailed, step by step sales process for communicating with physicians and discharge planners?
If so, you'll want to order a copy of our newest eBook, Making the Approach: Advanced Sales Training for Home Health Care Professionals. This 92 page electronic sales manual will take your new sales representative through the first call, the second call, the third call and beyond.
Most home health sales people never get past the first call. They stop by the doctor's office and introduce themselves. Then they don't know what to do next. So they bring lunch. They order donuts. But they don't get referrals.
Stop the craziness. Order this book today. Read it thoroughly. Then call us to explore how you can have Michael Giudicissi coach your sales representatives one-on-one.
Certify Your Home Care Sales Professionals~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~One of the biggest challenges facing rapidly growing home care companies is the ability to recruit, select, hire and train effective sales representatives. The need is great, and the supply of experienced home care sales pros is limited.
Get ready for a fresh approach to home care sales training that will take the guesswork out of predicting the success of your sales team. A program specifically for home care agencies that want to develop Certified Home Care Sales Professionals.
Stephen Tweed and Michael Giudicissi at Leading Home Care have teamed with Dr. Tray Dunaway to create an in-depth, focused sales training program and certification designed to give your sales people the knowledge, skills, and focus they need to reach even the most difficult referral source.
Then we teamed up with Decision Health, the publishers of... Home Health Line, and Success In Home Care... to create an exceptional workshop environment in which to provide this training. Join us in San Antonio, Texas on September 24, 25, and 26 for the 2007 Home Care Sales Professional workshop.
Don't Delay, Register Today!
Help for Hospital Based Home Health Agencies~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Home health agencies that are affiliated with hospitals and health systems face a unique set of challenges. The free standing agencies always complain about how easy you have it. "They get all of the referrals out of their hospital."
You know that's not true. Being part of a hospital or health system has its advantages, but it does not automatically mean you get the referrals. And, you face some obstacles that make it more difficult to get the staff and the resources you need to grow your business.
Now there's help in sight.
Leading Home Care announces the launch of a brand new service just for hospital based home health agencies. We're delighted to announce that Judith McGuire, a 30 year veteran of both hospital based and free standing home health agencies, has joined us as our Hospital Home Health Specialist.
Judy will be working exclusively with hospital and health system based agencies to grow your business, increase profitability, improve quality, enhance integration with the hospital, and help you measure and manage your critical measures of success. For more information, look at these new web pages. Then call us toll free at 1-888-668-9333 to set up a complimentary consultation with Judy.
CLICK HERE for more information on growing your hospital based agency.
Latest Postings on our Blog: Home Health Care Leadership Minute~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Here are the latest postings on our BLOG, the Home Health Care Leadership Minute:
- Another Look at the Uninsured In America
- SEIU Launches National Health Care Union to Transform Healthcare in America
- How's Your Quality . . . compared to the industry?
- Canadian Home Care Association to Advance Information Technology Agenda in Home Care
- What do you think about "Sicko?"
- Family Caregiving Costs Employers $33 Billion Annually
- Home Care on top of the list of Top Twelve Jobs for growth in U.S.
Thanks for Your Kind Notes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks so much to all of you, our readers, who sent such kind and encouraging notes after our Fourth of July message. We received hundreds of emails back from you reinforcing the article that I wrote about freedom.We appreciate hearing from you!
Best wishes,
Jason Tweed
About the Author~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stephen Tweed, CSP, is Chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company. For nearly 25 years he has been a recognized leader in strategy and leadership development for home care companies and associations. He is the author or co-author of five books, four of which were written specifically for the home care industry. He has served on the boards of directors of three not-for-profit home care agencies, and has served as interim President & CEO of a $25 million home care company.
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.
Permission to Reproduce~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Permission is granted to healthcare publications, associations and companies to reproduce this article in your publication, or to distribute copies to your leaders, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Stephen Tweed's Leading Home Care Report. Copyright 2006 Stephen C. Tweed. To receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."
Contact Leading Home Care~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~email: stephen@leadinghomecare.comphone: 1-888-668-9333~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~