PRICE = What you pay
for what you get
VALUE = What you get
for what you pay
Big difference...
no?
If you're a private
pay homecare
provider, you're
already intimately
familiar with this
equation. Many of
your customers ask
about PRICE first,
when what they
really need to learn
about is the VALUE
you provide to the
caregiving process.
It's human nature to
ask "what does it
cost?" before really
asking "what is
it?", but if we sell
based on price,
we're essentially
discounting the fact
that a great
homecare experience
is PRICELESS and a
bad homecare
experience is not
acceptable AT ANY
PRICE.
Lest you hospice and
skilled homecare
providers think this
article is written
for our private duty
brethren, hang in
there... it's really
written for you. You
see, when you work
in the world of
private pay and it
really DOES matter
(to some degree)
"what it costs", you
have to pay
attention to the
rate per hour, day
or whatever. When
you work in the
state and federally
funded world of
Medicare & Medicaid
(and their private
sector
counterparts...
HMO's and the like),
you might find it
convenient to forget
about "the price
paid" to do business
with you.
A word of caution...
don't.
Think about PRICE in
these terms... what
is a referral source
"paying" to do
business with me? In
essence, what
investment do they
have to make in
order to refer to
your agency? I've
asked some case
managers recently
about what they put
on the line when
they refer to an
agency... here are
some comments.
- Their
referral process
is more
complicated than
some other
agencies.
- I put my
reputation on
the line when I
refer to an
agency.
- If there is
an issue, do
they take care
of it quickly or
is the patient
calling me to
fix it?
- I only see
them when they
want referrals
(ouch!).
- I need to be
comfortable
working with
them...
- I need to
trust them.
So... even though no
money is paid by the
referral source or
the client in these
situations, it's
clear that there is
a PRICE to pay to
work with your
agency. If we accept
that fact... I have
to ask... what VALUE
do your referral
sources get when
working with you?
My hope is that your
answers are
something like
this...
- Even though
our referral
process is more
detailed, it's
so we don't ever
have to call
back and get
more
information.
- We promise
things that we
know we can
deliver... and
we do.
- Our
reputation for
quality is hard
earned... and we
keep earning it
every day.
- We are
innovators in
the delivery of
care and disease
management
programs.
- We are
committed to the
intelligent use
of technology in
the delivery of
care.
- We have an
entire agency
totally focused
on delivering
excellence in
customer
service.
- If we make a
mistake (rarely)
we apologize, we
fix it and we
learn from it.
You see, the
statements above
(and your own, just
like them) are the
"value delivery" in
return for the price
paid to work with
you. Given my
druthers, I'd love
to be the agency in
town that was the
easiest to refer to,
had the most
caregivers available
at all times, had
the best customer
service, the most
professional sales
team, etc... etc...
etc. The reality is,
you're probably not
going to be the best
in ALL of these
areas. If you were,
there wouldn't be
much need for any
competition, would
there? So if there
are areas where you
are not the BEST in
something, what
other VALUE are you
providing. This is
called your value
proposition.
One thing I stress
with my most
excellent group of
sales coaching
clients (they really
are a great group of
people), is that I
(as a salesperson)
should never go out
and sell what I
think is important
to ME. I should
ALWAYS go out and
sell what I KNOW is
important to my
referral source. How
do I know these
things? (big sales
tip coming...)
I ASK!!
Once I know what is
most important to my
referral source I
can present my
agency's strengths
in the best possible
way for that
referrer. I don't go
in and say "you
really should refer
to us because we're
the biggest agency
in town with lots of
nurses"... instead
I'd say "we have a
large, well trained
clinical staff, and
can tell you within
2 minutes if we're
able to assign a
nurse or therapist
to your patient".
Even if you think
I'm nuts for that
last statement, do
you see how each
sentence really
means the same
thing, but the first
one says "pay a
price" while the
second says "here's
the value"?
I talk with many
salespeople in our
industry that wonder
what to do after the
first call. The
answer is simple,
find out what
"value" is important
to your referrer,
and deliver on it.
If you cannot
deliver on it,
figure out why, fix
it, then deliver on
it. If what your
referrer wants is
not an item of value
that your agency can
or will EVER
deliver, find
someone else to sell
to. It's easy for me
to say, "deliver
value to the
relationship", but
the challenge lies
in your hands to
find out what that
value is.
No matter what
services you sell,
your referral
sources are going to
invest something...
they're going to
"pay the price" to
some degree, to work
with your agency.
Before you or your
team make your very
NEXT sales call,
determine what value
you intend to
deliver during the
call... and then do
it!
Some sales reps
visit, some sell...
and there are a rare
few who are so
valuable to their
relationships, that
you'd sooner squeeze
blood from a stone
then get a referral
from "their"
sources.
Price?...
immaterial.
Value?... priceless.
