Duration: 29m 37s
Relationships are at the heart of everything we do, from the connections we build within the Right at Home network to the inroads we make in our own communities. We often think about making those inroads by building deep and lasting connections with caregivers, clients, and their families. And these relationships are of course vital.
But it’s just as critical to make community inroads by nurturing relationships with local referral sources – with the home care, hospice, hospital and rehab facilities treating and advising your prospective clients. So what can you do as a franchisee to nurture these relationships, and what kinds of support resources can Right at Home provide as you do?
To find out, host and Sr Vice President of Franchise Development & Sales Jen Chaney welcomed Lisa Thompson for an illuminating Tuesday Talk. In addition to her work as our Director of Sales, Lisa also plays an instrumental role in Right at Home’s Strategic Referral Network. This is a valuable corporate resource that supports franchisees as they work to build relationships with potential referral sources.
Our chat with Lisa was an amazing opportunity to learn more about how to build, nurture and keep the relationships that make Right at Home franchises so impactful in their respective communities.
Making the Time to Get Personal
There are all kinds of ways to nurture relationships. But ultimately, there’s nothing that compares with face to face engagement.
That’s why, says Lisa, “the goal is to go from the phone into the home, because we know that we can convert leads or potential clients into actual clients if we can get in the home, in the living room, sitting on the couch, it’s just a much better relationship.”
This is especially true in the early stages of growing your franchise. Getting out there and meeting people where they are most comfortable and accessible is essential to building trust, creating connections, and becoming a fixture in your community.
Strategic Referral Support
The good news is that Right at Home offers all kinds of resources for helping you build and keep these relationships. In fact, you’ll begin focusing on this priority from the very beginning of your time as a franchisee. Every new franchisee is invited to a Resident’s Week at the Right at Home headquarters in Omaha. Sales training is a big part of this experience.
But as Lisa points out, your training begins even before you arrive. New franchisees receive a combination of instructional videos and direct personal support so that, as a franchisee, “you can go out and make relationships to drive those referrals into your office. And you can physically have an active part in making your phone ring.”
By the time you arrive for the start of Resident’s Week, you will have mapped out all the potential referral sources in your territory. By the time you leave at the end of the week, you’ll have an actionable plan for how to begin your outreach to all the home health, hospital, hospice, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation facilities in your territory.
Start With the Low-Hanging Fruit
Your starting point for outreach will depend on whether you’re opening a brand-new franchise or acquiring one already in operation. Lisa advises that “if there’s a home health or hospice that you are sharing care with, or you’re in a community that you’re providing care in, that’s your lowest hanging fruit. You have a relationship with them already, because you’re sharing care.”
If you haven’t yet built that connection, your shared clients offer a great common ground for initiating contact. “If you don’t have a relationship with them,” says Lisa, “then that’s a way for you to go in and make a relationship very quickly.”
Naturally, your strategy will be a little different if you’re purchasing a franchise that already has a footprint in your territory. “My first knock on the door on Day One would be to go and reintroduce myself and let them know, ‘Hey, we’re sharing this patient-client together. This is my name, this is my number.’”
Leveraging Alliances
Lisa also highlights the importance of taking full advantage of Right at Home’s strategic alliances. At the corporate level, Right at Home cultivates partnerships with national home health care companies, national hospice companies, long-term care facilities, and third-party billers. Franchisees gain access to these alliances through referrals for their respective territories.
As a new franchisee, says Lisa, “you could be part of that, and you could get referrals driven to you if you’re signed up for that type of strategic partnership.”
Of course, what you do with these valuable leads is entirely up to you. As Lisa notes, “ We’re going to guide you as to who they’re going to be and how you can find them. And we’re going to even arm you with key target profiles.”
However, “it’s going to be up to you to go and establish those relationships.”
Transforming Leads Into Relationships
Lisa highlights a few of the keys to transforming your leads into lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. It begins with information gathering. You need to be sure that you’re asking prospective referral sources all the right questions.
Understand what each potential source of referrals needs out of this relationship. What are their desired patient outcomes and how can your franchise help them meet these goals? Ultimately, it’s about forming a connection based on your shared goals.
Once again, the very best way to achieve this connection, says Lisa, is face to face.
“You can call. You can email. You can do a mix of all of it,” says Lisa, “but I think in-person is the very best way to establish a relationship.”
Overcoming Sales Anxiety
One of the biggest challenges for many new franchise owners is adjusting to the role of salesperson. For some owners, it comes naturally. For others, it takes a little work. Fortunately, Right at Home offers all kinds of support and training to help you get there.
“We’ve added some fun interactive things during Resident’s Week,” Lisa tells us. “We do some role playing, which I know gives a lot of people anxiety. But honestly, we make it really fun, and it’s much better to practice with your peers where you feel sort of comfortable.”
What about finding that same comfort zone with real-life leads? That starts with one key piece of wisdom. It’s not about selling. It’s about solving problems.
“I’m not going to teach you to run in and tell them all about you and how great you are and that you give the best bath in town,” says Lisa. “I’m going to give you questions that you can ask to learn more about them. And when you earn the right to ask for business or provide a solution, then it should feel good. Because we are providing an amazing service for seniors to keep them home and help them age with dignity.”
Patience and Persistence
Just like building a successful business, building meaningful relationships can take time. Fortunately, being a part of the Right at Home network does give you a common starting point with a lot of prospective referral providers.
“Some of these [national] relationships, like home health and hospice companies – we can make these partnerships and we know that we have the same type of mission,” says Lisa. “We know that we complement each other’s services. We know that we align very well on this health care continuum together and we need each other.”
But it will be your job as a franchisee to truly leverage these relationships at the local level. That means going the extra mile every time, says Lisa.
“The referrals that you’re going to drive locally, from your hospitals, your home health,” explains Lisa, “they will not be bought. So they’re going to be relationship-driven, trust-driven. They will be driven by your work and your time.”