Senior Living Business Development

Missed Opportunity to Grow Qualified Leads from Referral Sources

Through my work as a consultant and sales coach in the senior living industry one of my objectives is to have clients engage in a business development strategy targeting potential professional referral sources to increase qualified leads. 

Why? Two Reasons. 

1. We shouldn’t rely on APFM and other paid sources for leads, move-ins, and census growth. 

2. Referrals from trusted professionals, such as healthcare providers and elder law attorneys, typically move in at twice the rate of any other class of inquiries (even word-of-mouth leads).

 This past week I coached the teams at 2 clients as they targeted healthcare referral sources to develop leads for assisted living and memory care.  I thought you’d be interested in the results:

Total Contacts Made (1.5 days)    14

Types of Organizations Contacted

Skilled Nursing Facilities, Independent Living Facilities, Hospices 

Current State of Relationship - No previous relationship but were working on pending discharge     

Contacts Made     1

Current State of Relationship - Has existing relationship and received referrals    

Contacts Made     5

Current State of Relationship - No existing relationship – Cold Calls    

Contacts Made     7

Results

My client was working on a move in being discharged from a SNF. We met with Director of Social Services to assist her with the discharge and she agreed to schedule a meeting with their department head team. 

60% (3 of the 5) of organizations, with whom my client had relationships, scheduled future meetings with us including allowing us to present at upcoming quarterly clinician staff meetings. 

43% (3 of the 7) of organizations, with whom the client had no previous relationship, we contacted cold met with us and scheduled a future meeting with my client. 

50% (7 of the 14) of the total organizations contacted met with us, without an appointment, and scheduled future meetings with my client.  

Anecdotal Comments and Observations

• One social worker at a subacute rehab mentioned that most senior living companies didn’t provide enough information to help her patients. Also, she did not know my client existed. 

• My client was prepared with everything that she needed to help her new BFF with the discharge planning process for a new resident by having all her forms handy. It made the social worker's day when she produced the form after the referral source said she had lost her copy. 

• I am confident that we would have met with the 2 existing referral sources if they had been in the office. 

• Most of the ‘cold calls’ with organizations that had no relationship with my client were receptive and would have put us through to our target if they weren’t in a meeting. ALL provided the contact's name, telephone number and email so we could contact them later to schedule a meeting (I’ll write a follow up to this blog to share the results with you). 

Strategy Breakdown

My clients and I were successful because we used 3 distinct strategies (described below) that are almost universally ignored by many senior living communities and other healthcare organizations that are creating and executing a business development plan. When executed well, like my clients did (with a little help from yours truly), achieving results like the ones above are predictable and reproducible. 

Strategy 1: Target Referral Sources You Share Residents/Potential Residents With

If you are sharing a resident/potential resident with a healthcare provider, they are prime target for your message AND your assistance in the discharge planning process. This shared responsibility could be the start of a beautiful relationship. You’d be shocked at how easy it is to get into see a hospital case management department or Director of Social Services at a rehab, when you’re stopping in to ‘help coordinate the return of our resident to your community which is their home.’  

Strategy 2: Stop Talking to Sales Reps! Talk to the People that Actually Care for the Patient! 

When we network, we usually meet our partners in crime, the reps from other providers who care for our targeted population. Of course, we’re buddies with them, they’re just like us! However, most reps can’t send you referrals. Who can and will send you referrals? The clinicians who are working with the patients every day.  Ask the sales reps you are chummy with to help you schedule a staff meeting in-service for their team. A good partner will do this without hesitation. If they don’t do it, drop ‘em as partner. 

Strategy 2: Prospect for New Referral Sources - THAT ARE JUST LIKE YOUR EXISTING ONES. 

I have yet to meet a client that has referral relationships with every organization in their market that cares for their target population. 

“Sales and Marketing is a Numbers Game!” I have always hated this statement, but truth does lie within it. The more people and different organizations who you build relationships with and hear your unique message exponentially impacts your ability to generate referrals/leads other than from paid sources. It takes time to build your network of relationships, but it is worth the effort. 

Luke Fannon, the Founder of The Fannon Group, has 33 years of experience developing healthcare and professional referral relationships and teaching others how to do it well. For more information on how Luke can help your organization, please call Luke at 484-429-5846.