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2 Key Points for Generating Referrals Through Strategic Outreach

Referral Source Development is a critical component to any sales plan. If a community is simply relying on traffic generated to them they are missing a big piece of the lead pie. Follow the tips below to make your outreach efforts strategic and effective:

  • Referral Source Development must happen consistently. Emphasis on the CONSISTENLY piece. Here’s the thing, we can talk about great ideas all day long, but if no one is actually getting out and conducting the sales calls, no good is going to come of your thoughts! A minimum of two times out per week is a must for a successful plan.
  • Sales calls must be scheduled and planned. This means the referral source needs to know when and WHY you are coming. Emphasis here on the WHY part. We hear so often, “I was just dropping off brochures, cookies, etc.” Unless you are dropping off a million dollars referral sources don’t want their time to be wasted! You must have a defined purpose to be there. Even if it’s as simple as, “We partner with a number of practices like yours in the local area and I wanted to specifically talk about the clients you are helping to see if it would be mutually beneficial to partner as well.” Make sure your reason is clearly defined so you are building value vs. wasting time.
    • Point two, planning out the sales call goes beyond just a reason step. Think about the questions for discussion. What is it you really need to know from this referral source?
      • What is the primary need of their clientele?
      • What does their discharge planning process look like? Who are the key players involved?
      • Sample objection- “Everyone goes home”- What about those individuals where it’s not safe to return home of their families don’t want them returning home?
      • What’s their primary goal when discharging?
        • Knowing a referral source motivator is key. If you don’t know how they are motivated it’s going to be a challenge to keep working with them. Remember, we want to work with like-minded people. If they aren’t engaged to making referrals or sharing the best resources available, who is within their organization?
      • Setting agreed upon next steps in a timely manner is a must. It’s great to have a detailed sales call, but one sales call doesn’t create a successful referral partnership. You need to think about your sales calls like one puzzle piece fitting into the next. You are building upon what was learned to strengthen the life line and ensure they see the value of their partnership with you and your organization.

The process of generating referrals is just that, a process. You have to build a rapport with your referral sources, you have to know their needs, show them you can meet those needs and then deliver. Follow this and you’ll see much stronger referral relationships.

While there is much to do, these steps are an excellent start. This is a time of total transformation for our industry and it’s so exciting to ponder how important our role is to the future of care. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us → and we can get the conversation started!

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