They Already Have a Home Care Company—Here’s How You Get In

Listen to the Podcast Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/home-care-marketing-unfiltered-they-already-have-a/id933678323?i=1000789823473

One of the most discouraging things a home care marketer can hear is:

“We already have a home care company we use.”

For inexperienced marketers, that can sound like the end of the conversation.

It isn't.

Hospitals, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, physicians' offices and other referral sources rarely work exclusively with one home care agency forever.

Relationships change.

Staff changes.

Service experiences change.

Availability changes.

Families have different needs.

And sometimes the agency that has been receiving all the referrals simply stops showing up.

That's where opportunity begins.

“They Already Have Someone” Doesn't Mean Stop Marketing

You need to respect existing relationships.

But you don't need to disappear.

If a referral source already works with another home care company, your goal isn't to walk through the door and demand that they replace them.

Your first goal is much simpler:

Become the next trusted option.

If their preferred provider can't staff a case, who will they call?

If a family isn't a good fit for that provider, who is next?

If they suddenly need weekend coverage, 24-hour care or a difficult-to-staff case, who else do they trust?

You want the answer to be your agency.

Somebody Else Can Get Your Referral Source, Too

Here's the other side of this conversation.

Maybe you've been working with a referral source for years.

Then referrals suddenly slow down.

It's tempting to blame the market.

Or the season.

Or the referral source.

But sometimes something much simpler happened:

Someone else showed up.

They were new.

They were consistent.

They brought useful information.

They made a connection.

They asked for the business.

And while you were assuming the relationship was secure, another home care marketer became the “bright and shiny” new option.

Referral relationships require maintenance.

You don't permanently own them.

Consistency Is a Competitive Advantage

Home care referral marketing isn't usually won through one spectacular meeting.

It is won through consistent visibility.

That means continuing to show up every 8 to 10 days at your priority referral sources.

Not for an hour.

Not to demand a meeting every time.

Sometimes you're in and out quickly.

You say hello.

You leave something useful.

You remind them who you are.

You learn what's happening inside their organization.

Then you leave.

This is what we mean by being pleasantly persistent.

Persistent enough that they remember you.

Pleasant enough that they're happy to see you.

Pay Attention to What's Happening

Strong marketers learn to read their territory.

Is the rehabilitation center suddenly packed?

Is the parking lot full?

Has a new social worker started?

Did the discharge planner change?

Is a building suddenly much busier than usual?

Those things matter.

If a marketer says there is “no business” happening at a facility but every parking spot is full, something doesn't add up.

People are being admitted.

People are being discharged.

Families need help.

Someone is getting those referrals.

If it isn't you, it's worth figuring out why.

Don't Just Visit. Ask for the Business.

This is where many otherwise good home care marketers struggle.

They're friendly.

They're helpful.

Everybody likes them.

They bring great leave-behinds.

They know everyone's name.

But they never actually ask for a referral.

At some point, you have to give people permission to do business with you.

You might say:

“Do you have anyone going home this week who could use some additional help?”

Or:

“Any difficult discharges coming up that you're worried about?”

Or:

“If your usual provider can't cover something, please call me. We'd love the opportunity to help.”

Simple.

Natural.

Helpful.

You're not demanding anything.

You're reminding them that your agency is available.

Different Referral Sources Require Different Conversations

You wouldn't talk to a hospital discharge planner exactly the same way you would speak to an assisted living executive director.

Their problems are different.

Their patients or residents are different.

Their pressures are different.

Your referral conversation should reflect that.

A discharge planner may care about getting someone home safely and quickly.

An assisted living community may have a resident whose needs are increasing but who wants to remain in their apartment.

A physician's office may be dealing with a family that repeatedly calls because Mom isn't managing well at home.

The more you understand the referral source's problem, the less your conversation feels like a sales pitch.

Be Helpful Before You Try to Be Persuasive

Some marketers walk into a building radiating:

“I need business.”

Referral sources can feel it.

Especially social workers, case managers, nurses and other professionals who deal with sales representatives constantly.

A better approach is:

“How can I help?”

That doesn't mean pretending you don't want referrals.

Of course you do.

But the referral should be the natural result of becoming a trusted resource.

The strongest home care marketers believe deeply in the service they're offering.

They're not trying to “sell” someone something unnecessary.

They know the right home care services can make a discharge safer, reduce stress for a family and help an older adult remain at home.

That belief changes the conversation.

Differentiate Yourself

If three home care agencies walk through the door and all three say:

“We provide quality caregivers.”

“We're reliable.”

“We care about seniors.”

“We provide personalized service.”

How is the referral source supposed to choose?

Those statements aren't differentiators.

They are expectations.

Instead, give people something concrete to remember.

Maybe your agency excels at very fast starts of care.

Maybe you're particularly strong with difficult schedules.

Maybe your communication with families and referral partners is exceptional.

Maybe your caregivers receive additional training.

Maybe your marketer is simply the most reliable, helpful and knowledgeable person who walks through that referral source's door.

Whatever your advantage is, people need to understand it.

Don't Give Up Because Someone Else Got There First

The agency getting the referrals today isn't guaranteed to be getting them six months from now.

And the referral source who tells you:

“We already have someone.”

may still need you next Thursday.

Your job is to remain visible, useful and professional so that when the opportunity appears, you've already built enough trust to receive the call.

Don't attack the competitor.

Don't criticize the company they currently use.

Don't push.

Just keep demonstrating why your agency deserves to be another trusted option.

Because eventually, every referral source needs another option.

And when that moment comes, you don't want them searching Google trying to remember the name of another home care company.

You want them thinking:

“Call them. They've been coming here forever, and I trust them.”