There's definitely an art to building a successful nursing home marketing plan, and a recent Marketing Roundtable we had with some successful members on the subject revealed some valuable advice. If you missed the first post on this subject, you can find that by clicking here. This post deals with how to respond to resistance and rejection when you're trying to get in the door.
A lot of people get hung up on what to do when the nursing home receptionist puts up a stop sign. Do you shrug your shoulders and move on to the next place?
Many times, your next course of action should be to figure out if the facility has a marketer or an admissions person; often it will be the same person serving both roles. That person's job is basically like our job, trying to create new relationships, so if you can’t get through the door from outside, the marketing/admissions at person can provide you with another path. They know you can actually be a source of referrals for them when clients come to you before they're in a nursing home, so they see the value in forming a mutually beneficial relationship. You can often use that relationship to get to the business office manager or the administrator.
One approach to consider – the marketing people are always trying to do something in the community, maybe by sponsoring a luncheon or CEUs or something in the hospital. You can partner with them on these ventures by sharing costs or doing an informative presentation at the event. You'll just need to keep in mind your goal of establishing a relationship with the business office manager, because that's where your referrals will come from, not from the marketing person. So don't keep partnering on these events if they're not getting you to the right people.
Why the focus on business managers? They’re your biggest opportunity – once you’re in and they see what the benefit is, how you can help them, they’ll put you in front of the administrator. Then you can have your synergy meeting and form that relationship with the administrator. Honestly, the administrator just wants to make sure everyone else is doing their job and it’s getting done right. Once you've established your value, from that point on, they see you there. They know who you are. They don’t want some stranger walking through their building and walking into their back office. They want to know who that person is, so eventually you'll have to get in front of the administrator.
Approach the business office and say, “I can set up a lunch-and-learn with you guys. Bring in the key staff. Bring in the administrator. We’ll bring in lunch. If anyone has questions, throw them at us. We'd be happy t share with you all how we do things.” Inevitably at this point, you will get asked what you charge. And be honest; just tell them what the costs will be. But let them know, we’re going to show you the value of our service and what it's going to cost your client. The process will be transparent to you, so you’re not going to have to worry about a black hole or a non-payment because we’re going to make sure everything falls into place at the deadline just like we said it would happen.
You're probably wondering, how many times should you try to get through to this business office manager before you decide to move onto the next place? We usually give it about three attempts. If you just don’t get anywhere, or you get some pushback or see materials from other attorneys or other senior financial places, then they probably have a existing relationship with an elder law attorney. That's when we go back to the admissions person or the marketing person. Work that angle again, because they’re just much more accessible and can help you get back into the business office. Once you've formed that relationship, you will have a strong advantage over someone else who has tried to get in the door by just dropping off a business card.
We will have more to say on this subject in future blog posts, so be sure to check back for the next piece soon.
Roslyn Drotar – Coaching, Consulting & Implementation, Lawyers With Purpose
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