Home Care Pulse
Sales can be intimidating no matter what stage your home care agency is at. Here are a few easy strategies to try during your next sales call.
Maintaining consistent sales numbers is often the trickiest and most stressful aspect of owning a home care company. Without a skilled sales strategy your company will flounder or sink. The best sales teams use practiced sales techniques to highlight the unique benefits of their products and to help clients feel confident in their home care services.
While you should never use sales tactics to manipulate or trick potential clients, understanding the techniques of expert salespeople can help you to improve your pitch and more skillfully connect with potential clients. Here are a few easy strategies to try during your next sales call:
1. Make It Personal
While the selling points for your home care services are important, it’s the personal touch, rather than the hard facts that will persuade new clients to choose your company. Before you start selling your services, get to know your potential clients. Ask them about what’s important to them and tell them what’s important to you.
Don’t neglect the facts and figures that make your company the best, but don’t neglect the stories and experiences that make your company unique either. Use the client’s first name often and treat her or him like a friend. While your selling points may give clients confidence, it’s your personality and warmth that will seal the deal.
Use these tactics to improve your annual number of admissions and convert inquiries to paying clients.
2. Be Specific
While people tend to make decisions based on emotions, they want to believe those decisions are also based on rational thought. Prove to them that you really are an expert in your field by using the specific numbers that will matter most to them. If they’re concerned about liking a caregiver, tell them a few stories about your caregivers and back up what you’re saying with actual satisfaction ratings.
People like to be in the majority, so tell your potential client how many people in their area are using your services. If one of your clients lives just down the street or in the neighboring subdivision, let the potential client know. Knowing that people like them are using your services will comfort them and help them gain a sense of belonging with your company.
3. Talk about Losses
Rather than listing off what your clients will gain through your services, take some time to let them know what they’ll lose if they don’t use your services. Often the fear of missing out on something good is a stronger motivator than the possibility of gaining something good. Frame the unique perks of your services as advantages that they would lose out on if they went with a competitor.
4. Offer Them Something
When you give someone a gift, it not only demonstrates your generosity, but it also makes the person want to return the favor. As you meet with potential clients, start or end the meeting by offering them something. It could be a cup of tea or coffee or a simple treat, or if you’re meeting over the phone, you could send a card or a useful article. These personal touches are inexpensive and make your company stand out from the competition.
5. Give Yourself Time
Give yourself a pocket of free time after each sales call in case the meeting runs over. Clients who don’t like drawn out explanations won’t need that extra time, but other clients will want to go through every detail before they sign.
Make sure you have a firm understanding of the sales process but recognize that the time it takes to complete it may vary from person to person.
Don’t rush the clients who need time. Be patient and let them think it through. Rushing the close of the deal may make them panic and back away from a contract they would’ve happily signed a few minutes later. Let them breathe and feel like they’re in control of their buying experience.
Sales calls can be intimidating, but when you use these techniques, both you and your potential client will feel more comfortable.
(Related article: 6 Keys to Nailing Home Care Sales Calls)
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