How should I decide which referral partners to work with and which to avoid?

Finding the right referral partners can have an incredible impact on your business. Unlike digital marketing such as Google Ads or SEO, which target consumers directly, building relationships with referral partners can give you access to a steady stream of consumers in need of care services. The question is: who should I target and how do I build relationships with them?

Dominate at “Point of Need”

Let’s start with targeting. Put simply, you should target those who interface with seniors and their families at their “point of need”. The reality is that the home care industry is driven by seniors in crisis.

Sadly, it’s usually after some major event such as a fall, hospital visit or illness before seniors and/or their families consider home care. A referral from a health care professional who engage with patients and/or families at their, “point of need,” is what initiates most home care services.

In fact, 80% of revenues generated in the home care industry come from warm referrals from health care professionals. Every home care business that is serious about growth should adopt a business-to-business marketing model that helps you target and influence those who can recommend your services to seniors in need. Your marketing strategy is to dominate at the point of need. Having a dedicated marketer in your community building referral partners is the key to success!

Targeting the Right Places and the Right People

Building a robust database of influence centers or referral sources is the first place to start. Analyze your territory or geographic coverage area and consider all the places where seniors go for care and companies who provide care. Use a senior resource directory to help you identify care centers. Do a Google search to find the names of senior care facilities. Below is a list of the influence center types you should look for to get you started:

Geriatric Psych hospitals
Home health agencies
Hospice companies
Doctor offices
Memory care communities
Assisted living communities
Skilled nursing facilities / rehab centers
Hospitals

Consider places where seniors live and are managed and supported by staff who can identify a senior in need:

Independent living communities
55+ communities
Retirement villages

Consider community support organizations and companies whose mandate is to help seniors:

Support groups – Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Alzheimer’s / Dementia Associations
Support groups – Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Elder law attorneys
Trust Managers
Insurance agents (Long term care insurance)
Churches

The bulleted list above are the main influence center types that should be included on your target list. Let’s now review who, within those influence centers, you should visit on a regular basis. Below is a table outlining the people in positions, who interface with seniors and their families in need. These are potential referral partners for you to target.

Influence Center Types	Business Opportunities	Positions of Potential Referral Partners
Skilled Nursing Facility / Rehab Center	Discharging more than 10 patients a week to home Onsite one-on-one care C.N.A. Staffing	Discharge Planners Therapists (PT, OT, ST) Administrator DON (Director of Nursing) Staffing Coordinator Admissions Coordinator
Hospital / Geriatric Psych Hospital	Discharging 100’s of patients a week to home Patients in bundle programs transitioning home C.N.A. Staffing	Discharge Planners Referral Managers Chief Outcomes Officer Chief Nursing Officer Specialty Units – Dementia, Surgery Centers, Cancer Units Staffing coordinator
Assisted Living / Memory Care Community	Residents in community Marketable amenity for potential residents Residents transitioning back from hospital or rehab Staffing	Executive Director / Administrator DON / Nurse Manager Staffing Coordinator
Independent Living / Retirement Community	Many residents in the community who need help to remain in place and safe Residents transitioning back from hospital or rehab	Community Manager / Administrator Activities Coordinator

Influence Center Types	Business Opportunities	Positions of Potential Referral Partners
Home Health Agency	Patients currently receiving home health (HH) services, but needing extra care Patients in bundle programs	Therapists Regional Manager Clinical Liaison
Hospice / Palliative Care Agency	Patients currently receiving care needing but needing more assistance	Director Nurses Clergy Volunteers
Doctor’s Office (Geriatric Focus)	Older Patients needing help Patients with chronic conditions	Doctor / PA Nurse Practitioner Clinic Manager Referral Manager
Associations / Support Groups	Members who are looking for and need care services	Program Manager Member Services Manager
Elder Law Attorney / Trust Manager	Current clients who are needing care services	Attorney Office Manager Client Services Manager Trust Officer
Insurance Agents	Customers who purchased LTC, now looking for services	Long Term Care Insurance Agents
Churches (Large Senior Population)	Older congregants and families needing direction and care support	Pastor of Senior Ministry Leader of Senior Ministry Leader of Home Support Ministry

You won’t be able to visit every center in your community. You should try to target 25-30 centers per marketing person and visit those centers every week. Some centers are a must to target and some you should avoid because they can’t help you. Below are questions to ask yourself as you finalize your target list:

Do I have relationships already established?
Can the clientele afford my services?
Do I take payor sources (Medicaid, VA, etc.) that most patients have in the center?
Can I access the people in key positions to visit regularly or reach, via other means such as phone calls, emails, etc.?
Do the centers have enough seniors in need to make it worth my while?
Do I know anyone who has great relationships at the center that I can leverage to help me get in the door?

If you’re just starting out, take a couple of weeks to build your database. Call the centers and get names for people in the positions outlined in the chart. It sounds tedious, but you must start somewhere. Try to schedule meetings as you fill in your database of potential referral partners. Do not waste your time calling on centers in low-income areas who could not afford your services unless you take Medicaid. You can make more of an impact focusing on more affluent areas if you are strictly private pay.

Referrals come from relationships and relationships are built from frequent touchpoints. You should try to see your potential referral partners each week. Using a route planner will help you stay organized and ensure you consistently hit your weekly targets. Consistency builds trust which leads to true partnership. Your goal is to develop as many referral partners as possible to have a steady flow of referrals and grow your business.

Business-to-Business Action Plan

Create a business-to-business marketing plan with a dedicated marketer in the field
Target 25 – 30 Influence Centers – build a database of centers
Identify the key people within those centers who engage with seniors in need
Add them to your database with key contact information
Target about 75 people a week from your target centers
Visit the potential referrers each week to develop them into referral partners

Written by Debbie Miller, Founder of 52 Weeks Marketing.

To learn more about the 52 Weeks Marketing methodology and the turn-key marketing system developed for home care providers, click on the link below to schedule a 10-minute introduction to the system. https://calendly.com/52weeksmarketing

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