Insights: When we have to turn away a referral because of staffing, how do we maintain credibility?

Video Transcript:

You know, unfortunately, one of the problems that we bring to our clients is that when they’re using our tactics, such as the roadmap to referrals and the high performing sales Academy, they end up bringing in so much new business that sometimes they have to start to pick and choose the clients that they wish to serve, and maybe clients that they don’t necessarily want to have on service.

So sometimes you were going to have to turn down a referral or there’s just maybe not a caregiver available and you can’t serve that patient.

Maybe you don’t have an aid that’s got time that’s available that day that the client wants to have service.

Whatever the issue is, this is a problem that you’ve got to handle professionally.

And I want to caution you on one thing that I have seen owners and sales people do over and over again, and they do this the wrong way, when you turn down a referral don’t lie.

Just tell the truth, unfortunately we don’t have staff to cover that patient.

Unfortunately you know we’ve got tons of medicaid patients on our service right now and we’ve got to stay budget neutral, so we really only have room on the schedule tomorrow for medicare patient.

Tell the truth, the truth is going to first of all set you free and you’re never going to have to remember what you said, if you tell the truth.

I also want to make sure that you are confident in knowing that when you were saying no you’re saying no just to this patient but ask for another patient to serve.

You know, for example, let’s say I can’t take a patient today and 19121 that’s just a zip code I’m just too busy right there I don’t have another nurse or another staff member that can get in that zip code today or tomorrow and I’m just so sorry, however, you know over in 19154 and North of that I’ve got a nurse that’s available, I’ve got an aid that’s available.

We could easily do somebody in that area, maybe there’s somebody else’s referral that you could switch around give them this one that I can’t handle and give me the one I can.

So ask and be honest and be transparent, it happens to me all the time that there’s somebody in one county that I can’t cover,

but boy I wish I had 10 more patients over here in this other county where gobsmacked just bittin at the bits, right there just dying to get that extra referral.

I think that just again making sure whenever you say no only say sorry once. You lose your authenticity at saying sorry that I can’t accept a patient

when you say it over and over again. I was listening to a phone call just the other day for one of our clients,

and it started off with oh I’m so sorry but we’re not going to set Mrs. Jones then they gave the reason why I’m really sorry I just too terrible that I can’t accept it, you know

we’re just so busy, and I just can’t take it, and then going on and on, I could see that the referring account was losing their mind listening to the long repeated over and over again apology so apologize once be consistent be sincere and tell the truth.

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Home Care Sales