Making the MOST of Power Partners

Yesterday at corecubed we were busy on the phones taking in new inquiries, and like all savvy marketers should, finding out how they heard about our services. We were delighted to learn that several of the callers were reaching out to us because they attended the Hurricane Marketing Boot Camp in Washington, DC last week with home care sales training coach Steve Weiss and his team. Having sponsored the last boot camp, we at corecubed know that participants leave feeling energized and equipped with a solid sales strategy.

Steve, also a trained minister, preaches to home care agency owners and salespeople about a concept he calls creating “Power Partners” – a way to get referrals from those within the industry. The key is a cross-referral mechanism. But, how do you get their attention? That’s where corecubed comes in, as we have the power to implement a marketing strategy, branded to the agency with the agency’s own messaging as a component of our offerings. As the health care delivery system matures, and more people are vying for attention to provide services, offering information and education on how an agency can help in a variety of scenarios is the crucial to winning business and getting attention.

So, I Googled “Power Partners” this morning and came up with the following: “Partnership is defined as a voluntary collaborative agreement between two or more parties in which all participants agree to work together to achieve a common purpose or undertake a specific task and to share risks, responsibilities, resources, competencies and benefits.”

The fact that we received several serious inquiries who are ready to implement speaks to the “power” aspect of Power Partners, as working with referral sources clearly enhances a business’s ability to reach a broader audience, whether that business is a marketing firm or a home care agency. And, we have been targeting specific referral sources since we started marketing, with the inception of corecubed in 1998.

You see, my background in starting, growing and running an agency gives us that advantage of 17 years of experience actually practicing what we preach. Has marketing changed in the past 17 years? Absolutely. The addition of technology and digital marketing has changed how and when people get information they need to make decisions about care. However, what has NOT changed is the information that people are searching for in order to make a care decision.

The competition has also changed, as in grown. There is simply much more competition from other agencies, from the underground economy, from the larger health care delivery system that is now integrating home care into many other facets of their operations.

However, what has NOT changed? Again, it is the information sought when decisions are made.

Having the best sales force will, no doubt, bring in sales and some new referral sources. However, meeting the needs of those seeking care will increase those numbers exponentially, and, meeting those needs online will only allow more people seeking care to find their answer in the agency that educates, meets the customer or referral source where they are in the buying process, and acts immediately to secure a spot in the searcher’s list.

So, thanks to those in the home care industry who understand that partnering is good. Competition keeps us all on our toes. And those seeking care for someone at home have a lot of learning to do in order to make the right decision.

Call us, email us, visit our website and think “partner” when you work with us, as we do bring “power” to the relationship, and help you grow your business.