Author: Patty Cisco, Creative Catalyst, August 18, 2010

I don’t know about you, but there’s always a point in the summer where sales and marketing activities for senior care marketers just seem to go in slooooooooow motion, and that can be bad for business…especially two to three months from now.

With a heat index up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, it seems like everyone is either ON vacation, just returned (and recovering) from vacation … or mentally out of the office.

This is the time of year that can make or break your October/November census/occupancy numbers. There is a direct correlation between the sales and marketing activity that takes place today, and the leads you will generate in two to three months.

Leave no Rock Unturned

You may be feeling that you’ve already looked under every rock for new leads, or that putting together a marketing campaign is just too much effort. If so, this quick and easy tip is a great way to bring in new leads or revive old leads with very little effort.

Following up with prospects and staying in touch with past clients requires discipline and organization. Often, those who have expressed interest in our services fall through the cracks as we take care of current clients or continue looking for new ones.

1. Who have you met in the past year that has expressed an interest in your services? Look through those business cards in your desk or old emails in your Inbox for potential referral sources, take a peek at old inquiry/intake forms, or scour your Referral Management System for leads or discharged patients or residents.

2. What kept the conversation from going further at that time? Why didn’t they choose your service? Were they interested but not quite ready for your offering?

3. Think about past patients or residents who got great benefit from working with you. Are there ways you could still be helping them?

Take Action

1. Make a list of your lapsed leads and past customers.

2. Call each one for a short, friendly “check-in” conversation. Don’t try to sell them your services. Just see how things are going for them and if they are doing ok. It’s fun to reconnect with people after a long time, and sometimes there are very interesting developments in their lives. Listen and learn.

3. After your call, follow up with a handwritten thank you note, letting them know how much you appreciated the time with them. Personalize it with something you talked about.

Very often, you won’t finish the phone call to check in before your prospect is expressing an interest in you and your services again. You may be surprised by how often THEY initiate the selling conversation, and refer someone to you!

The only reason that summer sales become sluggish is because we let them. So it’s time to re-energize, turn over a couple more rocks and just have a genuine, caring “check in” conversation with discharged patients/residents or leads to let them know you care. Remember that when you have a relationship with someone, you go the extra mile to make sure they’re ok, and that when you give you always get abundance in return.

What marketing or sales strategies do you use in the summer to beat the summer sluggish sales slump?

If you’d like to use this article in your own newsletter or on your web site, you are welcome to reprint it in its entirety with an active link to our web site and the following author info:

“By Patty Cisco, Creative Catalyst for CISCO & CO. For effective marketing, sales and customer strategies that connect you with your customers visit www.ciscoco.com.”