When it comes to senior living, professionals are traditionally the second most frequent source of referrals after friends and family. Therefore, it is important to know who your top producing professionals are, and by this I mean professionals who are referring leads that convert to residents.
The key metric, or performance indicator, that should be monitored is not the quantity of leads that they are referring, rather the quality of leads that they are referring. For example, you may think it is great that you received 10 leads from a social worker at a rehab facility, but if none of those leads converted to a resident, how valuable is that referral source? If you’re finding that your professional referral sources are actually creating more work and less results, it’s time to work smarter, not harder.
Step 1: Track These Key Metrics
- Leads that come from individual professional referral sources
- Move ins that come from individual professional referral sources
Step 2: Analyze the Results
- Look at lead counts by individual professional referral sources
- Look at conversion ratios from individual professional referral sources (leads: move ins)
- Identify your top producing professionals who are referring Leads
- Identify your top producing professionals who are referring Move-Ins (leads that convert to residents)
Step 3: Develop a Sales Outreach Plan Using These Results
- If you are getting leads from a referral source that are not converting to move-ins, find out why. Look at why these leads did not convert and see if you can identify a pattern. Educate these professional referral sources on what constitutes a qualified lead so they don’t continue to refer unqualified leads.
- Maintain relationships with existing referral sources who are producing MOVE INS. Develop routinely scheduled contacts with these individuals.
- Grow your network of professional referral sources. Identify people and places where you would like to be getting referrals from and schedule sales calls to establish the relationship. Continue to work these sources as you would a lead. Track and analyze the results.
In summary, the key to managing your professional referral sources is tracking leads and move-ins that come from professional referral sources, analyzing the results and developing a sales outreach plan accordingly.
