When a potential client is coming for a visit, what types of things should you be prepared with to best market the benefits of your facility? Knowing information about the person or persons visiting, ahead of time, will help you to present a clear and helpful presentation. When a person calls to schedule an appointment have a form ready to try and collect as much information as possible. Having a form to collect the desired information will help to ensure a consistency of information regardless of who is answering the call.
Helpful information to include on the form:
Who is coming – Aside from getting important contact information like name, phone number, email, etc. it is also helpful to know their role in the decision making process. Are they the current caretaker, if so they will most likely be interested in determining if your facility is a safe place to live with a reliable staff. Are they a potential client, then they may be interested in hearing about available activities, the food, the cleanliness of the facility and the choices they have in making their rooms feel more like home.
Special Care Considerations – Knowing any medical or mental considerations ahead of time will also help you to personalize the visit to showcase how your staff will be able to help. These considerations can come from normal conversation about what they are looking for. For example, the caregiver says that her mother is falling more often, and she’s really concerned about her balance and frustrated about her not wanting to use her walker. Having a section on the form that these types of notes can be jotted down will allow you to be prepared to talk about the way that your staff interacts with people who have these similar concerns.
Unique offerings – Knowing what obstacles a potential client may have can give you room to talk about things that your facility offers that others may not. Suppose the client doesn’t want to go into a nursing home because they won’t live without their dog. If your advertisements show that you allow pets, that may be a big reason that they would like to come and visit. Knowing ahead of time that this could be a determining factor, perhaps the tour can include a visit with a client that is a animal lover and show how well the animal lives in their home space. Other offerings to showcase may include therapeutic programs, your special credentials, or types of extracurricular activities you offer.
Training your staff to be good listeners when taking potential client calls, can help you to make the sale easier by being ready with examples to fit the unique family needs. Then during the visit a continuation of active listening can really help you to understand what is important to them, and what is or isn’t a good fit and how you can help them to make your nursing home the right fit for them.