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Home Care Marketing & Sales Mastery by Approved Senior Network®
Dawn Fiala, Lisa Marsolais, Annette Ziegler, and Valerie VanBooven RN BSN provide insight into home care marketing strategies. They cover in-person, in-field sales and online marketing every other week. These podcast episodes are part of the Home Care Marketing Mastermind, sponsored by Approved Senior Network®. Find more information at https://ASNHomeCareMarketing.com
Home Care Marketing & Sales Mastery by Approved Senior Network®
When Seniors Say No: Expert Strategies for Addressing Home Care Objections
The most challenging moment in home care isn't finding clients—it's when you're sitting across from a hesitant senior who firmly believes they "don't need help." This candid discussion among veteran home care professionals reveals the psychology behind resistance and provides actionable strategies for turning objections into agreements.
When you walk into a senior's home for an assessment, you're likely to encounter pushback. Industry experts share that approximately 85% of seniors initially resist home care, regardless of how evident the need may be to their families or healthcare providers. The resistance isn't stubbornness—it's rooted in fear, pride, and a generation's deeply held values about independence.
This masterclass breaks down the most common objections with remarkable clarity: "I don't need help," "I'm not ready yet," "I don't want strangers in my house," "It's too expensive," "My family should take care of me," and "I've had bad experiences before." For each objection, the conversation offers tested language, thoughtful reframes, and psychological insights that transform the dialogue from confrontational to collaborative.
Particularly powerful is the discussion around family caregiving. When seniors insist their children should care for them, the experts suggest explaining how professional caregivers actually enhance family relationships by allowing daughters and sons to be family again—not exhausted caregivers. As one specialist notes, "When your daughter visits, she can just be your daughter instead of someone rushing through tasks."
The financial conversation is equally nuanced, with the profound reminder that many seniors have "saved for a rainy day" their entire lives—and sometimes, you need to gently point out that "it's raining now." This perspective shift helps seniors understand that using resources for quality care is precisely what their savings were intended for.
Ready to transform your assessment approach? Listen for practical communication techniques that build trust, validate concerns, and guide seniors toward accepting the help they need while maintaining their dignity and control.
Continuum Mastery Circle Intro
Visit our website at https://asnhomecaremarketing.com
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Okay, we can probably get started and I'll watch and let people in as.
Speaker 2:Okay, we'll start with our introductions. You want me to start? Sure, all right, hi everybody. For those of you that don't know me, my name is Annette Ziegler. I have been with ASN for a year. I teach the sales training classes, so a lot of you here I know. I've had over 20 years experience in home care and I love doing what I do now training people, how I succeeded helping our agency grow from 1 million to 4 million, and I really enjoy teaching you all the tips and tricks. And today we have a great class. Go ahead, dawn.
Speaker 1:I'm Dawn Fiella. I've been with Approved Senior Network close to three years. Actually, it's this month, I think it's the 10th, I can't remember, but it's been a whirlwind, a fun whirlwind.
Speaker 1:I've also been in healthcare for a really long time. I love growing the home care private pay side of the business. We have a home care sales training class where Annette is teaching people how to do that and all the things that worked for all those years they also worked for. Lisa and Annette are in that sales training. We do a lot of educating here in Mastery Circle as well, so welcome and thank you for letting us be a part of this. I still love home care, so this keeps me.
Speaker 4:Lisa, I am Lisa Marcelle, and I, too, all those things that they just said. That's me. I was in home care forever and I just love home care and love being a part of your guys' journey, so I'm happy to be here with you. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey, and I think I've been with ASN for two years now. If you didn't know, now you know. Is Valerie here? I don't think.
Speaker 1:Valerie's here, Maybe she'll join. I know she had another meeting today so we can continue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right. So housekeeping lines muted unless speaking. Share stories, experience tips, ask questions.
Speaker 4:We love to hear from you, make recommendations and tell us what you want to know. And here's the chat.
Speaker 2:I just sent a little something in the chat for you guys so you know where it's at In our agenda. We always try and think of topics that you could relate to and we thought this was going to be a good topic today. Topic objections from families and seniors you have about home care and how to address them. So we're going to talk about helping seniors feel comfortable with home care when you're doing your assessments, top objections from families and seniors and communication strategies for addressing the objections with questions and answers. If we don't cover or answer anything that you'd like to hear, let us know and then Lisa's going to review May, june, july, leave-behinds, yep, all right. So many of you here I'm sure do assessments and we know it's not always. We wish it was like that. You walk in, they sign the paperwork, everything's good. It's not that People have objections.
Speaker 2:It's really common for seniors to resist the idea of home care at first, even when the family sees the need. Many older adults feel unsure or even defensive about having help at home. When a home care representative visits the senior at home, your goal is to have a friendly conversation, explain what home care is, how it can help them, but very often seniors push back. They say things I don't want help, I don't want somebody, I don't want somebody in my house, I'm doing just fine on my own. These objections they usually come from a place of worry, pride.
Speaker 2:This is the generation that we're dealing with right now. You have to listen, not apply pressure. Calmly, explain what home care is, that it's not taking them over, it's about offering a little support to make their life easier while letting the seniors stay in control. And the end goal is to have them feel comfortable enough. For when you know that you sign them up and they begin services with your agency and, like I said for many of you, I know Lisa myself, don, going in that house, having them feel comfortable I'd say I don't know what percentage Don and Lisa would say, but I'd probably say maybe 15 to 20 percent. Just sign, everything's good, come in. It's a small number. Should I say 90 percent? We've been waiting for you Please come in.
Speaker 1:The adult children are all over it, but no, the seniors, you know they're not aware of that. I agree with everything you're saying and the hard part I don't know. Everywhere I've worked, I did the marketing and I did the assessment. I did both and so it was like God, I finally got a referral. I'm so excited she finally referred. But then if you don't sign it, it's all of that For what you know, not that it's all about the business or it has to be signed.
Speaker 1:I always felt good about signing because I know they needed it. Every senior on the planet needs it, right. We only get in front of the ones that have had trouble. Pretty much. It would be nice if they started everybody started signing up as a preventative measure. But I agree with you, annette, like you do, they don't want the help, they don't want someone in the house, they don't know. There's all kinds of excuses they will come up with and getting through that barrier and I don't know how many times you guys have been on the phone adult, child and they're like my dad, I don't know if he's even going to talk to you when you walk in, like he really, and I would always say they none of them want it.
Speaker 1:They all really don't want to do this. So if you can tag team with that adult child, I think it helps and that's got a lot of tips for you. But anyway, that's been my take and I would agree it's probably 15% that that is open.
Speaker 4:There's no, no issue, they're just signing there are some.
Speaker 1:They seem to be women. Mostly they just like the attention of having someone in the house. If you guys had those, that's probably the 15th. They like that someone's there and they're getting attention.
Speaker 2:So anyway, like we said, as a home care representative conducting the assessments, it's more and more common to encounter objections than immediate agreement to service. You're really. You're there sealing the deal. If you leave and you didn't sign them up, you didn't close them are sealing the deal. If you leave and you didn't sign them up, you didn't close them. When these objections are addressed with empathy, active listening, clear communication, trust can be built and the individuals are more likely to agree to receive the care they need. And I don't need help. I'm not ready for help. I don't want a stranger in my house. Home care is expensive. I don't want to lose my independence. My family should take care of me. I had a bad experience. I'm afraid of theft or abuse. These are all things that we know, that we've heard and we might even be missing some I have one for you.
Speaker 1:I don't want someone in my house telling me what to do that was a big one.
Speaker 2:It's important to know how to handle the rejections. They're natural and common. Most seniors. They feel hesitant. Resistance is very normal. They have fear, they have pride, they have embarrassment. They want to stay home. They don't want. They think they can stay home forever and not have help. They don't. They just, like I said, it's the generation and poor handling can shut down the conversation.
Speaker 2:So if you're, if you the objections are dismissed or met with pressure, they're going to you're going to lose your trust and it can be lost very quickly. So you have to. You can't just walk in there and just put that paperwork down. Let's sign and let's get started. You have to create that relationship and I remember, I have to say, doing the assessments were probably one of the my favorite things of home care. Yeah, I was in marketing, but I loved going in the house looking at their collections, talking about that conversation, like having them feel comfortable with you. That's the first part. So you have to make a connection with them at first. Empathy builds trust. Listening patiently and validating the concerns help seniors feel heard and respected. Objections handling opens the door. Responding thoughtfully creates space for open dialogue and honest reflection. And it's not about convincing, it's about supporting. So your goal is to guide them towards a decision to start home care and to be happy about it. I don't know, don or Lisa, if you have anything to add to that.
Speaker 1:I would just say the way you handle the objection is going to really be impactful. So for the one who says I don't want anyone to tell me what to do, I would say no, you're 93 years old. Why would anybody come into your house and try and tell you what to do? That's not what it's about. So the way, because that just puts him at ease. He's feeling you could even see, like this wall and his whole face. You're 93. You've earned the right to decide what you're going to do. I agree with you. So that would just put the guard down. He'd open up and then we can really talk. Because until that wall's down, they're not listening to you. Anyway they're not. They're just sitting there pouty and they don't want to do it. And until you get that wall to come down, you're really wasting your breath Coming in, looking at the house. You're not checking things out.
Speaker 1:But there usually is some kind of collection or some kind of picture, or their dog or their cat. There's something where you connect and doing that's going to be really important, because sometimes they won't even tell you their objection, because they don't even feel like you've earned that from them.
Speaker 2:So connecting right away will be important too, as Annette said yeah, they have to learn to trust you and then you can tell, just warming up to them and they feel so much more comfortable. That's why when I would talk to inquiries over the phone, I would encourage the family member let me come and talk to your mom or dad. We will do a free assessment. I always felt it was and I explained to them. When I meet your mom or dad in person, it's so much different. They understand it. I'm explaining things to them and I'm sure Lisa and Dawn feel the same way. But you have your chances of getting them to sign up with you is going to be so much better if you can see them in person For sure, because they don't know what they're getting.
Speaker 1:They don't know what they're getting themselves into and I think that's an important point you make too, annette, is when you're on the phone with that adult child is trying to get in front of them because so many of them, oh, I'll call you back. Sometimes they have to because they're at work or there's something going on. But if it feels like they're just pushing it off because they think this is an impossible situation, making sure they really understand. I've gone so far. Is I understand your dad doesn't want this? No, you don't understand. He might call you a name. He might, he might not let you in the door. He might do this and I go. Is he going to throw something at me? Cause that happens? So I'm good.
Speaker 1:I have thick skin. I've been in this industry a long time. Even if you throw something at me, I'll duck. It's all good. I think it's better if I and most of the people I meet with don't want the services and they're not happy about it. This is not different for me, I promise. And then when you get there and they see their dad opening up that you can just see the shock on their face. They can't believe it's happened. I agree with you, Annette. That's exactly how it's gone down for me too.
Speaker 2:I know the tougher ones sometimes were challenges, but I'll tell you, when you walk out that door and you won them over, it's a good feeling.
Speaker 1:And then you have to make sure the caregiver does the same. So there's one more hump to get over, but it works usually.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and sometimes the toughest client I ever had turned out to be my poster child.
Speaker 4:Those are always my favorite.
Speaker 1:I don't know, but it must love a challenge. I don't know. They've always been my favorite.
Speaker 2:I don't need help. That's something you're going to hear often. Many seniors don't recognize it. They don't want to admit they're struggling. They feel like they're admitting to weakness, failure, especially those who've lived very independently their whole lives. They take pride doing things on their own and then all of a sudden they can't drive, they can't take a shower without somebody helping them. It's tough for them to accept that. I think about it myself. I know it's probably going to happen to me one day, but it's a hard thing to accept if you can't do the things that you used to do. So how to respond? Gently, acknowledging their desire to stay independent, validate their feelings, understand what they're saying, Don't disagree of course.
Speaker 2:Reframe home care as a tool to preserve their independence, not take it away. You want to stay home. You want to place in your beautiful home. We can provide you with a little extra care to do the things that are hard for you right now. You can stay here, offering small, non-threatening options. Maybe we'll start out with a few hours a week, just giving you a little support. You can try it out and see how it goes Using a language, and I like this too, like a little help around the house rather than assistance or care.
Speaker 2:The words make a big difference. A lot of times they think they're getting aides and nurses and they're in a skilled nursing environment. No, this is. We're helping hands. You're living independently. You just need that little extra help. We're going to help you.
Speaker 2:Some of you probably get your homes cleaned or house cleaned or you have your lawns cut. There's things that we do that Wow, it's nice to have somebody help us do something. So just say just a little extra help, rather than using words that make them feel like they're incapable, and share examples of other clients who felt the same way at first but found it made life easier and more enjoyable and they were able to age in place wherever home may be. They want to stay home, but getting that little extra support is going to help them stay home and live independently. So just really understanding how they're feeling. It could take a while too. Of course, I would try not to do two-hour assessments. My goal was like an hour. I would say an hour right Dawn. You can't be there two or three hours. It's just not going to happen.
Speaker 1:You have to learn how to For those of you that are just really sweet. The seniors love you. When you walk in the door and they say to you are you going to be my caregiver? It's happening. You're so skinny, I've got some cookies the way.
Speaker 1:If you're that person where they just attach when you come in so that you can keep it in an hour, I have another appointment in a little bit, just like preface, not that you're in a hurry or they're not important, but just that you have. I have another appointment in just over an hour. So let's get started, just if you feel like they're, because they'll keep you there all day and you've got marketing. So I found cause I've had really sweet marketers that were very effective, but they want they were good to just sit there all and have cookies. I don't know because it is your favorite part. It was my favorite part too, doing the assessment. But more than an hour. If a whole family's there, it could take longer, but I would say right and I used to do the same I would do the same thing too.
Speaker 2:I would just say I have to get to another appointment. You have to like, keep like trying to get it going and keep it moving along because when when you I mean there were times where I had somebody they were just not going to agree. Sometimes you just have to go. Okay, you have to end it, get back to them, but you don't want to be there for hours. Okay, understanding the I'm not ready yet mindset. So when a senior says I'm not ready, it often reflects again their desire to maintain independence, reluctant to get help, even with a little support and safety. They want to. They're just not ready.
Speaker 2:Avoiding the emergency route. I used to say this often Many people want to wait till there's a fall, there's a healthcare, and I would always explain you don't want to wait till an emergency situation. Start now a little help, because then if you do fall, say we're there three days a week just doing some little tasks and then you fall and then all of a sudden you need somebody every day. It's going to be so much easier for you to call our office and you're already a client of ours and we could just add hours If it's an emergency situation and you call us. We might not be able to start right away. We might not have caregivers we hope not, but that does. We all know that happens. So telling them try not to. You don't want to wait till they're, wait till an emergency, stay ahead of problems. Waiting again, waiting until something happens, can limit your options, and it can.
Speaker 2:I used to have people that I went and did assessments for they were ready and then they would finally call me and they need to start, like that day, and we couldn't start. But we would always, if they were our client, of course we would do everything we can to start them. Start small stay independent Home care can begin with a little help. Maybe we're just depending on what your minimum hours are. Maybe you could just start out with one day a week, four hours, or a few days a week with a few hours a day, just helping them getting used to it, and that they have home care in place.
Speaker 1:I used to say to them too. Annette, to speak to your point, just if you're in the system, being, just if you're in the system, being in our system is going to. It's a huge. There is an emergency. So the one day for four hours, like you're in the system now and you will take priority over somebody new, even if they have an emergency, because you're already in the system, you're already a client. I think that's a good way to get them to sign up for just something, especially when you can tell they really need 20 hours a week. But this is as far as you're going to be able to go for now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then family relief, always there. They could be upset with their daughter or their son that are there. They're all trying to get the adult child. If it was to the adult children, we'd be signing up seniors right and left. We know that. But letting them know you're going to give your son or your daughter, your family, peace of mind, knowing that you're safe. They're worrying. Maybe the adult children live out of town and even if they don't, they're all working, they're busy. They have families on their own. Giving them peace of mind. You took care of your kids. Think of it as them taking care of you. They want to make sure that they don't have to worry about you. So it's family relief, it's giving them peace of mind.
Speaker 2:And again they can gradually increase hours if they need it, adjust the level of care as needs change, and that is why it's better to start before there's an emergency situation. Now, we know many of them wait till an emergency situation, but if they're smart and they can plan it out in advance, it's the best way to do it. And just like we're talking today, this is how you're talking to the. In a way, you're talking to the client, just having the simple conversations with them. Okay, I don't want a stranger in my house. You hear that often.
Speaker 2:It's completely natural hesitant to feel about letting someone in your home. Focusing on that. You're a reputable agency. Your caregivers are trained and trustworthy, acknowledging and validating the concern. A lot of people feel this way.
Speaker 2:At first, you're letting somebody into your space, totally understand that, emphasizing familiarity. Over time, we're going to match a caregiver. That's what we do. I always spoke. Really, the reason why I come to see you is I want to make sure that we find the perfect fit. It's not going to be a revolving door. We're going to make sure we place a caregiver with you that's going to be a good fit for you.
Speaker 2:We have many clients that tell us that their caregiver feels like a friend once they get to know them and family and we all know that's true for many of our clients they get very close to their caregivers, highlighting safety and screening, letting them know all your caregivers are background checked, insured. We wouldn't send anybody with you that we wouldn't trust with our own family members and framing it as help, not intrusion. Our caregivers are there to support you. They're going to respect your routine and your space. We're not coming in to take over. We're going to do a care plan set to whatever you need. I remember we had some clients that we would go in and do the tasks and then they would say I want the caregiver, when they're done, to go sit in the kitchen and read a book. Okay, that's okay, we'll do it.
Speaker 2:We have some like that, offering trial and control, you're always letting them know, they're always in charge. We can change caregivers if it's not a good match. I always said we were so good at making a good match, but sometimes maybe it wasn't a good match. Give us a call, let us know, we can switch it out. Sometimes we think we picked the perfect person and then they just don't vibe together. Telling them to try it out for a couple weeks, there's no pressure or long-term commitment.
Speaker 1:I don't know if, lisa or Dawn, you got anything to add on the stranger thing. The only thing I would add and maybe you have it somewhere else is that sometimes the ones that don't want a stranger in their house feel like they have to get ready for the caregiver. I don't know if anyone has had this. I don't want my caregiver to come because I'm sick today and that's why she's coming. So when I, if I were to talk about this part and I'm sitting with a type A senior who I know is going to get up and tidy up the house before that, I would make that statement because I've lost clients for that reason. My mom's tired of getting ready for the caregiver. When the caregiver comes, she's tidying up, she's doing all these things and it's exhausting her.
Speaker 1:So when I would do my assessment, I would bring that up if I felt like that was the type of person I was sitting with, because you can usually tell and I would just say the caregivers are here to help you. That doesn't mean you need to do anything, even shower, if you don't want to. They're coming to help you. So please don't tidy up the house, please don't feel like you have to host them or do any of those types of things. So I don't know if we're going to cover that later on in the slides, but that I've lost a couple of clients because of that, which seems crazy, but it's just the way people think. Yeah, they have their lipstick on and I have to put clothes on today because the caregiver is coming. I'd much rather be in my pajamas. It's crazy, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's like they're having a guest in their home. It's usually those perfectionist type people absolutely okay, so my family should take care of me, okay, yeah, the hard one from that generation, some seniors. They feel my family should be there. I don't need any help. Sometimes it's due to their tradition, the sense of duty within the family, their culture, letting them know your family, understanding how they're feeling. Your family cares deeply for you, and bringing a caregiver can actually help be more present emotionally instead of them being overwhelmed by physical tasks.
Speaker 2:Home care doesn't replace your family. What it really does. It allows your loved ones to be family again. Instead of your daughter coming over and cleaning your house, going to get the groceries and helping you shower, your daughter can be your daughter again. She can come and spend time with you and when you talk to I remember talking to clients that way and it helped them understand they need a little help too the family member and they want to just come and visit their mom and not have to come and do all these tasks. Many family members want to help but they have other obligations. They're working, they're feeling guilty, they have other families. Caregiver ensures you're never without the support. Maybe your daughter can only come over once a week. We can have our caregiver there three days a week. They're going to get everything you need done and then your daughter could come on the weekend and take you out, go out to lunch, do something fun or just sit and talk, and getting home care takes pressure off the family.
Speaker 2:Inviting a professional doesn't mean your family has failed. It means you're making sure your care is safe, consistent and dignified. So just understanding how they feel, sometimes they just they forget that the son or daughter is busy with work or they have kids with their soccer games, and I think when they hear it from somebody else it helps them understand that. And, like I said, sometimes it's their tradition, their culture. Some of these clients that you meet with they're used to. They took care of their mom and dad, so why aren't their kids taking care of them? But we live in a different generation. Now People are really busy, especially with their families.
Speaker 4:I think this is a good oh sorry, I think this is a good takeaway, too for family members, because a lot of the time, they feel like they must take care because the parent wants them to and makes them feel bad if they don't. And yes, of course we're always going to take a little bit of care, right, but having a caregiver come in and be able to do all those things and I remember using that all the time where I would say this lets your family be your family, this lets your husband be your husband, this lets your and seeing it sometimes click in their head when you say that and then the family member they're already on that page, but they feel bad because their parent wants them there and they know that. So I think this is a great conversation to have with the whole family, including the client.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the other piece of this too is when you're taking care of your family and I say this to all of them you're emotionally attached to your mom, you're emotionally attached to your dad. It is much harder for you to do these things because you're emotionally attached. The caregiver is going to love your mom or dad too, don't get me wrong, but they don't have a lifelong history with this person. When mom is having trouble standing with the caregiver, the caregiver is going to give her a little bit of support. A daughter is oh my God, look at my mom, this is. It's just hard, it's very hard to watch. So this also helps with that piece of it. They get to be the daughter again, and it's just much harder for a family member because they're emotionally attached. So I always tried to get that into my assessment. Talk too, especially with this pandemic here.
Speaker 4:I want my daughter to be a part of it. Yeah and yeah. And then there's some of those people that are just stubborn and they are like, nope, my daughter should be doing this. It's making them feel bad. But what do you expect? She has kids and works and she's exhausted. Yeah, it's a tough one, for sure.
Speaker 2:And I think the family members really love when you have this conversation in front of them. Oh, they do.
Speaker 1:They feel validated Finally somebody understands and I'm doing. I'm not a bad daughter because I can't be here 24 seven yeah.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. If you guys have any questions remember we've got the chat Feel free to ask. Home care is too expensive. This is a big one. We know many, many families are concerned about cost, especially when services aren't covered by insurance and they have to be paid out of pocket. It's a big one. They may be able to afford it. They could have millions of dollars but they're still not spending their money. Acknowledge their concern. I completely understand. Cost is one of the first questions that many people have Break down the cost for them. Letting them know that many families may start just a few hours for them. Many. Letting them know that many families may start just a few hours a week. With the basics, we can work with your budget. We can set a care schedule that works for you. Maybe they can't afford a lot, but maybe they can't afford somebody every day for four hours, but they can afford somebody every other day. Letting them know that you can work with them.
Speaker 2:Comparing costs or alternatives. I used to always say this you want to stay home. It's going to be cheaper for you to stay here than moving to. Letting them know if you're moving to a skilled nursing facility or assisted living or a memory care, it's going to be more expensive. Maybe you're going to spend $4,000 a month for our services, but if you moved into the assisted living it's going to be $8,000. Sometimes, if you're talking about cost and alternatives, we're the expert, we know the prices, so you know they're listening to us, which is true. Sometimes it puts it into perspective yeah, okay, I guess, maybe I do. Maybe I'll spend the $4,000 a month and have somebody here every day for a few hours and I could still stay home and be happy. Mention possible financial support options.
Speaker 2:I can tell you many times I had clients that had long-term care insurance and they never even knew, or they had it and they had no idea that home care was covered. As we know, every policy is different. They always have to call their long-term care agency to see what's covered. Some have policies that cover everything. Some just cover for certain situations. Some will just cover nursing home, but there's many long-term care policies that cover home care and they don't even realize it. They may have VA benefits. They may have some other benefits that maybe could help with the cost. Offer a customized care plan Again, talk about their specific needs and see what could work for them.
Speaker 2:And this last one, Dawn and I, we said we all said the same thing but it's safe for a rainy day. And now the rainy day is here. I have to say, when I worked in senior living, I had a client, a prospect, come in with their financial planner and the financial planner was sitting talking to this lady. She was a lovely lady, she was, she had money, she saved, she worked hard all her life. And he looked at her and he said you have to understand you. You saved, you saved for a rainy day, and now it's raining now. So now it's time to spend your money. And it's really true, They've saved all these years and now they're like in their eighties and they have to spend a little and this is what they've saved for. So I think, sometimes telling them this is a time to use your savings to ensure that you're well cared for at home and maintaining your independence and peace of mind. And Dawn said it's raining.
Speaker 1:It's raining. The umbrella got cut off down there at the bottom, but there is an umbrella. I was going to add in it too for the budget. When you say you work within the budget, they immediately think, oh, they're going to give me a discount. What you can do is just ask them what do you have a month to spend? What do you have available to spend on home care each month, and then divide it by your hourly rate and then that'll give you how many hours a month of care you can provide, and it may be below your minimum. It happens sometimes, and in that case I would give them Medicaid's information and hopefully they could get. Maybe they felt there are people that fall between the cracks. They don't qualify for Medicaid. They also don't have money. Sometimes the family members will pitch in. But working within the budget doesn't mean discount. Typically at least not in my book it just means you've got a thousand a month, okay let's see what we can do with that or whatever.
Speaker 4:Yeah, definitely, I used to always bring out I think I've said this a couple of times but blank calendars right, that has the whole month and the days of the week, and for some of those people, especially the ones that fall through the tracks, we would say, okay, this is what we can do and this is where we're, where we can fill in. And now I know the slide. Before this was all about letting family be family, but in some cases, family are like but we want to help on these days. You guys come the other days, right, and so we would get a calendar together, just blank sheets, and work out a schedule that would fit their budget, and then would also use family hours Right, and so that's another thing you can do too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, many. Yeah. We had a lot of clients like that too, where the families would do certain hours and so forth. But if none of if I this rainy day telling them it's a rainy day, try it. I always used it and it really worked. So once I heard that from their financial planner, if I had somebody concerned I would let them know you saved. It's hard. They don't like to spend their money. They want to save it for their children. They just don't. They just it's hard for them to break into that bank account that they've saved for so long. Okay, so they've had a bad experience in the past. Maybe they used another agency. They had a negative experience. They don't want to try it again.
Speaker 2:The caregivers they don't show up all the time. Reliability is everything. Our team tracks our caregivers' arrivals and departures. We used to have a tracking sheet that I would show. We really did track on our caregivers on time. They were when they showed up and we kept numbers. So I would have a sheet with me and show them. Look, we have a 99% on time show rate, letting them know that you track that. If there's a change ahead of time, there's not going to be any surprises. I'm worried about being neglected or mistreated.
Speaker 2:We put strong protections in place. We have regular check-ins, client satisfaction calls. We check in, we make sure everything's okay. We have regular checks, check-ins, client satisfaction calls. We check in, we make sure everything's okay. We check with our caregivers. I know we had a client care director that would make check-ins with all of our clients. So letting them know that you're going to, you're going to be checking up and seeing how things are going. I had to keep explaining everything over and over again. I've heard that before. That's why you don't want to keep sending a million different caregivers, because you create a care plan and you once they're trained because we all know we have some of those clients that are so particular. I remember we had some. You had to put her sheets on a certain way, you had to fold them. Only these two caregivers knew how to do it and if you send somebody new, it's going to send that person in disarray. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Letting them know you shouldn't have to repeat yourself. We create a personalized care plan and your caregiver is going to be ready, understand your routines and preferences and, like I said, especially with somebody like that, you really have to keep the caregivers at a minimum of the same people, because they're never going to be happy if things are not done to perfection. They changed services for me and I didn't get. That's frustrating. Our billing is transparent. You'll see exactly what you're paying for, with no hidden fees. Unfortunately, sometimes there are some home care agencies that they've had bad experiences with and you're just going to have to promote how you're reputable. You're going to be on top of things and try and overcome those objections, but this is the kind of the way it is.
Speaker 2:I think I know there were some agencies I would never refer that they. They had caregivers that I would never trust and they were never showing up. But I know the agency I worked for. We were great we had. We made sure that we, if we couldn't show up I used to. I always said this and we in our office, we led this. If the caregiver doesn't show up, then we can't find them. Why can't? They show up, yeah we will.
Speaker 2:One of us from the office will come.
Speaker 4:I don't know if Lisa and Don, if you, did that, but there were times that I went caregiving yeah that should be, that's how I want it to be, and that pisses me off, that Amy.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm trying to mute. I don't know who this is. It's talking, okay somebody was talking.
Speaker 1:So I would like to add to this, annette. So when I had people that had that bad experience because they're also, it ties into the money. Because we have a company here in Arizona I won't say the name of it, that's just. Everybody knows they're no good, but they're very inexpensive. And so when they would say I've used whatever home care agency it is, even if you don't know the name of it, when we'd start talking about it, they'd tell me all the things. Then I would say all the things that Annette has given you on this slide. I would say so I'm just curious, how much did that company charge? And they might be $2 less an hour than us, and I wouldn't say you get what you pay for, but I would in a careful way. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't say it like that, but I would get that point across, Because sometimes that extra dollar an hour we can hire better people. That money is going to the caregiver. I guess that's what I would add to that, because their home care has been around long enough now that a lot of people have had a lot of experience with it. Years ago it used to be. I don't even know how to navigate this. This is so weird. Someone's going to come to my house. It's not like that anymore. They've been through two, three companies, sometimes before they get to you sometimes before they get to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, all right, this is a big one, too. Fear of theft or abuse in the home. People, seniors, families they're very hesitant. They watch the news, they see things that happen and there's people that just really they don't trust. It could be their dementia or, like I said, just watching things on the news and you hear it all the time. That's why I always would tell them you want to make sure you have a reputable agency, somebody that background checks these private.
Speaker 2:Sometimes people use private caregivers and you just don't know who they are. They say I'm afraid someone might steal from me. That's a very valid fear. You deserve to be completely safe in your home, letting them know that you completely screen every caregiver. You have national background checks, reference checks, personal interviews. In addition, you track your caregivers and that they're always in control of who enters in their home. I've heard stories about seniors being taken advantage of. Letting them know Sadly, we've heard these stories too.
Speaker 2:Understanding and how you take extra precautions. You're bonded. You're insured that you provide the family with direct access to a care manager. If I know, we had a care manager, but somebody who can oversee things, stopping in making sure everything's okay, our caregivers are trained in ethics, privacy, elder respect. We encourage we would always tell everybody this we encourage you to lock your valuables away, Not because we expect that, but because it gives you extra peace of mind. We even did a step further. When we went grocery shopping, we our caregivers we weren't we didn't want the clients to give them cash or a credit card, so they would get a gift card from the local grocery store and we would have a gift card. And we said this way, there's no worry about giving your credit card or giving cash, but just, we always encourage people to keep their valuables locked up.
Speaker 1:We've got a question from Madeline. It looks like she's typed it though Scam spam calls and emails. Did you want to tell?
Speaker 4:us. That's a huge one.
Speaker 1:It is a huge one. I think it's helpful Go ahead to have a carry on.
Speaker 3:I have a client that literally will open any email, even if it says Wells Fargo and there's a link, and just answering every call. So that would be a cool like luncheon to do, or even in a community, because they're very just. What is this email? I need to respond, type thing. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Or there's calls where they'll call and say, oh, I just need your debit card number, I just need the code on the back. I can't. Yeah, they do fall for those things. I think that would be a great thing to present in a community a senior educator, educating them about it, and Madeline.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that actually we had. We used to have those presentations a lot around here and they were some financial planners would do it, or it's important because there's so much out there and they get these emails and people call them and they just think they're doing everything okay, but it's important to educate them on that there's even some.
Speaker 4:I've heard that they say, hi grandma, hi grandma, it's me, I need this or that, and so that's just wild to me. That's a target, but it is.
Speaker 1:I had someone call me recently and say they were from Amazon and said my last charge didn't go through and they said we just need the code off the back of your card. And I said what was the charge? How much was it? And he goes I don't know. You tell me, and I'm like I think you would know that answer. They don't know to probe and ask more questions.
Speaker 4:So it's, it is.
Speaker 1:It's a really scary world out there for them.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think they come from that era too, where if you're an official, they listen to you, and so if it's like official business, they're like oh my God, that's the. They're like trained almost to just be like oh it's official business, that's Wells Fargo, I must answer. So that's. I think that's another thing too.
Speaker 2:Well, also, too, like caregivers can help clients as you, opening up their mail, sorting their mail, trying to because there's some people that have dementia or when they just they'll start sending checks to everybody. We used to have some clients that we used to help, like open their mail and sort things, save things for the daughter, where all the bills had to be paid. We wouldn't do the bills or anything like that. But sometimes too, we had caregivers that would bring to our attention that they were concerned that their client was maybe sending money to places that they shouldn't, and then we would get somebody else involved. There were different people we could call, or we'd call the family or somebody. Maybe they would hire somebody to do the person's bills, but it's something that your caregivers could keep attention to.
Speaker 1:We have another question, annette how do you chat during an assessment about asking that the potential client or family meeting a couple or a few caregivers so they decide who will work in their home? Oh, I mean, I always hated that oh, I hate that it's so hard. Annette, do you want to take that one?
Speaker 2:I'll say what I said and then you could tell me what you did. Dawn, I'll go some. So, marie, I have to say, marie, I always was like, oh, I didn't like to have a caregiver come and before we even start and have them interview them. So I tried my best to say let me think back. But I would say we normally don't do this. We really. I take all of this information that I've gathered from you today and I go to my scheduler and we're going to find a really good match for you. Let you know, we can, the day that we start will come and we'll introduce them and for some reason it's not a good fit. You can let us know. But I do have to say sometimes they just insisted, so I would be okay, but then we would, we would have them pay for the hour, the two hours that they met them. I don't know if you did that, don, but if they wanted to meet somebody in advance they had to pay for sure.
Speaker 1:So what I would do is I would say unless we're, you're going to. So we don't usually do this and I'm going to tell you why. So if we're going to do the meet and greet the exact same time, you're going to have service, possibly because that caregiver is available at this moment in time. It's Tuesday, three o'clock and Thursday, and that's it. And if you want to meet them in a different time, they're probably not going to be your caregiver because they're not available at that time. So that's one piece of it. Then they start to understand oh, this is a scheduling nightmare, right, I can't for us, not for them, but that it's more than just here's this person. The other thing I would tell them because this would also help with the beginning where got two or three caregivers coming in because nobody's sticking.
Speaker 1:That happens sometimes, right? So I say in the beginning oftentimes we're going to send you a couple of different caregivers for your first few shifts, because we're trying to get that balance, we're trying to figure out what works best for you Match personalities, match chemistry. So one that keeps you from doing the meet and greet because they can do it right then, and there Two when you have a lot of in and out with caregivers. They're expecting it a little bit for a better reason than what might actually be going on. That almost always worked every time. I'm not saying I've never done a meet and greet. I've done them, but I don't like them because nine times out of 10, that person's not going to be available. They say they can do it.
Speaker 1:Now their daughter's off and doing soccer and they have to drop them.
Speaker 4:There's just so many things that are involved. Yeah, I thought you said what you said. Same, I have done them. They always are no good and I do have them. We're going to have to charge you for a shift. So it's going to be like a shift, even if they're there the whole time or not, and it just ends up being like you said. They'll say they're available or you can work your magic sometimes, and I always tell them I have a couple ideas of someone I think would work out if I do end up having to do a meet and greet. But yeah, very few have I done because they just it's just a waste of time because they don't end up being the caregiver usually anyways. But and Dawn said, you just explain that and go through it and say we'll have a let's, we have a couple of trials where people come out and that's regular shifts. So, yeah, all the same stuff. I never liked the meet and greets. It was horrible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your scheduler is going to get upset, but you and you just know it's just another, it's all come out. It's just it's a pain to do and you just, if Usually you can get, avoid it. But once in a great while we really we may have had a high level client that we had to try somebody out.
Speaker 1:But or the other home care agency that they're talking to, is going to do a meet and greet, so why can't you do one and I and to that I would still say the same thing I said and if you really want me to do it, but I nine times out of 10, whoever they're going to introduce you to, it's probably not going to be your caregiver. It's just the way that it works. I've been doing this a long time.
Speaker 4:And that's exactly why you have an agency. Because of that very reason, we can pull from other areas.
Speaker 1:Exactly. It's not a private caregiver who's a one and done. Now you have to go all over again.
Speaker 2:It's funny how we all feel the same way. Oh I know you should write a book how we all feel the same way.
Speaker 4:Oh, I know, don't ask me that question. I like PTSD in my head.
Speaker 1:And I just remember, I know, when she said that Think about this.
Speaker 4:She even put the word cringe. They cringe, yeah, 100%, absolutely.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 2:So that's it for today and thank you. I hope you guys got something out of it. Let us know if you have any questions. We're going to do the leave behinds. Remember, for those of you who are interested, we have our 90 day sales trading program. We still have some openings for tomorrow. Still time to sign up. We have the dates listed. We'd love to have you join us. Okay, now we're going to go.
Speaker 4:Do I want to go over the store, or? Yeah, so, home care marketing newscom slash store. So we thought it'd be a good idea to have all of these items here in one place for you. Not that you have to buy them there, but it just we did all the legwork so you don't have to. If you see a leave behind that you're going to use which hopefully it's all of them you just click on the corresponding month here after you go to the store, and when you click there, you'll see all the different giveaways that you can buy for the leave behinds. Takes you right there.
Speaker 4:All right, so this one flip the script on aging. It's Older Americans Month for May. Hold on, I'm going to blow my screen up here, okay, and so this I just thought would be a really good idea to take this out when you're talking to a social worker or something, and the conversation around this could be flipping the script on aging. Aging on your own terms, it does not mean that you have to stop having fun and enjoying life, but you can do that with assistance from a caregiver or something like that, kind of like what we were talking about a little earlier too. But I think having that conversation is great and maybe you could add this into and this has. I think it's what 20 different ideas to help just continue with having fun with life and doing lots of different things volunteering, laugh often, comedies, games to just have fun.
Speaker 4:Just have fun traveling Even. You can still travel. You can even take a caregiver. We've done that before setting new goals, coming up with a bucket list, challenging your mind, doing puzzles, word searches and just stay connected. So all of these things you can still do. You can do it on your own or with a caregiver. I'm just trying to see what tess said here. Oh, cool, so tess is going to take this flyer. This is a great idea. Do Do you mind if I share, probably not Taking this out and having it at a table at the zoo next week for Senior Appreciation Day?
Speaker 1:So that's a great. I think that's a great way to spread this awareness and spread this. We also have Kimberly is saying I am having these printed to take to independent living apartment Perfect, I love it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's a great way to get people involved too and just keep on living, keep on moving and grooving, shaking All right.
Speaker 2:Before we go on, just want in the chat box.
Speaker 2:So, we give away for those of you that are here in attendance. We put your name in a hat and one of you will be the winner of customized leave behinds. I think we're doing July right? Don July, yeah, so put in the chat, right. Dawn July, yeah, so put in the chat, yes. If you're interested in being in the drawing for the leave-behinds for July, just if you win, we want you to take pictures. Send us pictures of you out there using the leave-behinds. So please put yes.
Speaker 2:And this leave-behind that Lisa just did. We talk about this in our sales training class a lot. We're trying to give you leave-behinds, at least one a month that can get you to have your referral sources come out and talk to you. So this is going to help you get some face-to-face. You bring these flyers. You're talking to community. Hey, do you want to give these to your residents? Maybe they'll put them on the coffee table, maybe the social worker will hand it out to their residents and it's got your logo and all your information. So these are great leave-behinds to try and get the conversation going and somebody to come out and talk to.
Speaker 4:Yeah, they can even put it in their move-in packet, all of those different things. Yeah, so it's Nurses Week this week. You guys, I hope that you've taken some stuff out already, but here you go. It's the 6th to the 12th and you just want to take this and maybe a couple of the little giveaways out, tell your all your nurse friends and let them know that you really appreciate what they've done for patients and all.
Speaker 4:I found these, just all these little cute things. I just really loved them, and then we even found more after the fact. But nurse scrub gift bags, these little scrub pens and paper little notepads and then these spiral notebooks are a little more expensive, but I just thought they were really cute. Anyways, it looks like Kimberly ordered the cute straw covers which are on the next page. Yeah, so these are all I think of when I think of nurses. I think there's germs around them. So I think that these little covers are really cool because I just think they need to stay healthy and and just the cuteness of these. And there's so many others. If you like, go and click on these links. I swear you're gonna see a whole bunch of other ones.
Speaker 2:I just thought they were so cute so I'm glad I know Tess used the lip balm. She was saying that she found out that nurses love lip balms, so cool, cool, I love it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, perfect. So Mother's Day, oh my gosh, it's coming up. It's like a national holiday for me Because I have seven kids, but Mother's Day, I just saw some mouths drop Literally Seven kids.
Speaker 2:Doesn't she look too young to have?
Speaker 1:seven kids.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Celebrate Mother's Day, so there's a couple of cool little. So eye masks again the steam eye mask Love those I still I say this every time I have to try them and the hand and foot mask. I think that could go with even for nurses day. You could throw some of these things in there. But really love these. It's also protect your skin month, so it's skin cancer awareness month with these color changing UV detection stickers and just take this out. It's just a different message to your social workers, your referral partners, but show them that you care too. So the stickers are next. These are so cute. They go on just like clear or white here, and then, when you've had too much sun and it's time to get in and put some more sunscreen on or just take a break, they turn purple and they have all different types. They have dinosaurs, unicorns, everything. They're really cute them. Yeah, okay for june.
Speaker 4:June is national safety month, so here's just a safety checklist. But I think what you want to go out with is well, be prepared to ask for and schedule a lunch and learn with this one. I think what can happen after discharge would be a really good one. Just keeping people safe, but you can also go through some of this safety checklist with whoever you're speaking with. When someone goes home, they're going to need some of these things. Maybe we should go out and do an assessment. I think that's the big thing is, you can offer a free assessment because things are going to change. When they get home. They're not going to be in this environment where what's catered to them, it's going to be their home environment where nothing has been changed, nothing has been modified. And so go through this, maybe mention some of those things and then to tie in with the social worker, being safe where they work these silicone cable and cord organizers. I think they're super cool. If you have a lot of things plugged in at your desk, this will keep you from being able to trip and just keep them all in one place. And then this little phone charger or cord clips right here that they can just put on their side of their desk. There. I think they'd appreciate these things. They're very. They can use them.
Speaker 4:Celebrate Father's Day, mother's Day, father's Day here we go, and next yeah, so I want someone to get dad jokes for me. So I can see what they are. You scratch them off. I think you can put your little logo on there, like maybe print out some stickers, but I just thought they were so funny. And then there's also these little tape measured screwdriver things here. Just take them out and you don't have to be a dad, you just take them out and have a good time.
Speaker 4:Okay, national Hydration Day. I'm trying to go fast because I know we're running out of time. National Hydration Day, june 23rd. Water is life. You add flavor. Stay hydrated is life, you add flavor, stay hydrated on us. So take this out with, maybe a water. They have those little stickies, they're like little circles. You can put it on the water and then you can open up these packets or these boxes and they have a little individual package. You can just stick to one water. If you wanted to wrap a little ribbon around it, if you wanted, or if you're taking this out to the whole floor or something, you could take a whole thing of water and a couple of these boxes, but it's important to stay hydrated. I know a lot of us don't drink enough water, and so I think this is a really good message to go out there too.
Speaker 4:All right, it's lightning safety day, june 28th, and home care in a flash. I think that's the key right here. Not that we're too worried about lightning in most places, but home care in a flash. So our care team is ready to get your patients home safe with the same day or last minute discharges. Great idea to just take this out and give a different vibe for things that we provide, the services we provide. Flash drives and flashlights is all I could think of, and I think they're good ideas. So take those out too.
Speaker 4:Okay, for July so I didn't know that there was a freedom week from the 4th to the 10th, but now I do and now you do too. But I was thinking to use these for either that or July 4th. But I think the takeaway here is saying I have something to share with you, your staff, and something special for families to help them prepare for successful discharges home, preventing readmissions and freedom from worry. That's one and just support for your staff and families. So go through this. Free family consultations, an assessment, but you're just talking with the family, like like you would have an assessment. Apple pie, other pies, july 4th or for the week, right, and you can get these from Walmart. Everybody loves these things, but I kind of want to try all of them, but you can get all they're like 84 cents each.
Speaker 4:I know, I just want a sliver of each one. But whatever, I hand them out all the time.
Speaker 1:They love them.
Speaker 4:I think these are super, super cool. I put flags there too, cause I think you can always take out a flag. I still had my like American flag. Someone brought me it was always in my pencil holder and I just had it there forever. But you can take these things out. I think they're just really cute. They're very American, just like apple pie.
Speaker 4:All right, have a ball with life social wellness month. So social connections and meaningful relationships help with overall health and well-being. Our care staff eliminates isolation, loneliness and neglect. So I think letting people know that or just give that spin on home care is just a really great thing. A lot of the times people are just shut in and they don't have someone to get them out and about. So this is perfect.
Speaker 4:And then I just thought, with kind of the summer feel July being July, the sunglasses and the balls, beach balls, all right, sizzling summer, leave behind Sna. Snappy discharges a blast from the past, get patients home in a snap, and then it's cool to care, love it and there we go. So with the snappy discharges you can pair these little cheez-its there I eat cheez-its like crazy, so they're one of my faves and then these otter pops you want to take them out just as they come to you. Don't freeze them up, but you could add the little leaf behind with some ribbon and just make it look really pretty. I want to see everyone's ideas when you get them done. If you guys could send us pictures, that would be awesome. And oh, how to watch meetings you missed? All right, okay, we have a couple of seconds here.
Speaker 4:So you're going to log into the forum and it's at homecaresalesforumcom. Your username is your email address that you probably used when you started with us, and then whatever was emailed to you, or just use the fork out your password option If you forgot your password. Go to the learning, where that yellow arrow is learning tab, and then when you click on there next slide you'll get here. You'll see these boxes and you'll see the 2025. You're going to go ahead and click on that, and when you click on that, it'll open up to everything you need to see, month by month. Boom, and so you see down there it says January 2025, you just click on each of those and when you get in there, you'll be able to see everything that we've done for that week, with the leave behind links for Canva, google Doc and everything else you need, and the store too. Mobile version collab app how to use it and what it's for. Am I talking really fast, okay?
Speaker 4:here, we go Collab by lead connector. So here is, we have this link for iPhone, and then we have one for your.
Speaker 4:Androids as well here, and you just go to you see the K there, yeah, and it looks pretty much just yeah, k for collab, next slide, and then it looks pretty much just what you would be seeing on the desktop, except the mobile version, and at the bottom of the screen there there's four pages and that learning page is where you're going to want to click onto and when you do it'll open up into the forum and everywhere else and you'll get to see everyone's ideas and different questions. You can ask questions, please feel free to do. We will answer you and I think that's it right.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Oh, man Thank you everybody for coming. Just we did right on an hour, just like a minute over everybody all right, you guys see, and we'll see in a couple weeks.
Speaker 4:Okay, yep, take care, don't be strangers. Bye, bye, everybody.
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