From Prospects to Clients: Leveraging Sales Scripts in the Senior Care Industry
Sales scripts for senior care businesses, plus tips for developing your own
How prepared is your sales team to take client calls and close sales? Building a consensus about how sales representatives talk about your senior care agency’s services, your client support, your care philosophy, and your value proposition can provide a consistent, high-quality experience that converts leads into paying clients.
That takes preparation, strategic thought, and a tool called the sales script.
What is a sales script?
A sales script is language, questions, and tips your sales staff uses when speaking to potential clients.
“Script” can be a bit misleading: Sales scripts are a starting point for senior care businesses. They’re meant to guide you, not to dictate every word spoken. A script keeps your sales team from being caught off guard when clients ask tough questions.
Do you need a sales script?
We highly recommend having a few sales scripts to guide your calls. Here’s why.
A good sales script can help you:
- Build trust and establish a relationship with client leads
- Identify client pain points and needs
- Ensure quality, consistency, and accuracy of the sales process
- Close deals more quickly
- Increase the size of a client’s sale
How to write a sales script
1. Choose a goal
If you offer more than one service, your agency will need more than one sales script. Trying to sell all your services in a single call can overwhelm and confuse your potential clients. By sticking to one or two services, you can demonstrate to the lead that you’re listening and interested in solving their unique problems.
2. Identify your value proposition
Why should this client choose your agency over another that offers the same services? The answer to this question is your value proposition.
Simply saying, We offer better customer service! won’t cut it, especially if they haven’t experienced that customer service yet. You will need to demonstrate your value proposition in the sales process.
Remember the adage: Show, don’t tell.
You can also tailor your value proposition to different client needs (one reason to ask plenty of questions as you sell—more on that later). For instance, if your lead is concerned about cost, then you can tell how you help clients find ways to pay for services, like insurance carriers you work with, payment plans, or client financial services.
3. Imagine client questions and concerns
Anticipate the concerns your clients might have. You can do this by mining notes from past sales calls or consulting your sales staff to find frequently asked questions.
As you talk to clients, don’t forget to log their questions, use your marketing automation platform to keep track, and then use your list to improve your senior care sales scripts over time.
4. Brainstorm questions
No one enjoys a lecture. A successful conversation involves both the salesperson and the lead. Get them talking, and telling you what they need by regularly asking questions. It helps maintain their attention and forge a relationship.
You might ask:
Tell me more about your [loved one]. What’s their lifestyle like, and what do they wish they could do more of?
Have you ever worked with a senior care agency before? What did you like/not like about that experience?
What questions do you have for me?
5. Identify opportunities to upsell
Approach upselling with gentleness and tact. Senior care clients can be in a vulnerable position, and it’s easy to turn off a customer by treating them like a sale to be closed rather than a person to be helped.
Create opportunities in the script to suss out other needs you can meet. If you have a client lead interested in companion care services, you might mention that you also offer transportation services:
We also offer transportation services to healthcare appointments and general errands within a 20-mile radius. Some trips are even eligible for Medicare and insurance reimbursement. Would you be interested in hearing more?
If the answer is no, then move on. You’ll have the opportunity to repitch this to the client in a follow-up email or, if they become a client, in their welcome materials and email campaigns.
6. Leave room for improvisation
A sales script is just a guide. Your home care sales team doesn’t need to (and shouldn’t) read the script verbatim, which can feel stiff and insincere. Sales professionals should practice their scripts well in advance of calls with client leads so they have time to interpret them in their own way.
7. Don’t close the sale, solve the problem
Let’s be honest, people don’t like to be sold to. It’s why sales professionals often get a bad rap—clients don’t want to be seen as dollar signs and deals closed, they have a need they want you to meet.
When writing sales scripts, keep this in mind: the goal is not to close the sale, the goal is to solve the problem.
Examples of senior care sales scripts
Feel free to use these as a starting point for writing your own sales scripts.
Building rapport with the client lead
It’s a good idea to build a relationship with potential clients. After all, you’ll be working closely with them to provide care for themselves or their loved ones.
Here are a few ways you can build rapport:
Tell me more about your mom. What does she enjoy doing?
I see that you’re located in Cook County. That’s where I grew up! Are you from the area? Is Elmo’s Diner still there on the main stretch downtown?
Your information request form says you’re looking for post-operative care. I had to find the same for my dad after a stroke a few years ago, so I know how stressful that can be. I’d love to help you find the right caregiver for your mom.
Identifying client needs
Sales: Hi! My name is Aliya and I’m a client services representative with Evergreen Senior Care. I see that you filled out the request form on Evergreen’s website.
Client: Yes. My mom has fallen several times in the last year, and because she lives alone, I’m worried for her safety.
Sales: I’m sorry to hear that. I understand how worrying that would be. Are there specific services you’re interested in? I’m happy to let you know what we offer that might be good for your mother. Can I ask you a few more questions about her health and lifestyle?
Identifying client worries and concerns
There are a few politely probing questions you can ask to find out what the lead worries about:
Have you ever had in-home care for your mom before? What did you like or not like about that experience?
What are your biggest concerns about her care?
If you can hear that the potential client is anxious, you can gently acknowledge that and offer help:
It sounds like you’re really worried about getting the right care for your mother. Tell me more about what worries you.
Talking about your value proposition
It helps to have an edge over the competition. Tell them what makes your agency great.
We provide in-home care from CNAs all the way up to nurse practitioners. All of our caregivers are licensed and we even require continuing education credits every year in addition to what is required to maintain their licenses and certifications.
Keeping family updated on status can be tough, so we use a health reporting app so you can help keep track of your mom’s medication, her vitals, and even her exercise. We should be able to add you to that account with a few release forms.
Upselling
Approach upselling with care. Use it as an opportunity to meet even more of the client’s needs.
We provide excellent companion care. Our caregivers visit two to seven days per week for help with personal care and non-medical assistance at home. If you’re worried about your mom’s social wellbeing, we also offer transportation services to events with our local community partners. Can I send you some more information on that?
Ready to get started with your senior care leads?
If you're ready to put your new sales scripts to work, reach out to us at Home Care Marketing Pros! Our suite of digital marketing solutions is designed to get you the leads that your agency needs. Find out more by watching our demo!
