In Conversation with Mike Schwebel to Bring His Insights on Sales Strategies for Home Care Revenue Growth

With the recent changes to the state-funded home care program in New York, home care agencies are tasked with not only keeping the public up to date, but also be ready to discuss the best and most long-term options they have as a family for home care in a new marketplace. This task usually falls on the shoulders of the internal business development call center teams to explain the latest news and then develop strategies that are a win for the family, the agency and the rep doing the explaining.

The primary areas of focus include making good employee hires, offering ongoing training to help reps gain confidence on the phone, and providing great incentives. It’s also crucial to ensure the enrollment process for state-funded home care is seamless and timely, despite its challenges. Additionally, being knowledgeable, compassionate, and empathetic is essential in this business, as many callers are desperate and in need of financial assistance to cover the rising cost of home care for their families.

Cultivating strong, long-term relationships with clients through excellent service, actively requesting feedback and encouraging word-of-mouth referrals can all help to set a home care agency apart from the competition. In a highly competitive market like New York, fostering trust and consistently meeting client needs ensures the constant flow of referrals, which are invaluable for growth.

Moreover, adapting to changes in regulatory landscapes, like New York’s evolving home care laws, requires flexible sales strategies that align with the shifting marketplace of home care in NY while also meeting market demands.

Ultimately, a robust sales strategy is key to sustaining and expanding a home care agency’s reach and profitability.

To shed some light on the same, we interviewed a home care industry expert to bring his perspective on sales strategies for home care revenue growth.

Let us now delve into what he has to say about sales strategies for home care revenue growth:

Question 1: Can you share a specific example of how you’ve developed a sales process or strategy that significantly facilitated revenue and profit growth for a home care agency?

In addition to our primary focus of finding new clients via online leads and reaching out via outbound calls, it may come as no surprise that many of the various programs we work on deal with making low profit cases more profitable or working retentions to bring back lost cases where the cost per case has already been spent. Having a great CRM can make these initiatives much easier, but one program we have had a lot of success with over the years has been our referral retention programs, which essentially turns old canceled referrals into new business opportunities.

The script, the process, the hand off to intake probably took a few years to get right, but we can use it for whatever type of business we are after at any given time, and I believe it’s a skill that can be taught to salespeople.

Question 2: What steps do you take to cultivate strong, long-term client relationships, especially in such a competitive field as home care?

Word of mouth is invaluable when it comes to DTC marketing. So doing right by people has always helped us get referred to our clients’ networks. It also sets us apart from the competition, I believe. We regularly ask for feedback via positive online reviews from our new prospects so we can attract more online leads. We also provide our direct dials so there is a failsafe built-in if any issues occur in the future care of the family, and I’m happy to report we certainly get our fair share of feedback this way.

Question 3: New York’s regulatory landscape for home care is evolving rapidly. How do you ensure your sales strategy aligns with compliance requirements while addressing market needs in this state?

We are trying to build a new foundation on shaky ground, which is never easy. We have our parent company and our C-suite executives examining the future possibilities on our behalf and sharing their insights each week/month, which helps a great deal.

Essentially, we need to learn how to bring in new potential business targets and develop new areas of the PCA business we haven’t been competing for in the last 4-5 years. This means new leads campaigns, new scripts and rep guides, and new info to be gathered from the lead and of course the team training for all of the above.

Question 4: With AI and technology transforming home care, how do you see these advancements influencing the sales strategies and operational efficiencies of home care agencies in the near future?

From the internal call center standpoint, I am really hoping that AI can help overhaul the automated customer service departments of large corporations. Whenever I call customer service, I’m still amazed by how outdated and unhelpful automated systems are currently with few options and annoying waits. You would think AI could help it become more conversational, but it hasn’t really, in my opinion.

Once large call centers adopt and effectively integrate AI to handle ongoing conversation, I believe it will become clearer how the rest of us can leverage it in ways that make sense for our own call center operations. The enrollment process for home care is not a short transaction and many people have no idea how it works, requiring humans to get involved to either explain or risk losing out on the business.

The potential for AI in our call center sales is still unfolding. Ultimately, the human element remains at the core of our business, and how we incorporate AI will be shaped by the need to enhance, not replace, that personal touch.

Question 5: What are your key predictions for the home care industry in 2025, particularly regarding market expansion opportunities and competitive positioning?

We will all need to learn many new things and explore new areas of business to make up for the gaping loss of the CDPAP in NY state. Those agencies who do not will suffer in 2025. This isn’t the first time the state has made changes to its home care program, so the most nimble sales teams will excel moving forward.

In Conclusion

Mike Schwebel’s perspective highlights the vital role of strategic sales processes in achieving sustained growth in the home care industry. From developing successful business development initiatives to building trust through exceptional client service, Mike emphasizes the importance of adaptability and human connection in a competitive market.

As technology and regulations evolve, he advocates for leveraging AI thoughtfully to enhance efficiency while preserving the personal touch. His predictions for 2025 underscore the urgency of exploring new business opportunities to navigate challenges like the CDPAP changes in New York, ensuring agencies thrive in a dynamic landscape.