It’s easy for executives at addiction and dual diagnosis treatment centers to focus entirely on the clinical or mental side of the operation.   After all, that’s why they went into the field in the first place.   And when the menus are perfect, the staff is trained to the gills, and the facilities are beautiful beyond compare, they have to fill those beds.

This leads to increased marketing efforts.

With more marketing comes more leads, and in this metaphor, the leads are the bees.   With good SEO and marketing campaigns, you’ll have bees buzzing around like crazy – but unless you get them collecting pollen and working in the hive, bees are all you’ll have.

So how do you get the honey?

• Use your best bees the most
  A truly skilled sales/admission agent is worth their weight in gold.   It’s more than just a sympathetic ear and familiarity with addiction (although these are wonderful, of course).  It’s an attitude and tenacity that shines through.   Successful admissions teams funnel the best, and the most leads to the top producers – the ones who’ll stop at nothing to get a patient the help they need.

• Make sure your bees hit the best flowers more than once
  Persistent follow-up on the part of the admissions teams is essential.  Convincing an addict to make very intimidating steps is almost never a one-step process.   To get the most out of each lead, the team should be organizing follow-ups in your CRM.   This way, multiple touches can snowball and finally tip that potential client over the edge

• Put the best bees in the right position.
  To torture this metaphor a bit further – imagine you have a bee who hates the taste of daisies.  What sense does it make to keep sending it over to the daisy patch?  Smart sales teams examine their marketing channels and outreach efforts to put the right person in the right place.  For example, an admissions agent who has 12 years in the Alcoholics Anonymous program might be the perfect person to head up your alcohol addiction specialty campaign.

• Don’t ignore any potential clients.
  Often, addiction treatment centers’ admission teams simply refer a caller out to SAMHSA upon hearing the caller say those scary letters – H.  M.  O.   A better way is to explore every option – see if the plan can be updated, or talk to them about private pay options or even a loan.   It’s simply a numbers game – the admissions team should never give up on finding the right solution for the caller, but instead, they should exhaust every avenue.

• Make sure the bees have a “map.”
  Many people are unaware that actual bees communicate with each other by spreading pheromones along their journeys.   They leave trails for other bees to find, guiding them to the best flowerbeds and sources of pollen.   A strong sales team acts similarly.   If one agent is sick, they client should not have to wait until they feel better to receive a follow-up call.  The team leader, instead, can use the “map” provided by the initial agent to help the rest of the team seal the deal.  Callers are dealing with your organization, not an individual therapist.   It’s in the team’s, your center’s, and most importantly the client’s best interest that they never be left in the lurch without a contact.

Recovery Marketing Consultants understand the “birds and the bees” better than just about anyone else out there.   That’s why in addition to our core marketing, content, design, and call center services, we’re very serious about providing the best admissions and call team solutions available.  Whether it’s advice you’d like to give to your existing team, a standalone alternative team to work alongside them, or providing agents directly to you, RMC can help you make sure you’re getting the honey you wanted when you brought on the bees.   Call today to speak to a representative and find out more about RMC’s admissions expertise.