Learn how to overcome objections to the price of home care with home care marketing tools and training from corecubed.

When potential clients call looking for home care services, cost is often a key factor in their decision-making process. Consumers want to know that they’re getting the best value for their purchases, and a quality service or product can help them overlook a higher price. How do we overcome the price objection? It’s crucial for your home care agency to help families overcome their objections to the price of home care by demonstrating the value and benefits your agency can provide over potentially lower-priced competitors. corecubed’s home care marketing experts share strategies that will help your team handle pricing questions effectively, even before mentioning cost during the inquiry call and throughout the sales process.

Communicating the Value of Your Agency’s Home Care Services

Callers often have objections to the price of home care because they have not yet learned how a home care agency can support their loved one. They may be just starting their research, which gives you the perfect opportunity to help them appreciate the true value of the services your agency offers to help their loved one enjoy an independent, safe, and comfortable life at home with a customized care solution.

Your services are worth the expense because of the high level of customized care you are able to provide. As a quality home care provider, you are equipped to provide what matters most to your callers. Staying true to the consultative approach to sales, let’s consider the goals your callers may have in mind, such as ensuring their loved one will:

• Be safe and independent at home
• Enjoy a high quality of life filled with enriching hobbies, activities, and outings
• Have companionship to help alleviate loneliness or boredom
• Receive reliable, compassionate care
• Have help adhering to care plans, such as medication reminders, meal preparation, or following special dietary restrictions
• And more

Make sure each member of your team can confidently communicate your agency’s value to potential clients with responses that reflect the caller’s goals. By emphasizing your team’s strengths and superior services, you can overcome objections to the price of home care and convert questioning callers into clients with a high degree of success.

How Can I Justify the Cost of Home Care Services?

As an in-home provider, your team is uniquely positioned to offer a variety of in-home care services to meet the specific needs of each person inquiring about care. It’s important to help callers understand what differentiates your agency and show how you can best help versus the competition. Some examples to highlight how you can justify the cost of home care services include:

• Commitment to independent living. Your agency is able to deliver professional caregiving services that empower older adults to live where they choose—at home.
• Customizable care. By getting to know the needs of each client, your care team can develop and implement the best plan of care to meet their unique needs and goals.
• 1:1 care. You provide one or more dedicated caregivers who know and care about each client they serve, with a care plan crafted to meet their unique, individual needs. Because your caregivers are so in tune with each client’s needs, they can quickly respond to any potential concerns, such as subtle changes in appetite or behavior. This level of service is not typically expected from a facility setting, such as assisted living.
• Client matching. An in-home caregiver from your agency will be carefully matched to each client’s personality and interests to ensure a close and lasting bond will form between the two. Continued communication, supervision, and feedback will foster long-term success and identify any training opportunities that may exist as the care plan adapts to meet the client’s goals.
• In-home assessment. Before beginning care, your agency can visit the home to meet the client to better understand their needs and goals and recommend the best plan of care.
• 24/7 on-call assistance. Your agency is available around the clock to answer questions and respond to any concerns.
• Better caregiver pay. By paying well, your agency demonstrates that you value the caregivers on your team and show appreciation for the quality of work they perform. Better pay also leads to higher caregiver retention, which leads to consistent, reliable care.

Adopt a Consultative Approach to Sales

Rather than selling services or pushing a product, a consultative sales approach allows your agency to build rapport and get to know your caller’s needs so you can respond with the best solutions to help them. Before discussing your rates, begin a dialogue with open-ended questions during inquiry calls to help understand the caller’s needs and concerns for their loved one. Practice active listening, reflect what you’re hearing back to the caller, and show that you’re interested in what they have to say while also showing that you’re an expert in your agency’s ability to offer solutions that meet their needs.

If a caller shares that they were disappointed in the service provided by a previous provider, present your care solutions in response to those concerns. For example, if the caller says the previous caregiver was unreliable, share that your low turnover rate and caregiver retention allow for a reliable, consistent level of care, and emphasize that your 24/7 on-call service is available to help address any concerns if they arise.

Listening to the person’s needs and possible issues gives you the opportunity to present your services in the form of a solution to their problems, allowing the caller to become familiar with the value and benefit of engaging your in-home care services.

What if a Caller Just Wants to Know the Price?

You don’t have to hide your pricing, but there is a preferred time for discussing your rates, and that’s not at the beginning of the conversation. The price of home care services shouldn’t become a roadblock to helping the caller understand what home care can offer them. Some strategies to try include:

• Always demonstrate the value of home care. By providing a better quality of care, you are ultimately providing a much better value.
• Engage in a dialogue to determine the caller’s needs before addressing pricing. Say something like, “We have a range of rates and services, but first I’d like to discuss your needs so I can give you the right pricing for what you’re requesting,” or, “Before we can determine the level of care needed and related price, let’s discuss your mother’s specific needs …”
• Emphasize the features and relevant differentiators that set your agency apart from the rest and show the value of your services. For example, does your agency offer written updates or a client portal to provide timely communication with clients? Do you have specialized care services, or training that goes above the required state minimums? Think about what your agency does that makes you stand out from the crowd, and highlight those differences when talking about the value of your services.
• Use scripting as a springboard for your team to provide a consistent yet natural-sounding response and to help the call handler feel more confident in responding to on-the-spot objections to the price of home care.
• When it’s time to reveal your pricing, after determining the caller’s needs, offer an in-home consultation to develop a plan of care and to outline pricing. If your agency provides the price by phone, be confident in what you can provide for that rate. Don’t pause after stating the price; tell them about the valuable services that that rate secures for their loved one. Remember that your services are worth it!
• If the caller continues to ask about pricing, try providing a range that can be narrowed down once you can determine more about the level of care needed.
• Be prepared to explore various payment options including long-term care insurance and veterans’ benefits. This is another great opportunity to demonstrate your agency’s expertise.

For additional help overcoming obstacles to the price of home care, look to corecubed. Our home care marketing experts can help your team demonstrate the value of your services to potential clients in a number of ways including:

• Inquiry management training to help your staff learn how to best handle calls in a way that leads to optimal conversions.
• Writing custom scripts for inquiry calls to ensure your team is responding in a preplanned, consistent manner that is on brand and emphasizes your value.
• Internal mystery shopping to review how your agency handles inquiries and to identify opportunities for improvement.

Contact us today to learn more about how our home care marketing strategies can help your agency learn how to overcome price objections and convert those calls into clients.