Hospice Sales Professionals: Why is it important to know hospice?

All hospice employees should have a basic understanding of the Hospice Medicare Benefit, what are covered services, who is eligible, how it is paid for, the interdisciplinary team, their role on the team, etc. This includes hospice sales people! Any book, article, or training on sales always lists “KNOW YOUR PRODUCT” as one of the characteristics of top sales people.

As a liaison you need to take the lead in your orientation and ongoing education. Talk with your manager about what is in the liaison orientation and on-going training. If it does not include the recommendations below, talk with your manager about how you can gain this knowledge/experience. If you are the Executive Director or Director of Admissions (sales), review your liaison orientation and ongoing education (sales meetings) to see if this knowledge and these experiences are or can take place in your program.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Learn the Medicare benefit and regulations backwards and forwards ; test yourself with your program’s test or think about all the questions that a patient and family or customers might ask and answer them
• Learn and understand the importance of the interdisciplinary team and each team member
• Ride with each team member as they make visits; talk with them about why they like hospice; ask them to describe their role on the team and with patients/families; ask them to share their most meaningful stories
• Attend a team meeting
• Meet briefly with each senior manager and ask them to describe their role and how they can work with you as liaison : Executive Director, Patient Care Coordinator (Clinical Coordinator), Medical Director
• Meet with the Team Manager to describe their role with the team and talk about how the two of you can work together
• Meet with the Volunteer Manager and the Bereavement Manager to talk about their roles
• Attend a Volunteer Training, if possible
• Begin to learn the clinically appropriate patient – general and by disease
• Understand pain management; you don’t need to know how to titrate but you do need to be able to describe how pain is assessed and managed
• If your program has specialty clinical programs, learn about them and how to present them

It is a given that you must possess and be able to demonstrate good sales skills. Add this clinical knowledge, and you become a consultant to your customers, not just an order taker. When I was first hired as a hospice liaison, my manager said: “You must learn the Medicare Benefit and regulations backwards and forwards.” I am still grateful for that direction. I use this knowledge almost every day. It is well worth the investment of time.