Case Study: The Hospital Referral Relationship That Outlasted My Job

Referral relationships are rarely built through one conversation, one brochure drop, or one lunch-and-learn.

In this case study episode, how I turned a locked hospital floor into one of my most reliable referral sources is broken down, not through a brochure or a business card, but through months of consistent, unglamorous relationship building. If you've been waiting on referrals to just happen, this episode will change how you think about the timeline.

In This Episode:

• Why "I need referrals" almost always actually means "I need to become visible, credible, and memorable" and why most people only work on the first one
• The real story behind a closed hospital floor with no walk-in access, only a gatekeeper controlling the calendar
• What she asked, and what she never pitched, in every one of those visits
• How she built her in-service presentation entirely around the case managers' actual lived experience, not her own talking points
• The small, unglamorous first ask (a Saturday morning notary) that opened the door to a real referral pipeline
• Why that hospital was still calling her two years after she left the community
• This week's action step

Quotable from this episode:

"Your goal is not to chase referral sources. Your goal is to become the person they think of in the moment of their need.""I earned that meeting because I had already shown that gatekeeper I was reliable before I was ever useful."

This Week's Action Step:
Identify five referral sources you already know exist. Instead of reaching out with "do you have anyone for me," create one genuine reason to reconnect that has nothing to do with what you need from them yet. A deposit, not an ask.

Mentioned in This Episode:
Momentum Marketing Bootcamp — for owners and sales professionals who know they need a consistent way to build referral relationships, not just another brochure drop.

Take what you need, share what helps, and come back for more.

Transcript

Tiffany Updated voice 0:00

Most owners tell me that they need referrals. What they actually mean is that they need to become visible, credible, and memorable to the people making those referral decisions. Those are different things, and most people are only working on the first one, visibility.

Tiffany 0:21

Uh huh. Welcome to Start With Occupancy, the podcast for senior living owners, operators, and sales professionals. /Hi, I'm Tiffany, marketing strategist and former corporate baddie who got tired of producing results for wall street and wanted to make a change on main street. /I provide quick tips, idea nuggets, and case studies to help you with proven sales, marketing, and business development strategies along with leadership concepts so that you can inspire change, impact lives, and improve outcomes for the aging, their families and your teams. /I'm committed to equipping you with the tools, the knowledge and resources that you need to excel in your business. /With experience working inside senior living companies, large and small, I've developed a deep passion for advocating for the aging adult and those who care for them, all while driving business growth. /So whether you're already in the senior care industry or maybe you would like to be, if your mission is to serve them, my mission is to serve you. /Join me as we unravel the strategies and tactics that drive success in your business while making a difference in someone's life. /The goal is to touch, guide, and impact the lives of 10 families per month! /Are you with me? It's time to be inspired, gain practical tips and own your future.

Tiffany Updated voice 1:48

Hello, friends. I want to tell you about a referral relationship that changed everything for me when I was a sales manager And I want to be honest with you upfront, it wasn't luck or charm, even though I have been known to be a schmoozer in my past. Actually, it was a lot of work. it was not a brochure. It was not a business card that was left on a front desk somewhere. That rarely works without context, leaving something like that just on a desk. It was three to four months of showing up before anybody even knew my name. And I say that because I think a lot of owners and sales professionals hear "referral relationships", and they picture something that's fast, uh, it happens, and they're supposed to get it right away. One good conversation or one drop-off, done. I got a referral. That is not typically what happens for most of us in this space, and if that is what you are waiting for, I want to save you from some frustration and heartache today. It's all about managing expectations, right? I'm gonna tell you about a closed hospital, and when I say closed, I mean, you could not just walk on the floor. You could not knock on a case manager's office door. You couldn't just introduce yourself. The only way in officially was scheduling an in-service in which there was like a lunch or a lunch and learn. That's what an in-service is in our niche. Um, and that's what's it's referred to. And even that door was not exactly wide open. The gatekeeper managing the calendar and setting the appointments was not in a hurry to put my name on that list of people who could get in. I knew that there was families inside who needed guidance and who desperately wanted the help, and I knew case managers were under immense pressure, and me just waiting on the outside trying to earn my way in was not gonna work. So here's what I want you to know and what I would like for you to sit with. Most owners tell me that they need referrals. What they actually mean is that they need to become visible, credible, and memorable to the people making those referral decisions. Those are different things, and most people are only working on the first one, visibility. While visibility is easy and credibility takes time, to be memorable, that starts with intention. Here's what I actually did, and it was not glamorous at all. But I started stopping by the case management office every two weeks and talking to that receptionist, that gatekeeper first, getting to know her. I was curious, so I would ask her questions on their policy, how long she worked at the hospital, what is their process when people come in? What was important to the case managers? What does she hear that they complain about the most, and how do they prefer to be communicated to? Just asking questions while also being consistent, making sure she saw my face enough times and was friendly enough with me that I stopped becoming a stranger and I became someone she's like, "Let me get you in." And every time I was there, I gave her a small piece of value, not just a pitch. "Did you know we do respite stays? I just wanted to let your people know. Can you pass along that message? Did you know we do home visits?" She'd ask, "What is that?" And I would explain. Or I would say, "I'm here visiting one of our residents in the hospital, so I wanted to stop by and say hey to you." She was like, "Oh, that's so great of you." I did this for three to four months before I finally got a spot on their schedule for the lunch and learn, also known as the in-service And I say that because I want you to stop measuring your referral strategy in terms of weeks. Sometimes it takes time after time again to get that referral going and to warm up that relationship. This is a relationship being built on one small deposit at a time. When I finally got that in-service on the calendar, I asked the gatekeeper, the receptionist, questions so she could get excited and hype up this in-service compared to other people. And she could actually do the promoting for me because they're not required to come to an in-service. It was lunch and they're like, "Hey, we have this person coming in." So to ensure I would get a good turnout and that people would be there and no one would pass up this lunch, I asked more questions. What do they like to eat? What do you like to eat? What was the meal that they always talked about when somebody came in and g- and, and had it delivered, right, or was catered? Um, what does people look forward to when it comes to the in-service? The case managers or the directors or the s- support staff? Who was all going to be there? And then I built my whole presentation, including the PowerPoint slides, around what their typical day was like as a case manager or a social worker. And by the way, the information that I used to make that presentation was gleaned from the information I got from the last four months. You see what I'm saying? So that's how I did that. I did not just walk in and start talking about my community when the actual in-service happened. I introduced myself. I started asking the case managers questions first. I walked through the room. I talked to them about the food. I created the presentation walking through it in the order of their experience, their actual lived experience. A family with no plan, a case manager, you're spending hours chasing a solution, chasing people down, not knowing who in the community, the greater community, could actually support this particular family through their discharge and after. The mandate hanging over each one of you the entire time. I really walked them through what their frustrations are trying to do the right thing by the patient with the clock that's running out of time because they have to do the discharge. And only then did I show them what we offered after I talked with them the entire time. We got through what some of their challenges were. And that is when I introduced our Safely Somewhere Program and what it actually looked like for them to partner with our community and for us to implement this program And for me, who already knew the resources that was out there that they didn't have the time to try and find and hunt down, I told them plainly that I'm already out here. I already know the people. Allow me to be that resource for you Well, the lesson in all of this is that the referral relationships are not built from a single brochure drop, right? Period, point blank. They're built through persistence, relevance, trust, and showing up prepared, and in that order, to be honest. I did not earn that meeting because I asked for it enough times. I earned it because by the time I got it, I had already shown that receptionist, that gatekeeper, and the extension of her office that I was reliable before I was ever useful. My consistency was what paid off in that moment. Here is where it actually started paying off. It did not start big. It literally started after that presentation with a family who needed a notary to be signed on a Saturday morning so a loved one can be treated, right? And early on that Saturday morning, I found three notaries who could get to the hospital within an hour to two hours for them to be able to get everything signed off. Then it became, "Can you visit this patient?" That was the next trust step. Then, this patient coming back for treatment and we think she's not getting the support at home. Then it was, "This patient is difficult to discharge, and we genuinely do not know what to do with her." Then it was something else, then it was something else, and that is how my referral relationship grew with them. I solved one small problem at a time until I was the first person that they called every time. And here's the part that still gets me. Two years after I left that position in that particular community, they still called me. They said, "We know you're not in the community anymore, but we know that you know someone who could help." One of them just plainly told me that, "We're sorry that you even left. We called other people and other places, but there was nobody willing to do or have or implement the Safely Somewhere program like you were." Two whole years later. That is not just a referral relationship. That is trust that outlasted the job in and of itself So here's your takeaway. Your goal is not to chase referral sources. I say that because chasing puts you in a posture of always asking, and asking is not what builds trust. Your goal is to become the person they think of in the moment of their need in the right situation that shows up before they even start looking for who else might help. And I want you to notice something. The relationship did not start with the move in or with a referral. It all started with a request for a notary in a time of need. And that matters because sometimes the first opportunity to build trust is not in that big referral. It is the small problem that nobody else wants to solve. And I say that 'cause that goes for everything. So here's what I want you to do. This is your action step This week, I want you to identify five referral sources you already know exist. And instead of reaching out with, "Do you have anyone for me?" Or, "Do you have a referral?" Or, "Do you know somebody who needs assisted living?" Or, "Do you know somebody who needs memory care?" Create one genuine reason to reconnect with them. A piece of value, a resource, a reason that has nothing to do with what you need from them yet. That is how this whole process starts. Not with an ask, with a deposit, a deposit of information and trust that you're going to give to them. If this episode is hitting close to home because you know you've been trying to get referrals, but you don't have a consistent way to build relationships, referral relationships, that is exactly the kind of work we do inside the Momentum Marketing Bootcamp. We work on your message, your outreach rhythm, your referral conversations, and the follow-up that's necessary that will help you to become more than just another name on a brochure or another person who's just calling in or stopping by with muffins. We call that muffin top marketing, by the way. Because the goal is not to be seen once. The goal is to become trusted enough to be remembered. All right, you guys I hope this case study will help you in the future as you are looking at referral relationships and how to start them and grow them with intention so take what you need, share what helps, and come back for more, and I'll see you in the next episode