In Step 1, we talked about getting out into the community, meeting people, finding potential clients, and capturing the most important information first: their name and telephone number.
Now comes Step 2.
This is where marketing starts turning into actual business.
Finding someone who needs care is exciting, but a name and phone number alone don't move a client through the process. There has to be a system behind what happens next.
And this is something every home care owner should understand:
Referrals should always be coming in.
Not necessarily ten every day. And not every referral will eventually become a client. But if you are consistently marketing your agency, building relationships, following up, and staying visible in your community, there should always be people somewhere in your referral pipeline.
Some will be brand-new leads. Some will be gathering information. Some will be completing paperwork. Some will have referrals ready to be submitted. Some will be waiting for eligibility or approval. Some will need follow-up. And some will be ready to start services.
That's what a healthy referral pipeline looks like.
You don't want your business depending on one referral showing up every once in a while. You want a process that keeps people moving forward while new referrals continue coming in.
The referral form is where the process begins
Once someone expresses interest in services, your next job is to gather the information needed to move that person forward.
This is where the referral form becomes important.
Think of the referral form as more than paperwork. It is the bridge between "I found someone who needs help" and "let's get this person connected to services."
A complete referral can keep the process moving. An incomplete referral can bring it to a stop.
Missing a diagnosis, physician's name, Medicaid number, telephone number, signature, or other required information can mean phone calls back and forth, delays, and sometimes a referral sitting while everyone waits for the missing information.
That's why I teach agencies:
Don't just fill out referral forms. Complete them.
There is a difference.
Whose referral form should you use?
Some Medicaid case management agencies have their own referral forms.
When they do, use them. Their intake teams are already familiar with those forms, and the questions are usually designed around the information they need to process a referral.
Other agencies may not provide a specific referral form. In those situations, your home care agency should have a standardized referral form of its own.
Keep copies available electronically and, when appropriate, in print. Everyone responsible for intake or marketing should know where to find the current version.
Most importantly, everyone should follow the same process. Whether the referral comes through the owner, marketer, office manager, or another staff member, the information collected should be consistent.
What should be on your referral form?
The exact information required will depend on the program and case management agency, but your referral form may need to capture:
- Client's full legal name
- Date of birth
- Address and county
- Telephone number
- Best person to contact
- Emergency contact
- Medicaid status and Medicaid ID number, when available
- SSI or other eligibility information, when relevant
- Primary diagnosis and other relevant diagnoses
- Primary care physician or treating physician's name
- Physician's telephone and fax information, when required
- Hospital, rehabilitation facility, or other provider information, when applicable
- Current living situation
- Brief description of the client's care needs
- Assistance needed with bathing, dressing, grooming, meals, mobility, toileting, medication reminders, or other daily activities
- Family or caregiver contact information
- Referral source
- Date the referral was received
- Case management agency or program the referral is being submitted to
- Your agency's name and contact information
- Any signatures, releases, or supporting documentation required by the receiving organization
The important thing to remember is this:
Don't assume every case management agency requires the same information.
One may require diagnosis and physician information immediately. Another may collect it later. One may require additional supporting documentation before intake can begin.
Your job is to know the requirements before the referral gets submitted.
Learn the referral process for every agency you work with
One of the smartest things you can do is create a simple process for every case management agency you regularly work with.
Find out:
- What referral form do they use?
- What information is required?
- Where does the referral go?
- How should it be submitted?
- What supporting documents are required?
- What happens after they receive it?
- Who should you contact with questions?
- When should you follow up?
Write those answers down and make sure your team knows the process.
Now you're not relying on someone's memory every time a referral comes through the door.
You've created a system. And systems are what allow businesses to grow.
Complete referrals build relationships
There is another reason this matters.
Case managers are busy. Imagine being the person receiving referrals all day.
One agency repeatedly sends incomplete paperwork that requires three phone calls and two emails to straighten out. Another agency consistently sends complete, organized information and responds quickly when something else is needed.
Which agency would you rather work with?
Professionalism gets remembered. Your goal should be to become known as the agency that makes the process easier, not harder.
Relationships create referrals. Good service strengthens those relationships. And strong relationships can create even more referrals.
Every referral should enter a pipeline
This is where many new agencies lose opportunities.
They receive a referral, send some paperwork, and wait.
Don't just wait. Track it.
Every referral should have a status. For example:
New Lead → Contacted → Information Needed → Referral Complete → Submitted → Follow-Up Due → Pending Decision → Approved → Start of Care
If something stops moving, you should be able to see exactly where it stopped.
Maybe you're waiting for the family to provide a Medicaid number. Maybe the diagnosis or physician information is missing. Maybe the case management agency needs another document. Maybe eligibility is still being determined.
Or maybe nobody followed up.
A referral should never disappear simply because everyone got busy.
Pearl helps keep the referral process on track
As your marketing starts working, something else happens: you have more to keep up with.
Five referrals might feel manageable with a notebook or spreadsheet. But what happens when you have 10, 20, or more people at different stages?
One person is missing physician information. Another needs a diagnosis. Three referrals have already been submitted. Someone needs a follow-up call tomorrow. Another family hasn't returned their paperwork.
This is exactly why we built the Pearl Lead Portal.
Pearl gives your team one place to manage leads and referrals instead of trying to piece together information from spreadsheets, emails, sticky notes, folders, and someone's memory.
Your team can keep track of important lead information, where the referral came from, where the person is in the process, what still needs to be completed, and what needs to happen next.
The goal is simple: no referral should fall through the cracks.
Keep case management referral forms organized too
Remember how we talked about different case management agencies having different forms and requirements?
The Pearl Lead Portal helps organize that part of the process as well.
Your agency can store the individual referral forms used by the different case management companies you work with. Instead of searching through old emails, computer folders, websites, or someone's desk trying to find the correct form, your team can keep those forms organized and accessible in Pearl.
That becomes increasingly important as your referral volume grows.
Because the goal isn't simply to get more referrals. The goal is to build an operation capable of handling more referrals.
Marketing brings opportunities in. Your referral process moves those opportunities forward. And Pearl helps your team keep track of what's happening along the way.
Keep marketing while referrals are processing
This is one of the biggest lessons in this entire series.
Do not stop marketing because you have several referrals pending.
Keep going.
Those referrals may take time to become clients. Some may not qualify. Some may change their minds. Some may choose another provider. Others may take weeks to work through the process.
Meanwhile, your marketing should continue.
Think of your referral process as a pipeline. At the beginning, you're meeting people and creating awareness. Someone expresses interest. You capture their information. You complete the referral. You submit it. You follow up. The client moves through the process. Eventually, services may begin.
But while one person is nearing the end of that pipeline, new people should continue entering at the beginning.
That's how you create momentum.
Don't market until you get busy and then stop. Don't wait until your census drops and suddenly start marketing again.
Make marketing part of the normal operation of your agency.
Follow up without becoming a nuisance
Submitting a referral isn't the finish line.
Create a follow-up process. Document when the referral was submitted, when you followed up, who you spoke with, what they told you, what's missing, and what needs to happen next.
If something is missing, work on getting it. If the family needs to complete something, help them understand what's needed. If you're waiting on another organization, follow up appropriately.
You don't have to be aggressive. You need to be consistent.
There is a big difference between:
"I think we sent that referral a few weeks ago."
and:
"We submitted the referral on August 3. We followed up on August 10. They requested the physician information, which we provided on August 11. Our next follow-up is scheduled for August 18."
That's what a process looks like.
Remember the family behind the form
As important as the paperwork is, never allow the process to become only about paperwork.
There is a person behind every referral.
Sometimes it's an older adult who's afraid of losing their independence. Sometimes it's a daughter trying to manage her mother's care while raising her own family. Sometimes it's a husband or wife who has quietly become a full-time caregiver without ever thinking of themselves that way.
Listen before you start checking boxes. Explain the process in language people understand. Tell them what you know, what still needs to be determined, and what happens next.
And protect their confidential information. Health information, financial information, diagnoses, and family circumstances should be handled carefully and shared only through appropriate, secure channels with those authorized to receive it.
People remember how you treated them during a confusing and sometimes overwhelming season.
Don't overlook family and spousal caregivers
Spouses and other family caregivers are an important population to recognize.
Many have been providing significant care for months or even years without realizing there may be programs or resources available to help their family.
Depending on the Medicaid program, eligibility requirements, living arrangement, relationship to the participant, and other rules, certain family caregivers may be able to participate in programs that provide support or compensation.
Your job isn't to promise someone that they qualify. Your job is to recognize the opportunity and help connect the family with the appropriate program or organization that can determine eligibility.
Sometimes one knowledgeable conversation can open a door a family didn't even know existed.
And even when someone doesn't become your client, helping people find the right resources builds something extremely valuable: trust.
Review your referral pipeline every week
Set aside time every week to review your referrals.
Ask:
- How many new referrals came in?
- Where did they come from?
- How many forms are incomplete? What's missing?
- How many referrals have been submitted?
- Which ones need follow-up?
- How many are pending? How many were approved?
- How many actually started services?
- Which referral sources are producing results?
Now your marketing becomes measurable.
Instead of saying "we've been doing a lot of marketing," you can say:
"We received 12 referrals this month. Five came from community outreach, three from existing relationships, two from case managers, and two from families. Eight have been submitted, four are pending, and three are moving toward services."
That's a very different way of running your business.
The goal is consistent movement
Building a successful home care agency isn't about finding one magical referral source.
It's about building a repeatable process.
Market. Connect. Capture the lead. Complete the referral. Submit it correctly. Track it. Follow up. Start care. Keep marketing.
Then do it again. And again.
Over time, something begins to change. Instead of waking up every morning wondering "where is my next client going to come from?", you can look at your referral pipeline and see opportunities moving through it.
Some are just beginning. Some are halfway through. Some are almost ready for care. And while those referrals are moving forward, your marketing is bringing new opportunities into the pipeline.
That's the goal.
Always be marketing. Always be following up. Always know where your referrals stand.
And build a system strong enough to handle the growth you're working so hard to create.
Because when referrals consistently come in and your team has a clear process for moving them forward, you're no longer simply hoping your agency will grow.
You're building the system that helps make growth possible.
Coming next: Step 3
In Step 3, we'll continue building the home care marketing process and talk about what happens next as you move a potential client closer to services.
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