I’d like to share something that completely changed the way I think about growing a home care agency.
It’s a concept I first learned from legendary marketing strategist Jay Abraham.
Jay teaches that there are only three ways to grow any business…..That’s it.
No matter what industry you’re in, every growth strategy falls into one of three categories:
- Increase the number of customers.
- Increase the average value of each customer.
- Increase the frequency of purchases or transactions.
It’s a simple framework…..But when I started applying it to home care, I realized something.
Most agency owners spend almost all of their time pulling on one lever…and they ignore the other two.
The agencies that grow the fastest don’t just work harder…..They build systems around all three.
Let’s take a look.
Lever #1: Generate More Clients
This is where most owners immediately go. “I need more referrals.”…..I agree.
But here’s the question I always ask…..How are you planning to get them?
For many agencies, the answer is pretty vague.
“Make more sales calls.”….”Visit more referral sources.”….”Take more people to lunch.”
Those aren’t strategies…..Those are tactics…..And there’s a big difference.
A strategy answers why you’re doing something…..A tactic is simply the activity you perform.
A system is what ensures those activities happen consistently and produce predictable results.
That’s an important distinction.
Most agencies don’t have a marketing problem…..They have a systems problem.
They’re doing activities…..Those activities just aren’t connected by an intentional strategy.
One of Jay Abraham’s concepts that I’ve always loved is called the Parthenon Strategy.
Think about the Parthenon in Greece….It doesn’t stand on one pillar…..It stands on many.
If one pillar weakens, the structure doesn’t collapse because the other pillars continue to support it.
Your referral and lead generation should work exactly the same way.
Unfortunately, many home care agencies are built on one or two pillars.
Maybe it’s one hospital…..Maybe it’s one skilled nursing facility…..Maybe it’s one incredible salesperson.
Maybe it’s one discharge planner who loves your agency.
That may work for a while.
….Until someone retires…..Changes jobs…..Gets promoted…..Or your competitor starts calling on them with a better offer.
Now your referral pipeline dries up….That’s not a strategy…..That’s dependence.
Instead, your agency should have multiple referral pillars working together.
Those pillars might include:
- Dream Team Partners
- Strategic Alliances
- Direct Selling
- Optimizing Conversions, including lead-to-assessment and assessment-to-close
- Email Marketing
- Professional Networking Groups
- Social Media and Video Marketing
- Community Education Events
- Past Client Referral Programs
- Your Google Business Profile
- SEO and Online Marketing
Every pillar can become a source of generating and optimizing new business.
….The goal isn’t to do everything…..The goal is to intentionally build multiple referral channels so you’re never dependent on just one.
Inside my own agency, I eventually realized something.
The agencies with the best referral relationships weren’t necessarily making the most sales calls…..They simply had a better system.
They knew exactly who they wanted to meet…..They understood their Dream Avatar…..They had a clear Core Differentiator.
They prequalified referral sources…..They understood each referral partner’s WIIFMs.
They delivered consistent value…..Every visit had a purpose.
Every presentation fit into a larger strategy…..That’s how predictable growth is built.
…Not through random acts of marketing…..Through intentional systems.
One thing I’ve also noticed over the years…..The fastest-growing agency owners rarely grow in isolation.
They’re constantly learning from other successful owners…..They’re sharing ideas…..Borrowing strategies…..And avoiding mistakes someone else has already made.
That’s one of the greatest benefits of being surrounded by the right peer group.
You don’t have to figure everything out on your own….Sometimes one conversation can save you months (even years) of frustration.
Lever #2: Increase the Value of Every Client
Most owners assume this means raising prices…..It doesn’t.
Although raising prices can certainly help, and I do believe every owner should have a strategy for annual rate increases.
In home care, I think about this lever differently.
…It’s about increasing the lifetime value of every client.
Suppose your average client generates $15,000 during their time with your agency.
What happens if that number increases to $18,000?…..Or $25,000?
You didn’t necessarily charge more…..You simply became better at positioning yourself to attract the right clients and serving them well.
Clients who need more hours…..Clients who are a better fit for your services.
Clients who remain on service longer because expectations were set correctly from the beginning.
That’s where positioning becomes so important.
One of the biggest lessons I learned as an owner was that we didn’t need every client.
We needed the right clients….Once we became known for helping a very specific type of client, everything improved.
Recruiting became easier…..Scheduling became easier…..Our caregivers were happier…..Our margins improved.
Even our referral partners became more confident referring to us because they knew exactly who we served best.
Sometimes growth isn’t about serving more people…..Sometimes it’s about serving the right people better.
There are dozens of ways to increase lifetime value.
It starts with your sales and marketing strategy..but it bleeds into…Better onboarding…..Better caregiver matching…..Better communication with families.
Annual rate increase strategies…..More proactive care…..Longer shifts…..Better retention…..Better service.
Here’s one example from my own agency.
We implemented a wellness program with our clients.
Instead of simply showing up and completing the basic tasks most home care agencies perform, we took a much more proactive approach to care.
We looked for ways to improve the client’s overall quality of life…..We focused on prevention…..We focused on engagement.
We focused on helping the client remain safer, healthier, and more independent.
Many of those things couldn’t be done well during a typical shorter shift.
So even our smaller clients began to see more value in the time our caregivers were there.
Families stopped viewing additional hours as an unnecessary expense…..They began viewing those hours as part of a better care plan.
We weren’t simply trying to sell more hours….We were creating more value.
And because we created more value, clients were often willing to use more hours and remain with us longer.
All of that contributed to increasing the lifetime value of each client.
Lever #3: Increase the Frequency of Referrals From Existing Referral Sources
Jay Abraham’s third growth lever is to increase how often your customers buy from you.
In most businesses, that’s pretty straightforward.
A coffee shop wants customers to come back more often…..A restaurant wants you to visit twice a month instead of once…..A retail store wants you shopping every season.
…But home care is different.
Most families don’t buy home care over and over again…..They need care when they need it.
So how do we apply Jay’s third lever to our industry?
Simple……..Instead of getting families to buy more often…
Focus on getting your existing referral sources to refer more often.
…Think about it.
If one hospital case manager referred three patients to your agency last year…
What would happen if they referred six?…..Or ten?…..Or twelve?
You didn’t have to find a brand-new referral source…..You simply deepened an existing relationship.
That’s often a much easier and more profitable strategy.
The same principle applies to assisted living communities, concierge doctors, hospices, skilled nursing facilities, elder law attorneys, financial planners, and every other referral partner you’ve already worked so hard to develop.
Here’s another mistake I see.
Many agencies treat every referral source exactly the same.
They shouldn’t….Some accounts have ten times the referral potential of others.
We call those “Whale Accounts”.
Landing one whale account can change the entire trajectory of your home care agency.
That means you need a process for prequalifying referral sources.
You need to identify the highest-potential accounts in your market…..Then you need to invest more time, energy, and resources into building those relationships.
I remember one agency owner who had been calling on a major referral account for months.
She was getting occasional referrals, but nowhere near the number she believed the account could produce.
The relationship wasn’t bad….She simply wasn’t positioned as the obvious choice.
….We helped her become more strategic.
She improved her follow-up…..She focused on the referral source’s WIIFMs…..She shared more relevant success stories.
She began showing up with a clear purpose instead of simply checking in.
Over time, that account became one of her strongest referral relationships.
The opportunity had been there all along.
What was missing was the system.
The question isn’t just…”How do I find more referral sources?”
It’s also…”How do I become the first agency the highest-potential referral sources think of every single time?”
….That’s where the right strategy and systems make all the difference.
You don’t accomplish this by randomly dropping off donuts every few weeks.
You accomplish it by being strategic…..And consistently creating value.
That’s why I’m such a believer in Value-Based Selling.
…Every interaction should strengthen the relationship…..Every visit should have a purpose.
…Every presentation should reinforce your Core Differentiator and help the referral source understand why you’re the best fit for your Dream Avatar.
…..Every conversation should answer the referral source’s WIIFMs….What’s In It For Me (really them)?
When you consistently educate…..Follow up…..Share success stories…….Overcome common myths, such as the belief that people can’t afford care…..
…Provide useful resources…..Conduct quarterly relationship reviews…..Track referral activity…..And stay top of mind…
Something interesting happens….You stop competing for referrals….You become the obvious choice.
And don’t overlook another group that many agencies forget…
Your current and past clients…..Think about it.
Who understands the value of your services better than a family you’ve already helped?
A daughter whose mother received exceptional care…..
A spouse who finally got a good night’s sleep because someone they trusted was there…..
A son who watched your caregivers treat his father with dignity during one of the hardest seasons of his life.
Those families know exactly what you do.
Yet very few agencies have a system for staying in touch after services end.
A simple follow-up…..A monthly newsletter…..A formal referral program…..A handwritten note.
A client appreciation event…..A caregiver recognition story…..Helpful educational content.
….These small touchpoints keep your agency top of mind long after care has ended.
Then, months or even years later, a neighbor asks…..”Do you know a good home care company?”
Or someone at church mentions they’re worried about their mom…..Who do you think they’re going to recommend?
The agency that disappeared after the final invoice…Or the one that continued adding value long after the case was closed?
This is why I believe referral relationships should be viewed as long-term assets.
The goal isn’t to get one referral…..The goal is to build a relationship that generates referrals for years.
That’s how you create sustainable growth….Not by constantly chasing the next new referral source…
But by building systems that encourage the people who already know, like, and trust you to keep referring…..Again and again.
Final Thoughts
The biggest lesson I learned from Jay Abraham wasn’t simply that there are three ways to grow a business.
It was realizing that growth isn’t random…..It’s strategic.
Every successful home care agency is pulling one or more of these three levers.
They’re generating more clients through multiple referral and marketing pillars…..
They’re increasing the lifetime value of every client they serve…..
And they’re building referral relationships that continue producing opportunities year after year.
The real power comes when all three levers work together.
More clients…..More value per client…..More referrals from the relationships you’ve already built.
That’s when growth starts to compound.
That’s when your agency becomes more predictable…..More profitable…..More valuable.
And far less dependent on any one salesperson, referral source, or marketing tactic.
The question isn’t whether these strategies work.
The question is…Which lever are you ignoring?
Because chances are…That’s where your next home care revenue breakthrough is hiding.
Remember…Growth isn’t built on random acts of marketing…..It’s built on intentional strategies and systems.
Article by Gregg Mazza
