Incept has the great pleasure of spending the majority of our time focusing on the high-performingConversational Marketing Experts (CMEs). There is an Employee of the Month ceremony held each month, and every employee is invited to attend – on the clock. This is an opportunity for Incept to do a lot of personal and specific recognition.

The trick to making every call your best call is treating each call with the same amount of enthusiasm. Listen to your donor, and fully take the opportunity to address any and all concerns, as well as truly hear what they are saying. Have you ever received a call and felt like the person on the other end wasn’t listening to you? Most people will answer yes to this question. We don’t want our donors to feel that way about us.

So, how often should you contact a donor? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Your contact center will need to modify best practices based upon trial and error.

Your tele-recruitment investment may be the most important financial decision you make this year.

In working with over 40 blood centers over the last 16 years, we’ve found that an optimized tele-recruitment strategy can:

• Save money
• Deliver the right product at the right time
• Prevent critical appeals during difficult summer months

Calling donors in order to get the donation type that is most in need can be done simply if you have the right resources. Your database should be segmented by each donor’s blood type, last three donation types, and gender. If you have the luxury of scripting software and an automatic dialer, the scripter should be able to utilize this data to prompt the dialer to call only qualified donors and to serve an appropriate script to your tele-recruiters.

Over the last 16 years, Incept has helped over 40 blood centers reduce cost, increase collections, and improve donor relationships. Last year alone, we conducted over 6 million conversations with blood donors and recruited more than 267,552 units, all on a fixed cost-per-donor payment structure. Meaning our clients only pay for a usable unit.

Being apologetic lets the donor know that we actually do care about their experience beyond scheduling an appointment to donate with us. If someone has a bad experience and it goes unnoticed it basically shows the donor that we only care about their blood and not their well-being.

Some organizations may use automated voicemail. If yours does not, keep your message brief and to-the-point. Inform the blood donor about why you are calling, give brief details about any current promotions, and provide a callback number where he or she can self-schedule.

It’s not enough to hire people and trust them to consistently relate well with donors. Let’s face it, saying the same things to numerous people each day, and being turned down by a large percentage of them, can be demotivating. It can turn a very important job into a routine.

Begin thinking of what your tele-recruiters do as ”having conversations” rather than “making calls.” A call is of good quality if it’s dialed correctly. A conversation is of good quality if it engages another person and both parties learn something of value. Such conversations build strong relationships, in this case between your blood center and the donor. That’s what you’re really after.

As Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs), we’re always anticipating a conversation to end with an appointment to help save lives! Sometimes, however, other conversations may not end with an appointment, but as CMEs we want to end every conversation on a positive note regardless of the situation.

What do you do with donors who simply do not answer the phone? Even though you contact them during what is typically the optimum time of day, some donors will not respond to phone calls.

One in every 7 people entering a hospital needs blood whether they’ve been in a car accident, have been diagnosed with cancer, or are a premature infant. Every two seconds someone needs a blood transfusion, so the need for blood is constant. 

We wanted to extend a very special thank you and happy holiday season greetings to all of our hardworking employees and wonderful clients. We believe in the power of good behind each blood donation, and that is what keeps Incept moving forward in the blood donor recruitment industry.

Bonus Programs motivate our Conversational Marketing Experts (CMEs) to practice what they learn through coaching. You may think the regular paycheck is enough to do that, and you may be right—if you relax quality standards for blood donor recruitment.

When a blood donor is ready to schedule an appointment, the following guidelines will help you to determine the best site. Above all, remember to put the donor’s needs and wishes first – a very important rule in blood donor recruitment. Review the last three locations where this donor has donated. Depending on your strategy, you can take one of two approaches at this point.

Not a workday should pass by without each Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) receiving coaching for blood donor recruitment in some form. Formal Coaching Sessions, Follow-Up Coaching Sessions, Positive Coaching Sessions, and Quality Audit Sessions fill this need eight days each month.

As the holidays approach everyone is getting ready to decorate their homes, preparing their shopping lists, and planning their trips to visit family out of town. At this time of year, the community doesn’t realize how much their local blood centers could really use their support with blood donations.

Patients all over the world rely on plasma protein therapies to treat rare, chronic diseases. These individuals rely on the generosity and commitment of plasma donors (and oftentimes the blood donor recruitment specialist). You may donate plasma in one of the many licensed and certified donor centers located in the U.S. Plasma often is referred to as the “gift of life”, because it is essential to helping thousands of people worldwide with rare, chronic diseases to live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilling lives.

With the holiday season comes a greater need for blood. Blood donors’ schedules are busier, more donors are getting sick, and bad weather can make it harder to get to the blood center. During the holidays it is important to remember these things, as Blood Donor Recruiters, when speaking with donors and make sure we are really expressing the need for blood and how appreciative we are of donors for taking the time to donate.