March is nutrition month and to celebrate we are having a party-a Twitter party that is-hosted by Alison Rhodes-Jacobson in coordination with CKFI. CKFI worked with Alison this past October in preparation for National Caregivers month via a national, co-op satellite media tour that positioned Comfort Keepers^® as the premier in-home care provider for seniors and other adults. Alison, a passionate caregiver of three, one of whom is a father with Alzheimer's disease, has achieved Safety Mom fame through her popular blog on home safety and other topics relevant for children and seniors. Alison will be hosting the party from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25.

Join the conversation at #seniornutrish and connect with others to discuss the topic, "How many of us are concerned about our aging parent's eating habits, health and nutritional well being?" We will be providing tips on the most important foods for seniors and ideas for quick and easy meals that caregivers and adult children can prepare ahead of time.

There is less than one month left to make your plans and register for the 2014 Leadership Conference in Denver, Colorado, April 24 through 26. This may seem like a long time, but rooms and conference sessions are filling up. Your best bet for getting the Comfort Keepers^® discounted room rate of $169 per night and attend the sessions that interest you is to register now.

Visit the conference page on Members (see link below) to view the exciting activities and sessions we have planned. You will be able to visit the Downtown Denver Aquarium, tour breweries, play golf, and attend sessions presented by third-party subject matter experts. Plus, you can meet and mingle with other franchisees around the country. It is a great way to network. 

Care.com, the leading online resource for connecting families with caregivers, is rapidly growing their senior care business. Their Business Marketplace offers two great services for business owners: It enables them to foster key relationships to grow their businesses and helps them recruit new employees. 

Care.com will be offering franchisees special pricing for the 2014 Leadership Conference. This is a great opportunity for franchisees to increase their web presence and expand their customer base. Click here for details on Care.com's offerings and pricing special. 

Over the past 18 months CKFI has been expanding the role of Comfort Keepers^® in the healthcare continuum via various strategic initiatives, such as developing transition services packages, clinical pathways for the continuum of care, and the Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL/IADL) diagnosis wheel. We have also been cultivating a number of beneficial relationships with major healthcare industry companies like Rite Aid and Medline and have introduced you to partners to help you drive your revenue, such as American Veterans Care Connection (AVCC) and Life Care Funding.

In continuation of these initiatives, we are currently forming a new strategic relationship with the Centipede Health Network. The Centipede Health Network will be the first national home- and community-based services network that will connect patients with qualified providers. By joining Centipede, your office will be part of a single provider network that will eliminate the hassle of signing up with different health plans individually. This relationship will offer a number of benefits for franchises:

• There is no cost to participate; Centipede is not a paid, lead-generation service.
• Comfort Keepers locations will enjoy preferred provider status as part of an organization that has passed National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)-level credentialing standards.
• Comfort Keepers' information will be accessed by health plans, commercial long-term care plans, self-insured individuals, accountable care organizations, and private pay patients seeking in-home care services.

This will be a great opportunity to gain prominence in the healthcare marketplace. Please check future issues of Friday Flash for information on how to join.

The most important step of the Comfort Keepers^®' sales process is often the most neglected. Following up with clients, especially open, potential clients, is critical to successfully increasing your sales numbers. Next month's MasterMind call focuses on "working the deck" to close those open prospects. Cheryl Riggs, New and Transfer Business Coach, will walk you through some best practices that can lead to fewer potential clients and more committed clients.

Date:   Thursday, April 3, 2013 

Time:  11 a.m. EST (10 a.m. CST, 9 a.m. MTN, 8 a.m. PST)

Click here to join the MasterMind webinar.

For audio, enter your phone number when prompted after you log into the webinar. You will then be called back automatically by the system.

Or you can dial...  

Phone:                       (800) 591-2259
Participant Code:       886411