How to get clients for a domiciliary care agency.
Home care agencies help vulnerable adults live independently in their own homes. Finding clients means reaching the professionals who refer them — social workers, hospital discharge teams, GPs and local authority commissioners. Here is how AI cold calling helps you build those relationships at scale.
Why home care agencies struggle to fill their rounds
Domiciliary care is in high demand — the UK population is ageing, and NHS hospitals are under constant pressure to discharge patients who no longer need a hospital bed but do need support at home. Yet many home care agencies find it hard to maintain a full roster of clients.
The difficulty is not a lack of people who need care. It is that the referral pathways are controlled by a small number of professionals — social workers, hospital discharge coordinators, local authority commissioning teams and GPs — and if they do not know your agency exists, they refer to the ones they do know. Word of mouth is slow, and waiting for a local authority framework invitation can take months. Proactive outreach to these referrers is what fills your rounds.
Who refers clients to home care agencies
Understanding who controls the referral matters more than reaching the person who needs care directly. The key groups are:
- Local authority adult social care teams — they commission home care packages and maintain approved provider lists. Getting on the list means a steady flow of referrals.
- Hospital discharge coordinators — when a patient is ready to leave hospital but needs support at home, the discharge team finds a care provider. Being known to them is essential for rapid-response packages.
- GPs and primary care networks — GPs refer patients to social services, but they also recommend agencies directly to families who ask. A brief introduction to the practice manager goes a long way.
- Social workers and care managers — they assess individual needs and match clients to providers. They prefer agencies they have worked with and trust.
- Solicitors and financial advisers — families arranging care for an elderly relative often ask their solicitor or adviser for a recommendation.
Build separate lead lists for each group so you can tailor your approach. The list-building guide covers sourcing professional contacts.
Using AI cold calling to introduce your agency
A home care agency covering one county might need to reach 50 GP surgeries, 20 social work teams, several hospital discharge units, local authority commissioning desks and dozens of solicitors' practices. Doing that by phone yourself, while running care visits, is not realistic.
An AI calling agent can phone every contact on your list and deliver a brief, professional introduction. Upload your leads to FoxEra Calls, write or approve a script that reflects the tone and values of your agency, and let the AI agent (Cass, Alex or Andrea) make the calls.
The agent introduces your agency, explains the types of care you provide (personal care, companionship, medication support, dementia care), and asks whether they accept introductions from new providers. Every response is logged with a full transcript and recording for you to review.
Calls cost from 12p per connected minute with no subscription. New accounts start with £7 of free calling credit. See the pricing page for details.
Writing a script that reflects your agency's values
Care is personal, and the first impression your agency makes matters. The script should be warm, professional and honest. It should not use high-pressure sales language — the people you are calling are professionals who care about their clients' wellbeing.
- Introduce your agency clearly — your name, CQC registration status, the area you cover and the types of care you offer.
- Explain why you are reaching out — you want to introduce your agency to local professionals so they know you are available when a client needs home care support.
- Ask a respectful question — "Do you currently have a list of approved domiciliary care providers, and would you be open to learning about our agency?"
- Offer a next step — "I can send over our CQC report, our services brochure and references from existing clients."
Review your call transcripts after the first campaign to refine your wording. For general scripting principles, see the cold calling script guide.
Building relationships after the first call
In domiciliary care, trust takes time. A single phone call does not win a referral — but it does open the door. After the AI agent has called your list, review the transcripts and identify the contacts who were receptive.
Follow up personally. Send your CQC report, arrange a meeting with the practice manager or social work team leader, and offer to attend a multi-disciplinary team meeting. Once they have met you and seen your documentation, referrals follow naturally.
Set up a follow-up campaign every few months to stay in touch. Teams change, new social workers join, and discharge coordinators rotate. A brief, courteous call from your AI agent keeps your agency on their list without you having to remember every contact.
Automate the follow-up with a follow-up sequence and use the follow-up tracker to make sure no warm contact falls through the gap.
Managing outreach from your AI assistant
If you use ChatGPT, Claude or another AI assistant, you can connect it to FoxEra Calls and manage your campaigns without logging into a dashboard. Your assistant adds leads, previews the cost, launches the campaign once you approve, and shows you who responded positively.
This is practical for care agency owners who spend most of their day supervising visits, managing rotas and handling compliance. The developer guide shows how to connect in three steps.
For more on AI-assisted outreach, see AI lead generation software and AI cold calling for care agencies. For broader client-finding strategies, see how to get more clients.
Frequently asked questions
Is it appropriate to cold-call social workers and GPs about care services?
Yes, provided the call is professional, relevant and brief. You are not selling to them — you are introducing a service that helps their patients and clients. The AI agent is courteous and ends the call if the person is not interested.
How much does it cost to run an AI calling campaign for a care agency?
Calls cost from 12p per connected minute with no subscription. New accounts get £7 of free calling credit. A campaign reaching 100 professionals typically costs a few pounds.
Can the AI agent explain our CQC rating and services?
The agent follows your script and can mention your CQC registration, rating and the types of care you provide. For detailed clinical or regulatory discussions, the agent logs the conversation so you can follow up personally with documentation.
How do I get on a local authority approved provider list?
Add your local authority's adult social care commissioning team to your lead list. Write a script that asks about the application process for their approved provider framework. The AI agent calls and logs the response, so you know exactly who to contact and what paperwork they need.