Kindful Health is a privately owned company focused on providing patients and their families with the full promise of the hospice benefit. After a career in banking, CEO of Kindful Health, Russ Krengel, sought an industry with more purpose and found it in building best-in-class post acute care service companies. The Trella team spoke with Russ on how he and his team leverage Trella’s Marketscape Insights and CRM solutions to continue to expand their business.
Customer Spotlight
Can you provide background on Kindful Health and your role as CEO?
“Kindful Health was founded two years ago as a best-in-class, single line hospice with multiple locations in Texas. As co-founder and CEO I own the vision, plan, culture and performance of the company. Our culture is one of very high standards. We don’t hold ourselves up against the average, instead, we only compare ourselves against the top 10% of hospices nationally. That goes across every metric, whether it’s clinical, financial, sales, employee experience, etc.”
How many locations does Kindful Hospice have?
“We have seven locations across Texas so far. We’re serving about 385 patients today. Our goal is to grow to an ADC between 600 to 1,000 patients. We don’t have a location requirement on that, but we would expect to continue to grow locations. We chose this number because it is where we can still be independent enough to provide care like a mom and pop, but large enough to make differentiating investments in people, processes and the like.”
How did you choose Trella’s solutions to support your team and Kindful’s growth?
“We needed data in order to organize our sales organization, determine priorities, assign accounts, create accountability, and professionalize our sales organization. We have had experience using Trella in previous operations. There are a few other possible solutions you could get if you just wanted a specific data set, but those aren’t an ongoing intelligence platform. If you’re making a strategy on how to approach a market, having the data that supports it means a lot. For us it’s two folds. Trella’s Insights solution is the data for the overall market where we can filter down to the county level. Second is the CRM where I’m trying to operationalize a group of sales professionals, which makes all the difference in this space.”
How does your team use Marketscape Insights and CRM to support sales planning and execution?
“I encourage the sales team to go into the Insights product once a month and do their planning. Then, the CRM helps them see how they are executing against their plan and what the results are based on their behaviors, activities, accounts they’re choosing to call on, etc. Our sales leadership has methodologies to help keep it simple. Our CRO has one called “LAF” which is after every sales call they review what they learned, what action they took, and what they need to do in the future. The reps can make a quick note of these in the CRM and it makes it easy for the manager to see how they’re making progress.”
How does your team approach adoption of the CRM and Insights solutions to support sales success?
“Teams have a choice: they can either take a shot in the dark and try to navigate the marketplace on their own, or they can rely on data to understand the reality and make informed decisions. We don’t see Marketscape CRM as “Big Brother.” It’s a tool designed to empower and to act as your scoreboard and support system. In sales, especially if you’re commission-based, you’re essentially running your own business. And just like any business owner, you need the right tools to succeed. We’re here to support that with data, process, coaching, marketing resources, and ideas. But it’s up to you to apply those tools in your market. Think about top athletes: the best golfers, the best players in any sport, they all have coaches. They don’t go at it alone. If a sales rep doesn’t see value in using these tools, then frankly, we may have hired the wrong person.”
How often is your team leveraging the Marketscape Insights data solution?
“You can think of it in terms of territory planning. That’s where Marketscape Insights comes into play. Sales directors and reps use it to make strategic decisions about where to focus their limited time and energy. You only have so much time in the field, so you need to be intentional. Are you taking a shotgun approach—targeting 30 to 40 accounts to see what sticks? Or are you taking a more focused, rifle approach—spending more time with a smaller set of high-potential accounts, maybe 14 to 20? Marketscape Insights helps you answer the critical question: Where should I invest my time to get the most return? It provides the data and insights to guide that decision? That’s part of the territory planning aspect. But when I’m setting up new account penetration meetings, I always want to come in with data—especially when working with anyone tied to an NPI, like nursing homes, physicians, or hospital systems. What’s surprising is how often these organizations don’t have a full picture of their data. Here’s a quick example: I was meeting with the chief medical officer of a health system, and she was completely confident that all their hospice referrals were going to a specific hospice organization. But when we looked at the actual data in Trella, that organization didn’t even rank in the top 10 referral destinations. So I mentioned, “Look, you may want to send referrals to that hospice, and they may be a great partner—but for some reason your case managers and discharge planners aren’t using them.” What we found was that most referrals were actually going to a large nonprofit hospice. So I asked her, “Why do you think that’s happening?” She gave a few reasons, but I had done research in Marketscape Insights as well. The Trella data showed our organization was delivering 44% more care in the last 3 days of life and 39% more in the last 7 days compared to others. It even benchmarked our hospitalization rate against the county average, where we outperformed. By doing my research in Marketscape Insights prior to this meeting, I had a whole talk track to help guide the conversation and help her understand the facts about her various partnerships. If sales reps go into these conversations without pulling the data first, they walk away from a ton of potential business. The insights in Trella really help differentiate a “cookie cutter” sales rep from a real salesperson who is advocating for the organization that’s doing great care.”
How has Marketscape Insights helped you in managing your sales team?
“I currently have 22 sales reps, and that number will continue to grow. But if you’re going to run a sales organization, the question is how to organize it? You can’t have a free-for-all, where reps are just doing whatever they want with no structure. However, if you’re serious about covering a market effectively—especially with multiple reps in the same area—you need to define and manage territories. We’ve built a disciplined process around that. Every quarter, each rep is required to review all of their accounts, identify which ones to drop, which new ones to add, and then project where their results will come from. Because to me, the highest form of sales is the ability to predict the future based on your relationships and insights. We ask reps to explain where they expect next quarter’s results to come from and why, what’s changing, which relationships are strengthening, and how they’re planning to grow. Without a tool like Trella’s, how do you even begin to support that kind of disciplined, strategic account management where you’re constantly evaluating and refining your focus?”
How has the Coaching feature in CRM helped support your team?
“The Coaching feature has made a big difference, especially in terms of organization. In our previous process, a sales director or senior manager would do a ride-along and then follow up with an email recap. That recap would go out to a few leaders and be saved in a rep’s file to help inform performance reviews. But now, all of that is built directly into the CRM. You can still use whatever coaching framework you like, but the structure is there—and it’s much more organized. No more chasing down emails, folders, or spreadsheets. Everything is centralized. The real value, though, comes from using it consistently. When reps know they’ll get two ride-alongs a month and regular coaching notes, it creates a rhythm and sets clear expectations. It shows them leadership is truly invested in their growth.”
What other CRM features does your team find valuable?
“Our reps really appreciate how easy it is to make a quick note, especially using the voice feature. We always say: before you put the car in drive after a sales call, hit that voice button. Say, “Met with Susan…” and capture the details from the visit while they’re still fresh. If we want to document accurately and follow up well, we need to capture the little things: “Talked to Ralph, the food director, it’s his birthday next week, bring a cupcake.” It’s those personal touches that matter, because sales is all about relationships. And when you walk into a building, it’s not about winning over one person—it’s about creating a network. We think of it like a spider web. You need to connect with everyone in a way that shows you’re making their lives—and their residents’ lives—better. That’s what drives stronger, more meaningful relationships, and ultimately, success.”
How does your organization use tools and data like Marketscape Insights and CRM to attract and retain top-performing sales reps?
“Imagine you’re a sales rep choosing between different hospice organizations to work for. Would you rather work for an organization that offers no tools, no research, and little accountability? Or one that provides the tools, data, and support you need to grow, along with a culture that values improvement and coaching from leaders you respect? We’re working to be the employer of choice for caring professionals – people who align with our culture and want to get better. That means investing in the tools like Marketscape CRM and Insights, as well as leadership that help them achieve their goals. Our goal is to help all of them be great.”
How will Trella continue to support your growth goals in the future?
“When we think about which markets to enter, it really comes down to one thing: finding great people. The truth is, about one in every 200 people is on hospice, roughly half a percent of the population. So, wherever there’s a population, there’s a need for hospice care. Now, every market may not need another provider, but they can always benefit from a high-quality provider. If we bring excellence into a market, adoption will follow. I’m confident in that. Once we understand the population and deliver top-tier care, the demand will come. The next question is: why choose one market over another? For us, it’s where we identify great talent. Then the focus becomes: how do we support those people? That’s where tools come in. Defining what makes a great sales rep with data makes a lot of sense. While we already understand the population exists, data helps us learn more tactical things like who the key competitors are, or which physicians, nursing homes, and hospitals are making the most referrals. That’s valuable information that we can derive from the Trella solutions.”
Trella is thrilled to have Kindful Health as a trusted and valued partner who supports our mission towards smarter growth and healthier outcomes.
To learn more about Kindful Health, visit their website here.
