What does a senior experience when they arrive at your retirement community? Do you make them feel like you are welcoming them into your living room? Are you introducing key staff to them?
This serves two purposes:
1) Building value for your services.
2) Having it all be about the customer and serving their needs.
Say to the staff person, “I want you to meet someone.” The senior will feel important because you are introducing staff to them. Seniors want to know that they will be respected and validated when they move in. If you make them feel like a star on a tour of the community, they will want to move out of their lonely home to a place where they feel dignity and self worth.
Follow up with the customer, the same day as the tour. While emotions are still high, refer back to the staff you introduced to them. Let the prospective resident know that the staff person genuinely liked them and would love to get to know them better. Seniors want recognition and a sense of belonging. This really works — last week it resulted in a deposit for me.