by Diane Masson | Feb 1, 2015
5 Tips! Go Hawks!
Five sales at one Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in one week! Are you and your team hitting these numbers? How is it possible? Here are a few tips:
- Have a sales retreat to appreciate your senior living sales team and make them feel valued. Have you taken the time to do this or are you too busy to “waste” a day of work? It could be the most important day to improve the sales team’s attitude and turn around your occupancy.
- Our retreat focused on setting individual sales goals and building self-esteem and confidence.
- Each sales person was recognized for his or her achievements in 2014.
- The retreat created two types of energy: individually and with the team. This energy blossomed into momentum.
- Have you created a marketing plan that brings new people to your senior living community on a regular basis?
- Does your team call back every tour the next day even if they say, “I’m not ready yet.”?
- Is your entire operational team focused on first impressions of guests and prospective residents?
- Are your residents 100% satisfied and sharing their enthusiasm with prospective residents?
Focus on these five tips and watch your occupancy increase for 2015.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available at Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. The book is required reading at George Mason University as a part of its marketing curriculum. Within this book, the author developed a sales & marketing method with 12 keys to help senior living providers increase their occupancy.
“Your Senior Housing Options,” will be coming soon to Amazon.com. If you sign up for my weekly newsletter on the right side of this blog, you will be notified when my new book becomes available. Check out my new website: Tips2Seniors.com or please follow me on Facebook.
by Diane Masson | Nov 9, 2014
Rated by Amazon Editors as one of the best books of 2014!
“Diane’s book is an important resource for the senior housing industry. It contains tips and advice to help the novice, as well as the experienced marketer, build or maintain census. It is also a terrific guidebook for executive directors or administrators to use in managing the marketing function.”
— Chris McKenzie, VP Marketing, PR & Communications, multi-site CCRC organization
“Smart senior housing professionals understand that full occupancy means better cash flows and an improved bottom line. Diane’s practical, relevant strategies and tactics are must read material for any senior housing professional wanting insight on how to best fill and maintain full occupancy at their community. Presented in a positive and direct manner, this book is full of useful information delivered straight from the front line.”
— Richard M. Mazza, senior housing consultant, development & finance professional; former Chief Accounting Officer and Interim CFO
“A useful guide for both non-profit and for-profit senior housing organizations, with checklists, ideas, and reminders of essential elements all good managers and sales people need to be effective in filling senior living homes and apartments. Diane’s techniques can bring immediate results.”
—Thomas Becker, retired CEO & President of Pacific Retirement Services
There are 14 more testimonials on Amazon. If this book has helped you or your organization, please share your experience on Amazon or in the comment section below.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available at Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. The book is required reading at George Mason University as a part of its marketing curriculum. Within this book, the author developed a sales & marketing method with 12 keys to help senior living providers increase their occupancy. Masson developed this expertise as a marketing consultant, sought-after blogger for senior housing and a regional marketing director of continuing care retirement communities in several markets. She has also been a corporate director of sales and a mystery shopper for independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled care nursing communities in multiple states. Currently, Masson is setting move-in records as the regional marketing director of two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Interestingly, this career started when she was looking for a place for her own mom and helped her loved one transition through three levels of care.
© Marketing 2 Seniors| Diane Twohy Masson 2014 All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog post may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials. You may share this website and or it’s content by any of the following means: 1. Using any of the share icons at the bottom of each page. 2. Providing a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate. 3. You may quote extracts from the website with attribution to Diane Masson CASP and link https://www.marketing2seniors.net For any other mode of sharing, please contact the author Diane Masson.
by Diane Masson | Aug 24, 2014
Is there anyone else struggling to hire a quality senior living sales person? My search in Hemet, CA has been ongoing for four weeks. The majority of applicants are unqualified and present poorly composed resumes.
Where to look?
- Craig’s list can have a high success rate to find some senior living operational candidates but I have had no luck hiring senior living sales people through this resource.
- LinkedIn has been good to me in the past, but I only received 8 applications in one month and it cost me $395.00. It was very disappointing and an expensive dead end.
- Career Builder has produced the most viable senior living sales candidates.
Quality of resumes?
- Overall, I have seen the most poorly written resumes of my life in the last month.
- Typos and format mistakes galore, candidates should have a professional or savvy friend review his or her resume before applying for a job.
- Are nurses, EMT’s, mechanics and others in completely unrelated disciplines mistakenly seeking a senior living sales position? Or are they just completing three job searches for unemployment?
Customer service experience is not sales and closing experience!
Order takers need not apply! Sales and closing experience means having a sales track record with a closing ratio. It’s a person who has overcome objections and persists until they get the sale.
No senior housing experience?
The last two people I hired had no experience in senior living sales. They did have a passion for seniors and a background of sales and closing experience. One of them was working in the healthcare profession and the other called on healthcare professionals as clients. One of my specialities is training what I call “green” (no experience in senior living) candidates.
Interview process?
- My first interview is over the telephone to see if he or she can be clearly understood, has a great phone voice and can sell me on why I should offer them an in-person interview.
- The second interview is in-person with the Human Resources Director and myself.
- The third interview is with the Marketing Director and Executive Director.
- One person literally interviewed herself! Next! They would not stop talking!
The Results?
- 60 applications
- 10 phone interviews
- Three second interviews
- One third interview
- Zero hired
Anyone out there in Riverside County, CA?
The Village is proud to be a debt free* Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) and has been serving seniors in Hemet, California for 25 years. We are honored to be voted as the Best Retirement Community in the Inland Empire for 8 consecutive years! Our 13-acre campus, including Independent Living, Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Care, has been completely remodeled.
We are seeking a highly motivated Senior Living Sales Professional, internally referred to as a Retirement Counselor. In this role, you will increase occupancy by proactively generating sales leads and following up on all traffic generated through advertising, promotions, events, phone visits, and in-person home visits. Our Retirement Counselors offer tours with prospective residents and provide customer service to our current and prospective residents.
Responsibilities:
While this is a sales and closing role, you will get leads from hosting walk-in guests, events, phone calls or responses to advertising and marketing campaigns. You will combine inside, and outside public relations to build a professional, local network to help increase referrals and the CCRC occupancy. You will share the impact of: “A guarantee of care for the rest of your life.” Our retirement counselors use a consultative soft sell approach with prospective residents and explain the value of our senior services, benefits and how we differentiate from other senior housing competitors. Other duties will include completing reports, competitive studies and tracking leads.
The Village is an equal opportunity employer. EOE/M/F/D/V
If you are interested in this position, the complete job description and requirements are listed on careerbuilder.com or please send your resume directly to me at dmasson@fmcwest.com and reference this blog post. Come and be part of a team that has been breaking sales records for two years! You will be personally trained by me, start participating in weekly book reviews and report directly to me. I look forward to meeting you in person. Diane Masson
Your tips could help others improve on a national basis, so please share by commenting on this blog. If this weekly newsletter can help your sales and occupancy – why not sign up today so you don’t miss a single one?
Diane Twohy Masson writes this weekly blog to support and engage with other senior housing professionals. Her first book is Senior Housing Marketing – How To Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full. Many sales teams and organizations have used the 12 keys contained in this book for their weekly book review. Diane is working on her second book to help seniors select their senior housing options.
© Marketing 2 Seniors| Diane Twohy Masson 2014 All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog post may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials. You may share this website and or it’s content by any of the following means: 1. Using any of the share icons at the bottom of each page. 2. Providing a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate. 3. You may quote extracts from the website with attribution to Diane Masson CASP and link https://www.marketing2seniors.net For any other mode of sharing, please contact the author Diane Masson.
by Diane Masson | Feb 9, 2014
Over Sharing?
Believe it or not, I heard a senior living sales person say, “My cat has diarrhea,” to a hot prospect.” They blew the sale, because the senior was so worried about the sick cat. Really?!!?
Do you accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative at your senior living community? Maybe you better check. It’s easy for senior living marketing people to over compensate and share what you do you do not offer. They are just trying to be helpful to the customer. They are not trying to sabotage sales and send seniors to the competitor.
Every retirement community has its strong points and weak points. It does not matter if you are brand new or 25 years old. Always showcase your strengths. Is this something that you teach your senior living advisors? How do they learn it? Don’t make an assumption that they will learn it by osmosis.
Here is an expert from a chapter in my book called, “ Never Say to the Customer.”
There is such a thing as being too honest with the customer with statements such as:
- “You were on my list to call today.”
- “You were on my schedule to be followed up with today.”
- Telling the customer we will retain 10%. Instead saying, “The entrance fee is 90% refundable to your estate.”
- NEVER EVER refer to people as “a sale!”
- Please don’t call them a “prospect” in their presence or to their face. They are all your “guests,” in this book; I have referred to them as “prospective guests.” Please note: The term “prospect” or “prospective guests” is meant for marketing and is only to be used in-house. In the prospect’s presence the term to use is “guest.” I might say, “Mrs. Jones, I have an appointment later with another “guest” who is interested in this two-bedroom apartment home with the view of the park.”
I have literarily had three different types of sales people in the last week say, “I am following up with you.” It makes me cringe. How about you?
Please share your successes, failures or comment below to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available at Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. The book is required reading at George Mason University as a part of its marketing curriculum. Within this book, the author developed a sales & marketing method with 12 keys to help senior living providers increase their occupancy. Masson developed this expertise as a marketing consultant, sought-after blogger for senior housing and a regional marketing director of continuing care retirement communities in several markets. She has also been a corporate director of sales and a mystery shopper for independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled care nursing communities in multiple states. Currently, Masson is setting move-in records as the regional marketing director of two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Interestingly, this career started when she was looking for a place for her own mom and helped her loved one transition through three levels of care.
© Marketing 2 Seniors| Diane Twohy Masson 2013 All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog post may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials. You may share this website and or it’s content by any of the following means: 1. Using any of the share icons at the bottom of each page. 2. Providing a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate. 3. You may quote extracts from the website with attribution to Diane Masson CASP and link https://www.marketing2seniors.net For any other mode of sharing, please contact the author Diane Masson.
by Diane Masson | Mar 10, 2013
Role Playing Can Improve Sales Performance
Some senior living sales people know it all! Do you have one of these? Others are like sponges and thrive learning a new technique or improving their sales performance.
Role-playing as a team can help standardize sales techniques. This could happen at a weekly sales meeting, but I think a retreat format can be more effective. It’s hard for a senior living sales person to switch off working and jump into role-playing. It’s better to set the stage in a comfortable atmosphere. Last week we talked about the importance of a sales and marketing retreat to rejuvenate and inspire the team.
Here are some great topics to role-play:
- The opening greeting and questions for a walk-in prospective resident
- Discovery questions – make sure seniors don’t feel interrogated
- Giving a “wow” tour
- How to prevent objections
- A variety of closes
- Asking for the deposit – multiple times
In a team environment, there are always stronger sales performers. Have them role-play first. It makes them feel valued and other sales people can learn from them. If no one on the team knows how to do the role-playing topic correctly or it’s a new technique, always teach by example first.
Everyone hates role-playing, but boy does it work. Watch the sales increase and your occupancy go up, up and up.
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
by Diane Masson | Mar 3, 2013
We are all going a million miles a minute in senior housing sales and marketing. The phone is ringing, walk-ins show up unannounced, preparing and managing monthly events, helping our move-ins get settled, getting new sales, hand-holding upcoming move-ins, weekly meetings, reports and the list goes on and on. Many sales people eat lunch with prospects and work way past 5:00 PM.
These are the exact reasons that you do need a sales training. Call it a marketing retreat. Take a moment to get off the work treadmill and breathe. Rejuvenate and refresh the team. Remember why you love serving seniors and connect with some like-minded colleagues.
Pick a few topics that need improvement or clarity. Have a sales and marketing consultant or regional manager organize the retreat format. Make it fun…with prizes and a nice lunch to pamper them. Have it be all about improving their performance, so they can become more successful.
Depending on the size of your senior living company, some make the sales retreat experience a half-day, a whole or several days. It’s best to bring all the communities together at one time or break it down by state or region.
The marketing retreat goal should be – creating an opportunity for each senior living sales person to gain new knowledge and feel inspired. The sales people need to feel supported and appreciated by corporate and know that each of them are valued as individuals to the company.
Next week, I am going to talk about how role playing can help senior living sale people.
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
