by Diane Masson | Aug 31, 2014
Some senior living sales people are so focused on getting a deposit that they miss crucial buyer signs from a senior living prospect. One easy tip for you to start using today is to never answer an easy question that a senior or adult child asks with a simple, “yes” or “no.” Instead, respond with a clarifying question and discover more about his or her mindset.
The following is an excerpt from my book, “Senior Housing Marketing – How To Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full.”
For example, if they ask, “Is this apartment available?” You ask, “What is your time frame for moving in?” The answer given is very telling. They might say, “Well, I have to sell my home first.” This indicates they want to buy it! You just have to walk them through the steps on how to make it a reality.
More Buying Questions
- Asking about availability of a certain apartment.
- What is the time frame required to move into this apartment?
- They want something repeated.
- Wanting to know about rates, price, or affordability.
- Asking about the quality or levels of health care that are offered is a great sign.
- Wanting to see the model apartment.
- Asking what the other residents are like.
- Comparing your senior living community with the competition. This means they are doing their homework and are interested.
Start recognizing closing questions that they may ask you. The questions can come in the beginning, the middle, or the end of your senior living tour. When they ask you a question, never answer with a simple “yes “or “no.” It’s good to answer with a clarifying question that allows more discoveries as to their needs or wants. Your strategic question can often turn into an early close and result in the sale.
They may say, “How much money would I have to put down to hold it?” This is not a sale until you walk them through all the steps. But it’s darned close!
Have your senior living occupancy start increasing today!
Please share your strategies, 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 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 10, 2014
After you share your tale of customer service woe to a representative, you are told that the manager will call you back the next day. Do they?!? Recently, I believed a manager from the Welk Resort would call me back to discuss my timeshare fiasco. In fact, I waited two hours past the day and time the representative promised a manager would call me. Telling me a date and time for the manager’s call is a very specific promise in my book.
After my Welk Resort Fiasco blog posted for the world to read, the Welk Resort tweeted me. Here is their damage control twitter conversation:
@Market2Seniors – This is not the experience we aim to provide & we apologize. Could you DM us your email so we can reach out for more info?
@welkresorts – I reached out in 3 ways with no response, a manager was supposed to call me back by 9am on Sun. The blog posted at 11am, Sun.
@Market2Seniors – or you can email our Director of Consumer Affairs at Hutch.farrell@welkgroup.com if you’d prefer. Thanks for the feedback
@welkresorts – You can contact me at diane@marketing2seniors.net.
@Market2Seniors – Thank you. I’ll have Hutch contact you.
This was my last contact with the Welk Resort. I NEVER had a manager email me, tweet me or call me again. Why not? Why would a company have a Director of Consumer Affairs? Obviously they must have ongoing customer service issues. Why did “Hutch” never contact me? Maybe he never got the tweet? Maybe they thought I would forget that the sales people promised me a Catalina Island overnight on a weekend and what I received was a weekday trip that I could not use.
Have you had an experience where you were told the manager is going to call you back because they were not currently there?
Is this just a technique to calm down a frustrated customer and hope we forget? Or is it a way for a “C” player (last week I compared “A”, “B” and “C” players here) to not deal with you directly? Maybe it is simply passing the buck.
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 | Aug 3, 2014
“A”, “B” or “C” Players?
What’s the difference between an “A”, “B” or “C” player in senior living sales or in any sales profession?
“A” Players
- Produce 80% of the work
- Are always positive
- Good self image
- Find or create solutions to challenges
- Embrace strategizing sales
- Top sales performer in the company
“B” Players
- Do more than “C” players and way less than “A” players
- Are equally positive and negative
- Average or okay self image
- Need help solving challenges
- Tolerate strategizing sales
- Consistent low to average volume of sales
“C” Players
- Do 20% of the work, but act like they do way more
- Whine and complain a lot
- Poor self image
- Are usually a part of the challenge
- Resent strategizing sales
- Say it’s not their fault that they don’t have sales
Here is the good news! Congratulations if you are lucky to enough to be or have some “A” players on your sales team. Resources and coaching support can help some “B” players become “A” players. Others may remain good consistent “B” players. “C” players need to be evaluated to determine if they have any hope to improve. If they do not, let them go, because they don’t really want to work for you or anyone else.
Are you willing to share whether you or your senior living sales team mates are “A”, “B” or “C” players? What other factors contributed to your decision?
Photo Credit: © Jim Barber – Fotolia.com
Please share your strategies, 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 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 | Jun 22, 2014
The prospect may say, “I want to think about it.” “I am one or two years away.” “I am not ready yet.” “I am not interested in a pushy salesperson.” Will you still call them back promptly the next day? If not, why not??
The senior living prospect walked in your door for a reason. They need your services or are considering your services. They should automatically be classified as warm if they walked into your senior living community. They may be eating cereal for dinner or sleeping in a recliner chair because the alternatives are too much effort. This is a viable lead that deserves your time and attention, even if they say, “I am not ready yet.”
I find it appalling that some senior living sales people will only give the time of day to a senior that can move in now. Ultimately, they are neglecting potential sales. In my experience, only 25% of the seniors say, “I am ready now.” “My home is on the market.” “My kids say I have to move immediately.” “My doctor recommends that I move to assisted living right away.”
So this means that the other 75% of potential seniors are too scared to express their needs. They say a quick statement in the beginning to protect themselves from being SOLD by you. They have lived in their home for 40 or 50 years. They don’t WANT to move. They are just beginning to UNDERSTAND that a move would be beneficial to their health and well-being.
Educate this scared senior and show how your Retirement Community, Assisted Living or Continuing Care Retirement Community is the best choice for them. Then watch your occupancy rise. The end result will be providing solutions to improve the quality of life for a multitude of seniors.
Do you call EVERY tour back the next day? If not, why not??
Your tips could help others improve on a national basis, so please share by commenting on this blog. If this weekly blog can help your sales and occupancy – why not invite your team to sign up today so no one misses a single tip to improve the occupancy?
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.
