by Diane Masson | Jul 11, 2011
Each adult child needs to study the pros and cons of assisted living versus homecare for their particular parent’s needs. A recent article shared how a homecare worker left her client at the park for several hours a day (while she was supposed to be taking care of the senior), so she could spend alone time with her boyfriend at the senior’s home. The daughter of the senior had to take time off from work to confirm this neglect and abuse. Now the senior’s daughter is stuck and has to take time off from work to find a good solution for her mom.
This brings up the question: What quality of life does a senior with care needs have on a daily basis? Do they have fun, exercise and have social connections with numerous individuals? Or do they just get the basics of food, water, medication management, bathing and shelter?
Assisted living communities are regulated by the state they reside in. Every worker typically only has one responsibility such as: caregiver, nurse, food server, cook, medication technician, activities (fun and socialization), a driver (takes them to scheduled medical appointments and outings), housekeeping, maintenance, receptionist or administration (executive director, director of health services, business manager and marketer).
A single homecare worker working in a senior’s home – literally has to do it all: cooking, serving food, dishes, shopping, cleaning, bathing, medication management, incontinence care, maintenance, driving to doctor appointments and answering the telephone. Do they have much time or energy for fun activities, socialization or outings in the park with the senior?
Assisted living communities often think about competitor assisted livings and forget their biggest competition…someone staying in one’s own home with healthcare.
There can be risks to hiring a single caregiver to take care of a loved one living in their own home:
1) What if the caregiver (an adult child is relying on to care for their mom or dad while they are at work) does not show up? Does that adult child have to stay home from work and risk their job?
2) Can a senior rely on having the same caregiver on a regular basis in their home? Who shows up when that one caregiver is sick, on vacation or left the agency that employs them? Does the senior have a stranger caring for their personal needs, like changing a brief or receiving a bath?
3) One caregiver interacting with a seniors needs, does not create the social connections that a human being typically needs to thrive. (Think about how many people we meet each day at the grocery store, at drive up windows, co-workers and walking down the street.)
4) If one caregiver has to do all the multitude of care needs for a senior, how much fun and socialization time do they spend with the senior?
Share this message with adult children tours today – then watch the deposits roll in – create urgency for assisted living – it’s a better quality of life. Have a real conversation with prospects, remembering that you are the expert. Show passion for finding the best quality and safest solution for their parent’s care needs. Create high value for each service of your assisted living community, then when you get to the price, it will be less than 24-hour care in someone’s home. Stop focusing on real estate and focus on the emotional solution that will bring peace of mind to the family. Each person needs to research the best option for their parent. For me, I don’t worry – my mom lives in an assisted living in Seattle. Every time I randomly show up, she is thriving in her safe environment.
by Diane Masson | Jun 29, 2011
It’s almost the 4th of July, so it’s a great time to discuss getting a sale from out of the blue. Check out this blog post below and remember that if you exceed their expectations today, by continuing to follow up – even when they said they want to think about it – they can become a sale from out of the blue – a month or a year later.
Persistence pays off! Please share your out of the blue sales this weekend! Happy 4th of July!
Sales from out of the Blue!
by Diane Masson | May 9, 2011
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.
by Diane Masson | Apr 20, 2011
Is your senior living marketer really selling the benefits of your transportation program? Almost all retirement communities offer some type of transportation for their residents. This article in USA Today http://usat.ly/dOQZ6m talks about the large percentage of seniors who get depressed when they can no longer drive. From a senior’s perspective – losing the ability to drive is a huge fear.
When a senior walks into your assisted living community, don’t be trite like your competition and say, “We have transportation to medical and dental appointments.” Instead paint the picture of what life can be like at your senior living community. I would say, “We offer complimentary transportation to medical and dental appointments. Many of our residents who still drive comment to me that it is such a relief — to not have to bother a neighbor or relative by asking them to drive them to their eye appointments, when their eyes are being dilated. It makes them feel more independent to have our driver take them and not bother a friend.” (Whether they currently drive or do not, transportation has a tremendous value to future residents.)
Let them know that your residents love the adventures on your community’s bus. I would say, “Our residents are so excited about going to see the tulip fields next Thursday! Last week the residents went to the Aquarium and in two weeks the residents are going to enjoy the symphony. It’s an evening performance and most of our residents hate driving at night.” (Pause now and wait for them to say that they don’t like to drive in the evening.) Now you have created an emotional connection and built value for your transportation.
Who could be depressed when the seniors are going to have so many adventures at your community?
by Diane Masson | Apr 4, 2011
Does your brand image speak through the clutter to capture the “audience” – that is, the heads and hearts of your prospects – to turn them into buying customers? A brand is more than your name and logo. It’s how the customer perceives your community or organization as different from the competition.
by Diane Masson | Apr 2, 2011
Picture this exchange: “How much is a two-bedroom?” The first thing everyone wants to know is the cost and they often make an immediate judgment of yes they can, or no they can’t, afford it. If you immediately state the price, how can they make a real decision? The reality is that, it is unfair to the prospect to give the price without building value. They need to know how your community will benefit their future lifestyle and give them peace of mind from health’s uncertainties. How much is that worth to them? We are talking about people’s lives and future!
Note: Think of it this way…What if someone were to ask you how much beef costs? Do they mean a cheap high fat hamburger to stretch a meal, or a lean tender rib eye steak with just the right marbling for added flavor and tenderness? They are two completely different beefs for different dining desires…just like no two retirement communities are the same.
Build value for your retirement community before you tell them the price.
