Interviewing 5 Internet Lead Choices – To Increase the Occupancy!

Interviewing 5 Internet Lead Choices – To Increase the Occupancy!

All the big players in senior housing have a budget for Internet leads.  With all the Internet lead companies vying for your dollar – how do you choose?  We all want to get the best bang for our buck – and we want results – move-ins now!

Pew research has indicated that 50% of seniors are online users now and that 70% of web savvy seniors get online every single day.   Baby boomer adult children are surfing the web researching options for their aging parents.  Is your online presence strong?

This month I am going on a search to determine which senior housing Internet lead referral companies can bring the best the results for some companies I represent.  My strategy is to interview 5 of the top national players who provide senior housing leads.

This is what I want to learn:

  • What’s better – paying a full month’s rent for a move-in or individually paying for Internet leads?
  • How many Internet leads does it take for a move in?
  • What kinds of filters do they provide, so my leads are the best quality?
  • If a lead is no good, do I still have to pay?
  • Will too many garbage Internet leads discourage my salespeople?
  • If the Internet lead person moves in and then moves out in two months, do I still have to pay a full months rent?
  • For Independent Living and Assisted Living leads, how are the leads income qualified, so I don’t end up with low-income or senior apartment leads?
  • Can they find entrance fee applicants for a Continuing Care Retirement Community, so I don’t end up with just rental leads?

The typical senior housing marketing mix results can now include: 20% or more of move-ins being sourced as Internet leads. At one time, I represented 14 properties that eventually had over 20% of their sales volume coming from Internet leads.  There is no question that the quality of Internet leads varies. Many sales people dislike Internet leads because they think they are all garbage.  Every lead needs to be treated as a viable lead.  I have had to sell my sales people on how to properly utilize Internet leads, in order to increase move-ins.  The challenge was having them believe in the quality of the lead, so the staff would treat them as hot leads.  Quick response and follow up were the keys and the results were dramatic!   The occupancy started to rise quickly with proper use of Internet leads…

Stay tuned for my results…if you were going to interview 5 Internet lead referral companies, what would be your top considerations?

Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com.  If your curiosity is piqued to inquire on Diane’s availability to speak at a senior housing conference (CCRC, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care) – please call: 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net.  Diane is currently consulting in Southern California for Freedom Management Company, the proud debt-free owners of Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California.  For more information:   Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/

The Benefits of a Weekly Marketing Book Review in Senior Living!

The Benefits of a Weekly Marketing Book Review in Senior Living!

Senior Housing PicDoes your team need to recharge their enthusiasm?  Has the marketing team gotten off track?  Do you need to sharpen your sales techniques?

Try a weekly marketing book review.  Whether your senior living team is one sales person and the executive director or your team consists of three to six marketing people, it’s time to get the creative juices flowing again!  If a sales team is not learning and growing, it becomes complacent and stagnant.

First, select a book to review.  There are lots of great choices out there.  Look around on Amazon.com, ask your sales people for ideas or get suggestions at senior housing conferences.  My marketing teams are currently reading Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” by Diane Twohy Masson. (Yes, this is my book.)   We have completed four chapters in five weeks.  Our next book review conference call is chapter five scheduled for Tuesday.

It has been wonderful to watch the teams grow together.  Participants include entrance fee sales people for independent living in Continuing Care Retirement Communities, assisted living marketers and skilled nursing admissions.  They come from five areas and as the weeks progress the team members feel freer to share what has worked or has not worked in their area and other team members benefit from their experience.

We have had some great discussions including how many calls (in the existing database) it takes to get X amount of tours or people coming to the community for events.  Best practice numbers for one team member were 157 voice-to-voice calls in 3 weeks, which resulted in 23 families coming into view the community.   These are great numbers and after the call, other team members started asking for help on how to do this themselves.   It seemed to bring out a natural – healthy – competiveness amongst the team.

Everyone starts thinking team and has a better understanding of the goals, because they are discussed at the weekly book review meeting (if you have multiple teams – do a conference call).   Executive directors, regional marketing directors and directors of sales and marketing in senior housing often assume that everyone on the team knows the goals.  Maybe they do or maybe they don’t.  Why not review the goals weekly during your team book review?  The number one goal is to have 100% occupancy, but what do they need to do this day or week in order to hit that goal this month or this year?  Break it down for them and be their coach and mentor during the book review…try it… it works like a charm!

Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com.  If your curiosity is piqued to inquire on Diane’s availability to speak at a senior housing conference (CCRC, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care) – please call: 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net.  Diane is currently consulting in Southern California for Freedom Management Company, the proud debt-free owners of Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California.  For more information:Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/

Do You Educate the Customer on Senior Housing  & Healthcare Choices?

Do You Educate the Customer on Senior Housing & Healthcare Choices?

It’s always beneficial to become the customer’s friend by being a resource for all senior living information.  Learn your market choices and share as much information as possible, so the senior or their family can make a good decision.

It’s always good to ask the prospect, if they have just started exploring their options or find out if they are further along into research mode.  Seniors and baby boomer adult children, who are just starting out, often need some basic information.  How you present it, depends on what senior housing option you represent.  When people are making a move, it’s always a good idea to figure out the costs of future health care, home maintenance and services (such as dining, 24-hour emergency call system and housekeeping).

1)   One option is for seniors to stay in their own home. Some seniors choose to live with children or have their adult children live with them. This is a great option if someone’s son or daughter is a repair person, great cook and willing to drive them to doctor appointments, when they are not able to drive.

2)   Staying at home with home healthcare. Home healthcare can provide a qualified person who can help with medication management and assist with the activities of daily living.  Costs average $21 an hour on a national basis, which can quickly turn into $15,000 a month with full time care.

3)   Moving into a condo provides for most of the maintenance, repairs, home upkeep and yard work.  It can come with home owner’s association (HOA’s) dues of $300 – $1500 a month.

4)   Independent living – retirement communities, who offer one level of care, can have strict health requirements, but many communities are allowing in-home care to people’s apartments so they can remain in residence longer.  In-home care averages $19 an hour nationally, so just 8 hours of help a day can add up to over $4700 a month.  The $4700 a month would be in addition to the monthly rental fee.  It varies by state, if the in-home care has licensing and trained staff requirements.

5)   Independent living – retirement communities, who offer two levels of care, may or may not have stringent health requirements.  If they offer both independent living and assisted living, they tend to be less strict, because they can provide services for two levels of care.   The disadvantage is that independent seniors are living with frailer neighbors.  Research the cost of independent living and the cost of assisted living (find out what is included with the rent – is any care included – or is care all added on separately?).  These prices vary depending on how many meals and services are provided.

6)   If seniors wait too long to move when they are independent, they can move directly into an assisted living community, where they can enjoy 3 meals a day and 24-hour care support.  Some assisted living communities charge one all-inclusive rate and others charge extra for bathing assistance, medication management, incontinence care, etc.  Assisted Living basic rent costs between $2100 and $5700 a month on a national level with bigger rooms and additional care costing more.  In Washington State, I personally knew people that paid $9000 a month for heavy assisted living services.

7)   Skilled nursing care or rehab is something that people never select as a choice.  Typically something happened to the senior that caused a hospital stay and their doctor recommends that they recover in a Medicare certified skilled nursing care or rehabilitation center.  This is 24-hour skilled nursing care and can be a short-term stay for a few weeks or a month.  Long-term care residents typically cannot get out of bed on their own and live in this environment on a permanent basis.  Costs can run nationally between $128 and $678 a day for semi-private room.   I have typically seen daily costs in the mid-$200’s for a semi-private room and up to mid-$400 for a private suite on the West Coast.

8)   Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC’s) have health and financial thresholds that must be met, in order to move-in.  A large number of CCRC organizations, through their foundations, may offer a guarantee of care for the rest of the senior’s life.  This can be a powerful choice, to know that if something happened to a senior’s finances that they would have care for life.  CCRC’s typically offer independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care, all on the same campus.  A one time entrance fee is usually requested that can run anywhere from $60,000 to over $2 million.  A percentage of the entrance fee can be refundable back to someone’s estate.  There are many varieties of returnable options.  The monthly fees of CCRC’s are typically lower than month-to-month rentals for the same square footage.

There are a variety of qualities for all the above choices.  Learn your area’s choices and help be an educational resource to the customer.  They will appreciate you more and hopefully select your retirement community.  Encourage seniors to choose wisely, it’s not just about price, but the quality of services and care that are provided.   A good question to ask a prospect would be: What senior housing option gives them the most peace of mind?

Every town, city and state has different pricing.  My national price quotes came from: http://www.metlife.com/mmi/research/2011-market-survey-long-term-care-costs.html#findings

Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com.  If your curiosity is piqued to inquire on Diane’s availability to speak at a senior housing conference (CCRC, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care) – please call: 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net.  Diane is currently consulting in Southern California for Freedom Management Company, the proud debt-free owners of Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California.  For more information:Twitter: @market2seniorsWeb: www.marketing2seniors.netBlog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/

When the Very First Question is “How Much Does it Cost?”

When the Very First Question is “How Much Does it Cost?”

How do you respond when the first question someone asks is: “How much is a one bedroom or two bedroom apartment?”  Do you share the pricing immediately?  If so, how is that working out for you?  Is your retirement community building full using this method?

How many of you ask the prospect a few questions first?  What do you ask?  Do you find out if they have looked at any other continuing care retirement communities for example?   Or, do you ask if they are looking for a loved one, if you are an assisted living community?  What else do you ask?

Do any of you build value for your senior living community, before giving out the price?  Do you believe it’s a disservice to give out the price, before they can compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges?  How many of you feel that you are exactly like your competition and a one bedroom at your community is the same as a competitor down the road?

Many senior living sales people fear the angry hang up, if they don’t answer the pricing question immediately.  Yet, if you answer the pricing question right away, the immediate response can be, “Oh, that costs way too much.”  Then you get the hang up…  True sales people and closers work on building a relationship with the customer, practice great listening skills, create value for what they can offer and differentiate themselves from their competitors.  Let’s hear – what works for you and how full you are…who is first?

Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com.  If your curiosity is piqued to inquire on Diane’s availability to speak at a senior housing conference (CCRC, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care) – please call: 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net.  Diane is currently consulting in Southern California for Freedom Management Company, the proud debt-free owners of Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California.  For more information: Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/

How Many Sales Are Sitting in Your Senior Living Database?

First, you need to have a database!  Second, after each inquiry calls in or walks in, the contact information (senior and/or baby boomer adult children) needs to be captured in your database.  Most retirement communities have a database of 1,500 to 15,000 names (please note that real leads are somewhere in the department of 3,000 names or less).

I recommend that your leads be sorted into hot, warm and cool.  Hot leads will move into the community in the next two months, warm leads will move in about six months and cool leads are beyond a six-month move-in.  Hot leads should be touched weekly.  Warm leads should be touched bi-monthly depending on their situation.  Cool leads should be touched quarterly.

Typically, most senior housing organizations also have a large group of people who are not interested now and just want to be on the mailing list.  These need to be organized too!  Even when someone says, just put me on the mailing list and don’t call – I still schedule a call once a year with him or her.  Some of you may say, “No way – I will go by their wishes to never call!”  Well, what the senior is really saying is don’t bug me all the time, but I am interested in staying in touch.  NO one has ever been bothered by a yearly call from anyone on my teams!

Almost every lead in your database should be touched on a quarterly basis by telephone and by mail.  If the senior living sales person is making a minimum of 15 calls per day, that becomes 75 calls a week or 300 phone calls a month.  Three sales people can easily generate 900 calls a month or 2,700 calls on a quarterly basis.  Now with this amount of calls, it WILL GENERATE TOURS to your community.  Tours can turn into sales and sales will become move-ins.

If your community made all these calls for three months, it should generate 5 – 10 move-ins – just from your database.  It really works.

So why aren’t the sales people doing this now?  They need to be coached and directed!  Maybe the number of calls they are making needs to be added to their job description?  They need to be held accountable.  It is much easier to shoot the breeze with a resident and not make calls.  Calls can equal lots of rejections and no’s.

My book, “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” teaches senior living sales people how to overcome this fear and be persistent.   One little trick I share is counting your calls with hash marks on a piece of paper.  By the time someone talks to 20 people they should have scheduled 2 tours.  It may be the 19th and 20th calls – so don’t give up.  Good luck and start watching your occupancy increase!

Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com.  If your curiosity is piqued to inquire on Diane’s availability to speak at a senior housing conference (CCRC, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care) – please call: 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net.  Diane is currently consulting in Southern California for Freedom Management Company, the proud debt-free owners of Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California.  For more information: Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/