15 CCRC Move-Ins in One Month?!!?

15 CCRC Move-Ins in One Month?!!?

CCRC Team SalesThen add another 17 Continuing Care Retirement Community move-ins scheduled for these two California CCRC’s in the next 3 months…This has been the result of a good work ethic for the previous 3 months.

  • 300 calls per month per sales person
  • 20 tours per month per sales person

The sales will come when the work ethic is in place – trust me – it works.

Break the monthly goal down to a daily goal of 15 calls and one tour per day.  A new senior living sales person can easily do it.  A director of marketing with sales responsibilities can do it too.

In order for the two senior living sales teams to have this much success – they need to be backed by amazing operational teams that support marketing 100%:

  • First, you need to have enough leads walking in the door and coming to events.  Hopefully your corporation supports marketing with an adequate advertising budget.
  • Do you enjoy a great reputation of serving excellent food?  Our chef is a tremendous support to my teams and makes events and tours memorable.
  • How is your health care reputation?  Do the local hospitals and doctors recommend your assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care?  If they don’t  – fix it now!
  • Guests need to drive up and see beautiful landscaping, a well cared for building and an ultra clean retirement community.  It may be time to remodel if it’s been 10 years or looks tired.
  • Friendly residents and smiling staff – these two can make or break sales and my communities have both!
  • Can prospective senior residents SEE your residents having fun with an amazing calendar of events including regular live entertainment, exciting outings and themed meals?  Seniors won’t move to a boring retirement community.
  • Transportation can even increase sales by their willingness to pick up prospective residents and bring them in for a tour or an event.

So set a monthly sales goal for your retirement community and have everyone participate in achieving it.  When the sales come, it is not for the glory of marketing, it’s an entire retirement community’s achievement.  Everyone wins and the residents love having new vibrant seniors to connect with at dinner and activities.

Please share your success, failures or 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

10 Training Tips For Senior Living Sales People in 2013

10 Training Tips For Senior Living Sales People in 2013

How to Increase the Occupancy and Stay Full1)   Identify your sales team’s attitude toward the occupancy goals – do they believe they can hit the occupancy goal? – if not – check out my blog tip from last week – Sales Meeting Tips to Increase the Occupancy in 2013.

2)   Are they differentiating your senior living community from the competitor down the road?  Never say anything bad about the competition, but always highlight your retirement community’s strengths.

3)   Have you set a quota for a certain number of calls per week and is the director of marketing or executive director tracking it?  Sales people just want seniors to come in and put down a deposit.  A lot of sales are made with that quick follow up phone call to invite the senior back again for a 2nd or 3rd look.

4)   A “wow” tour, including painting a picture of the lifestyle, can make the monthly fee look like a bargain…

5)   Do you have exciting events that draw new faces into your community and inspire 2nd and 3rd looks to move forward?

6)   One negative word, like calling your community a facility, can cause a senior to back away from the move.  Who wants to leave their beautiful home and move into a facility?

7)   Have your focused on selling to personalities?  Some analytical drillers want every scrap of paper you have ever published on your community to make a decision and other seniors can walk away from information overload.  Tailor each tour to the personality of each customer…

8)   Focus on each senior’s hot buttons, like not being a burden to their kids…

9)   Are you asking for the deposit – every single time?

10)  Creating urgency to make a decision now is a must – it’s awesome when you have two different seniors considering the same apartment!

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 Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/

Why is this the BEST TIME of the Year TO CALL Your Database!

Why is this the BEST TIME of the Year TO CALL Your Database!

The last couple of weeks before Christmas and New Years is a key time to call your senior living database.  When visiting family members (like boomer children) say, “Mom or Dad – let’s start exploring retirement housing options for you.”  The senior can say, well The Village or Freedom Village just called last week…  The Boomer children will say, “Great, let’s go check that community out first.”

Many sales people spend their entire precious selling time – attending resident holiday parties, enjoying carolers or other live entertainment.  This is not the time to sit back on your laurels and hope your retirement community will miraculously get fuller in 2013.

The work ethic of a senior living sales person before New Years can dictate a surge of move-ins in early 2013.  This is an opportunity to jump the census by 2 – 5 percentage points!

It’s time to smile and dial, because this is the best time of the year to call your database.  Many seniors are lonely and you may be the only phone call they receive during their entire day.  Able-bodied seniors drive or fly to see children and grandchildren for the holidays – so they may not be home.  Frailer seniors have to hope their kids will come visit them and are usually home.  Either way, the children may notice a change in their senior parent(s) and start exploring options.  Make sure your senior living community is top of mind with the senior – it only takes a simple phone call!

Call Your Database Now to Increase Occupancy for Early 2013!

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/

Top 12 Traits Needed to Fill a Senior Living Community?

Top 12 Traits Needed to Fill a Senior Living Community?

Hiring in Senior LivingWhat is your recipe for hiring a successful senior living sales person at your retirement community?  There are so many qualified candidates, what are your must have personality traits?  When I interview, here are the qualities that I look for in no particular order:

1)   Phone Experience and Voice – The applicant needs a great phone voice to even qualify for a live interview with me!  What is their history of making calls?  Have they made 50 calls in at least one day of their career?  How many calls did they need to make in order to have one live customer?  Phone calling can be one third of the job to fill the building.  It is crucial to have ongoing phone contact with our leads to make cool leads – warm, warm leads – hot and hot leads turning into move-ins.

2)   Real Sales Experience – They need to be able to give examples of how to warm people up, find communality, do discovery and educate the customer on a wonderful service.  I need to be able to visualize them describing our Continuing Care Retirement Community or Assisted Living.  I don’t require a background in senior living sales.

3)   Closing Experience – What is their closing ratio?  How many live customers do they need in order to achieve one sale?  Did they close me?

4)   Listener – If they practice good listening skills with me, then they can do the same for the customer.  This is vital…

5)   Teachable – Are they willing to learn and grow?  Some people want to live in a rut.  I want someone who can morph themselves and strategize the sales presentation and closing techniques based on the current economy.  I want someone who is willing to be a student of this business.

6)   Genuine – Are they believable?  Will the customer embrace their passion?

7)   Sincere love and compassion for seniors – Have they ever cared for a senior or helped find skilled nursing care for a relative or neighbor?  Do they have a history in working with seniors?

8)   Team Player – Is it all about them or do they enjoy and contribute to a team approach?  Operations definitely has a team approach in caring for the residents.  Marketing works best with a team approach as well!  I like to hear examples…

9)   Motivated by helping others improve their lives? – Does this rock their boat or is it all money, money, money?

10)   Education – If they had the dedication to complete their schooling, then they can have the dedication to fill the building.

11)    Professional Appearance – Great smile, well groomed and speaks well – These are all a must!

12)   Computer Literate? – Can they type at a decent speed, navigate through Word and Excel and learn a new database quickly?

Please share your top 12 favorite traits in hiring a senior housing sales person or feel free to add onto mine…

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/

8 Keys to Create Compelling Events that Drive Sales in Senior Living

8 Keys to Create Compelling Events that Drive Sales in Senior Living

Do you have 50 plus prospective residents at every event?  If not, why not?  Here are just eight keys to keep in mind when planning great events that can fill your building.

1)   Pick a theme that would compel a senior to leave the comfort of their home, spend $4.00 a gallon on gas to drive to your retirement community and want to invite a friend to enjoy the experience with them.

2)   Organize your event, so every first impression is excellent.  Have someone out front directing parking, greet them at the door with a registration table, train tour guides, your community should be spotless, have an exciting program and maybe most important – present excellent food and beverages for their enjoyment.

3)   The goal is fill your building!  If you are going to have live entertainment, there must still be a 10 to 15 minute program with a resident testimonial.   Or maybe you are going to have a Power Point of your benefits and what differentiates you from other senior living communities?  Don’t be boring…

4)   You only have the senior’s attention for about 1½ hours maximum, so if you spend the time feeding and entertaining them, they will be too tired to tour your community.  Strategize out every minute they are going to be in the building.

5)   Invite them to come back and spend more time, so they can get a better feel of your retirement community.  It’s hard for people to decide in 1½ hours where they are going to spend the next chapter of their life.

6)   There should be at least 1/3 new faces at your event.

7)   Some senior living communities draw new prospective seniors best by advertising with direct mail, others with newspaper and still others work best with a combo.

8)   After spending all the time, money and staff resources on a great event, don’t forget to call them the next day.  Invite them back…

I had two events this week for Continuing Care Retirement Communities; one drew 85 seniors to RSVP in a rural area and the other had over 100 seniors RSVP in a metropolitan area.  This traffic will help fill the building for the next two months.

Do you want more information on how to put on a great event?  Chapter 6 of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” offers a step-by-step approach to successful events and many ideas for compelling themes.  Good luck and please share your success…

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/