by Diane Masson | Feb 3, 2013
Did you hire a closer or an order taker for your senior living community? Both can be good listeners, but there is a huge difference. One can increase the occupancy and the other will complain that people “ARE NOT READY YET!” Many seniors desire to move now – do you want them to move into your senior living community or a competitor?
The first order of business is hiring a fantastic senior living sales person that fits with your current staff and has the ability to talk to your prospective residents like you would yourself. Be patient and don’t hire the first person that “might” work.
An order taker lets the customer take the lead through the tour. For example a senior says, “I don’t have a lot of time and want to see a two bedroom.” The order taker would take them to the two-bedroom and then wonder why no one buys from them.
A closer will listen to what the senior or boomer children demand to see. Then the closer can suggest to the family to have a quick sit-down, to determine exactly what is most important for them to see during the visit. Then they can tell the prospective resident(s) that a tailored tour for what is most important to them will save them a ton of time. People eat these comments up like candy and love that you want to save them time. The closer introduces the pricing of a studio and one-bedroom before the tour begins, because that two-bedroom price could be too rich for the senior’s blood (this strategy alone can increase sales by 25%). So even though the customer demanded to see a two bedroom, the closer may never show them one.
The closer guides them throughout the tour and asks key questions and builds rapport as they walk down hallways. Every minute and every word that comes out of a closer’s mouth is designed to either build value for the retirement community or learn more about the needs and timing of the prospective senior resident.
Senior living sales closers strategically show prospects high value areas of the community during the tailored tour. This can happen on the way to the apartment that the senior can most likely afford now.
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]()
by Diane Masson | Jan 14, 2013
1) 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/
![Give Your Residents a Hug Today – Happy Holidays!]()
by Diane Masson | Dec 24, 2012
The smiles and tears were so joyful to see! My entire senior living marketing staff presented a small beautifully wrapped Christmas tin (with chocolate inside) to each resident ambassador who helped marketing in the last year! Maybe they gave a tour on a weekend, had lunch with a prospective resident, helped new residents feel welcome, spoke at a marketing event or allowed marketing to show their home.
As we gave each gift, we EACH said thank you and gave them a hug! The residents loved it and were just blown away! They each had five hugs!
It is not too late for your senior living community to do this! Show your appreciation to your resident ambassadors this week with a New Year’s gift…it only cost $3.00 per resident.
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/
![5 Tips on How to Sell Senior Living During the Holidays]()
by Diane Masson | Dec 21, 2012
- Call your senior living database now to increase occupancy for early 2013! I elaborated on this in my last blog… Why this is the BEST TIME of the Year TO CALL Your Database!
- Suggest for a senior and their family to enjoy lunch at your retirement community! Visiting family and the senior need to eat…why not have it be at your senior living community? As they eat, maybe they can picture themselves living there. Most boomer children will advocate for their senior parent to move into senior housing when they see how nice the quality of their life can be…
- Invite hot and warm prospective residents to join your residents for some live entertainment or when the local school kids come by to sing.
- Offer seniors, who don’t drive, either a ride to your community or go out and do a home visit. This visit could be the tipping point to them moving into your community.
- When someone is visiting at your community, ask for the order. First do the proper warm up, discovery, listen to their needs, learn their hot buttons, build value for your community and figure out how to solve their problem. Then invite them to sit down again. Look them in the eye and say, “I know you love your home of forty years! And you have shared how difficult it is to manage stairs and your concern of falling down them when you do the laundry in the basement – right? After everything you have seen today and the wonderful lunch we enjoyed, do you believe you would have a better quality of life living here at The Village (insert your community name here)? If the answer is yes, just nod and let it digest with them. He who speaks first loses. They usually say, okay let’s do this and then start filling out the paperwork…
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/
![Why is this the BEST TIME of the Year TO CALL Your Database!]()
by Diane Masson | Dec 16, 2012
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/
![10 Worse Traits of Nightmare Applicants in Senior Housing?]()
by Diane Masson | Dec 10, 2012
Part 1 last week, described the top 12 traits for hiring a successful senior living sales person at a retirement community. Now let’s flip the coin over and maybe some nightmare applicants can improve themselves for future interviews in the process.
Let me share what happened with the most unbelievable applicant recently. When he returned my call, I set a phone interview for the next morning at 8:00 AM. The next morning, I asked him if he had looked at our website. He said that if I could send him a link, then he would take a look at it later. Seriously? I started to laugh, because it was so ridiculous! He then asked if it was a requirement to look at the website before speaking with me further. I was still trying to be nice and gently said that he knew from the previous evening that we were going to have an interview this morning – why would you not prepare for it? Well at that point he did not want to talk to me any more…
Here is my list of 10 worse traits of senior living sales applicants. Feel free to add to the list or share an unbelievable hiring experience of your own:
1) Constantly interrupts during the Interview and does not listen – Stop it!
2) Tells me they are ONLY motivated by money – There is such a thing as being too honest!
3) Has a history of 15 or less phone calls per day – What did you do all day, if you did not have any prospects?
4) Say they have sales experience but it’s really being an order taker – Stop wasting my time!
5) Too aggressive – Seniors don’t like aggressiveness!
6) Too laid Back – Sorry, this is not sales!
7) Dresses for a nightclub – One had a very short skirt and when she sat down, it got event shorter!
8) Boring and/or no energy – If you put me to sleep, then you will put seniors to sleep too! Next!!!
9) Being a know it all – Don’t tell me you know my business, when you have never been in senior housing sales in your life!
10) Last but not least – Never looked at our website or prepared for the interview in anyway! Really?!!? Come on, do you really want a job?
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/
