![A Short Fun Senior Living Sales New Year’s Poem]()
by Diane Masson | Dec 30, 2012
Is it time to grow your retirement community’s census,
Or just entertain the residents and be festive?
It takes sales stamina and focus,
To accept some sales no’s with no fuss.
Give your determination a sense of finality,
To rise above “the get by” mentality.
Keep calling the database,
Don’t pause on the hot lead chase.
Because seniors just need some education,
To deter each and every objection.
Ultimately, your senior living community will win,
Because making a great sales commission is not a sin!
It’s your choice to be a senior housing hero!
Let the competition end up with a big fat zero!
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/
![Interviewing 5 Internet Lead Choices – To Increase the Occupancy!]()
by Diane Masson | Aug 13, 2012
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/
by Diane Masson | Dec 13, 2011
Create your 2012 momentum with this new senior housing book!
The 12 keys presented in this new book can kick start your success. Here are some of the results Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full produced for retirement communities in 2011:
- Increased the average occupancy from 82% to 91% of four newly acquired assisted living communities in just four months.
- Generated 525 deposits and 423 move-ins in 9 months with 386 move-outs (14 communities with a mix of IL, AL and MC).
- Built momentum by balancing each team’s follow-up phone calls, tours, outreach and events.
Give your marketers a gift that can help them grow occupancy immediately.
Holiday Special available for the first 10 requests: Buy 2 books and receive the 3rd one free. Shipping and tax included.
Diane Twohy Masson is a seasoned senior living marketing coach with most recent experience as Corporate Director of Sales for 14 retirement communities in Washington, Utah and California. For the holiday special, volume discount pricing or to inquire on Diane’s availability to coach or train your senior living marketing team – please contact Diane Twohy Masson directly at 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net.
Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full is also available for sale at Amazon.com for $39.95.
For more information:
Web: www.marketing2seniors.net
Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/
Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
Twitter: @market2seniors
by Diane Masson | Nov 30, 2011
Have you ever visited all your assisted living competition in a couple of days? Maybe your first thought is that you are too busy? Or you just need to keep working hard and the occupancy will go up? Well I ran this competition marathon two weeks ago in Salt Lake City and it was a real eye opener.
Here are some of the areas that were of particular interest to me:
What did the exterior look like as I drove up?
What kind of shape was the landscaping in?
How was I greeted when I entered?
Was I welcomed with a smile and handshake?
Was I offered any refreshments?
Did they have a “wow” lobby/entrance?
Did the marketer just ask fact questions or did they interject feeling questions too?
Did they introduce me to anyone on the tour?
Was it a “wow” tour?
Would I want my own mom to live there?
Would I want to eat with my mom in their dining room?
Were the apartments rent ready?
Would my mom like the apartment and the view from it?
Could I sleep at night, knowing my mom lived there?
Now it was evaluation time… How did all of the above impressions compare with my communities? There was some room for improvement…but I walked away proud of my marketing teams. I encourage you to run the marathon now…
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full.
