![How to Help a Struggling Senior Living Sales Person?]()
by Diane Masson | Oct 28, 2012
Occupancy is down, the pressure is up and your retirement counselor or marketing director is not performing like they used to… The economy and the presidential election are just excuses for low occupancy.
The first thing is to check the sales person attitude. Do they smile as they exit their office on the way to meet a walk-in tour? Can you observe their enthusiasm as they show a prospective resident the retirement community? When you walk by their office, can you hear animation and passion in their voice as they explain the community and invite someone to come visit?
If the answer is no to any of the above, I suggest that you actually accompany them on a real tour. Find out exactly what is going on… During the tour be a silent rock and don’t interject at all. Even if you see or hear mistakes, just take notes… If you interrupt, the sales person will lose their flow, become more nervous and you won’t get a true picture of a tour from start to finish. The opening of a conversation is just as important as the close at the completion.
Did they steer the customer toward making a decision? Were they listening more than they talked? Did they find out what prompted the visit to your community? How was the warm up and discovery? Could you say it was conversational? At what point did they ask the prospective resident or family member how they felt about their current situation or being at the community? Ultimately, did the prospect open up?
Was the tour tailored to the customer’s desire or needs? When pricing and costs came up, did they build value for the senior living community first? Did the sales person introduce the guests to department heads, other staff and residents?
At the end, did the sales person steer them into sitting down one more time to answer any remaining questions? Did they solve the customer’s problem? Is your community a better choice than living in his or her own home? The most important question to ask is – what their time frame is for wanting to make a move! If the time frame was less than three months, did they ask for the deposit for that “one of a kind” apartment they really liked? If you are a Continuing Care Retirement Community, did they build urgency for the wait list? Was a plan made for them to come back again to have another meal, bring another family member or attend an event?
After the customer goes home, walk through your observations with the sales person. Remember to share something positive first, then any negatives and always end on a positive note. If it was a great tour, maybe you just don’t have enough walk-ins and leads in your database. If the tour was terrible, maybe you need to let them go. If the tour was mediocre, maybe you want to invest in some sales training or mandate that they start reading a senior living book that can help them improve in all areas of the sales process.
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/
![Is Your Senior Living Team – Only Going for the Easy Sale?]()
by Diane Masson | Oct 21, 2012
Every senior living sales person loves the easy sale. A senior walks into your community, his or her home has just sold quickly and now they HAVE TO MOVE in the next 30 days. Or a family member’s parent is in the hospital and the doctor has stated they can’t return to their home, the senior must move to assisted living now. Will these easy sales fill your retirement community? No!!
The words patience, dedication and persistence come to mind – to reach out to the reluctant customers who can fill your senior living community. When someone comes in to tour your community, first impressions are everything. The sales person needs to take the time and compassion to find out what prompted their visit and show how their senior living community can be the answer.
When a senior or family member says they are “Not Ready Yet,” don’t blow them off! It simply means they don’t have enough information to make a decision yet and they need to come back and see you again. The prospect is scared! It is a big decision to move out of a home they have lived in for 30 to 50 years. Most seniors don’t make the decision to move in a one or two hour meeting with a senior living sales person. Give them the compassion and care they so desperately need… Call them the next day and find a reason for them to visit again – maybe it’s a lunch, an exciting event or showing them one more apartment. Turn their reluctance into excitement.
If they don’t answer, keep calling. Senior living sales people are not making enough calls on average, it’s easier to go talk to a resident than hear rejections, no’s and hang ups on the phone. Call two days in row…make the 2nd message on their recorder different from the first and then say, “Please give me a call back or I will try you back.” If I were listening to my voicemail, I would think – “Oh, I better give them a call or they will keep calling.”
Then when they call you back, invite them to visit your senior living community again and the chance of selling them on a 2nd or 3rd tour are even higher! At Continuing Care Retirement Communities in California, it is taking 5 or 6 visits to turn a reluctant customer into a sale… How many visits on average are your prospects making to your retirement community, before they decide to move in? It would be fantastic to hear averages from all over the country…
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/
![What Can Make Your Senior Living Community Extraordinary?]()
by Diane Masson | Oct 7, 2012
Every senior living community struggles to differentiate themselves from their competitors. How can you do it? When a customer walks in the door – how can they feel an immediate difference with your community? Let’s take a moment to compare restaurants – which can be so alike too…
My husband and I decided to treat our selves to Sunday brunch at Laguna Beach. We didn’t want to go to the expensive tourist choice on the bluff. Hmm, where to go? We picked a place that looked good, but was not on the ocean side of the street. The wait for a table outside (it was 80 degrees) was 2 hours. We decided to eat inside and we had a small view of the ocean.
Five extraordinary experiences happened at this restaurant that blew us away. Our waiter was wonderfully attentive, the overall service was outstanding and the food was incredible – none of these made it extraordinary. Here are the five things that did:
- The waiter welcomed us the moment we sat down, asked if we had been there before (we said no) and then he assured us that we were going to have the most incredible brunch (Wow!).
- When my husband asked where the restroom was (after he tried to find it himself) a server did not just point in the right direction, they actually escorted him (Wow!).
- Then my husband returned to the table, a staff member anticipated his arrival, picked up his napkin and as he sat, put it on his lap (Wow!).
- The plates were removed within 20 seconds of each of us finishing our food (Wow!).
- Now listen to this one, they quietly wiped the water up that had sweated from the ice water glasses, so our table was perfectly clean again (Wow!).
In my opinion, this dining experience, at the Sapphire in Laguna Beach, was comparable to the finest service that I have ever received at Canlis – the most famous and expensive restaurant in Seattle, Washington that serves Presidents and Kings (I was lucky enough to go once on a “big” birthday.)
If your retirement community, assisted living or Continuing Care Retirement Community only did #1 – with every guest – what would happen to your occupancy? I am a big advocate of speaking positive into existence! Do you actually tell people when they arrive at your community that they will be in for a treat and that you are excited to show them around and introduce them to some staff and residents?
I would love for you to share something you or your staff does to make your senior living community extraordinary for people visiting your campus for the very first time? Who’s 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/
![Burnt Pizza Can Be Like Senior Housing – Does this describe your Community?]()
by Diane Masson | Sep 17, 2012
At the Seattle airport, Wolfgang Puck had some beautiful pizzas in the display window. I ordered one and mine was well done – almost burnt. Should I have taken it back? I ate it. It was good enough…then when I walked by the display window again…I had to look…the display had a burnt pizza. Why would anyone showcase burnt anything? If you make pizzas, how hard is it to make them perfect (I was in the pizza business for 3 years early in my career)?
How are you showcasing your retirement community? How is your phone being answered? Is it answered within one or two rings? When guests arrive at your community how are they greeted? Does the receptionist stand to greet them? Are guests offered water on hot days and coffee on cold days?
Are first impressions a priority for your organization? Or is everything good enough? Is your 85% to 90% occupancy good enough? What would it take to go to 95% or 100%? How are you differentiating yourself from your competitors? Is everyone in the neighborhood, just getting by and just good enough? Why not stand out from the senior housing pack and go above and beyond? How about exceeding expectations? What about giving a WOW experience?
What does it take to give a WOW experience? Sometimes it is only a 5% to 10% difference, but it takes a team approach! Some communities are making changes and watching the occupancy grow! What is making the difference?
1) Pull in the driveway of your community with the eyes of a customer on a regular basis.
2) Have someone mystery shop your community to find out how guests are greeted by telephone and in person.
3) Offer refreshments to guests.
4) Find out what the prospect’s needs are and why they came today.
5) Listen!!
6) Ask open ended questions to discovery their needs, wants and desires.
7) Listen!!
8) Invite them on a tour tailored to their needs.
9) Every staff they encounter needs to be smiling and welcoming to them.
10) Introduce prospective residents to key staff.
11) Check in with them to see if what you are showing them addresses their needs and if they can picture themselves or their family member living at your senior living community.
12) Ask for the deposit and determine next steps…don’t be pushy…it is in their best interest to have a plan for his or her future, so the children will not have to put them some place in a crisis situation.
Your senior living community has a choice to be the best you can be with first impressions or just be good enough – an almost burnt pizza…
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/
Occupancy is down, the pressure is up and your retirement counselor or marketing director is not performing like they used to… The economy and the presidential election are just excuses for low occupancy.
