“I’m Not Ready Yet” – Have You Heard This from Prospects?

“I’m Not Ready Yet” – Have You Heard This from Prospects?

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If you have spent anytime as a sales counselor in Senior Housing you most likely hear this on a daily basis. Does that mean they REALLY are not ready yet? The answer is no. What they really are saying is, “I don’t trust you yet” and I am afraid of making this life change. They are thinking, you haven’t given me any indication that you have actually “heard me”, understand my fears of making this change, and “recognized me” for all I have done in my life.

Building trust with a potential resident is probably the most important thing you can do before you start talking about benefits of your community. I know you are probably saying to yourself, I ask about their needs? Do you simply ask about the health and social needs? Of course that is perfect for the most “urgent” prospect that has already made the decision to move. What about the 90% of your other prospects that are onl considering moving in?

Have you ever asked questions like?

  • What are you most proud of in your life?
  • Tell me about your family, children, Grand Children?
  • What was occupation?
  • Have you traveled? If so what is your favorite place?
  • Where and how did you meet your spouse?

These type of questions say to your prospect? I care about you and not just about “selling you”. Let’s face it. Seniors are smart and they know when they are being sold. Stop Selling to Start Closing.

Guest Blog by Jayne Sallerson, COO of Sherpa.

Interested in an upcoming sales training specifically focusing on helping your prospects…GET READY: Click here for training and registration info →

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senior living marketing

Senior Living CRM Software: 6 Things To Consider When Choosing

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It is such an exciting time in the senior living industry with the influx of innovation. One area of growth is in senior living CRM software. Of course, with more choice, you can have more confusion. Below, you’ll find six things to keep in mind when choosing your system.

1. Avoid retrofitted CRMs of yesterday.

CRMs were primarily designed for either the multi-family housing or real estate industries. Then, they were adapted for senior housing use. Retrofits tend to have clunky user interfaces, multiple entries of duplicate information, and clumsy navigation. AVOID!

2. Choose a senior living CRM.

In other words, choose senior living software developed by senior living operators, sales trainers, and experienced thought leaders. How to tell? Visit the industry section on the CRM website. Or look for case studies that highlight use in senior living industries. It’s OK if the CRM company caters to several target markets. Just make sure senior living is among them.

3. Decide between a stand-alone or integrated CRM.

An integrated CRM is connected to a suite of software resources, including clinical and billing/accounting functions. (And sometimes pharmacy, staffing, HR & payroll.)  The upside: the flow of data between departments. The downside is that usually there is one area of strength (strong in accounting/ GL/ financial reporting and budgets) but is weak in the clinical or CRM component – or both.  But once you choose integration, you are stuck with the entire suite leaving some stakeholders frustrated.

A stand-alone CRM only manages the lead base and sales process. The upside is that there are some great choices that match a preferred sales method or philosophy. Also, because it is built specifically for sales, there are usually features included that are not standard in integrated solutions. The downside: once the sale closes, resident information has to be re-entered into clinical and billing/financial systems creating a duplication of effort and an extra investment of time.

4. Evaluate your current situation.

Finding the right senior living CRM software requires an honest analysis of where your community/company is today with both the existing resource, the sales culture, the user comfort level with technology, and training/implementation resources. Begin by getting feedback from stakeholders at every level. What do they think works about the current solution? The goal: to retain the positives of your current solution.

5. Begin with the end in mind.

Once you understand the above, the next step involves evaluating the gaps and what you want to accomplish with the change.  Community, regional, and corporate users will have different priorities. So, it’s important to create a work group representing different roles.

6. Participate in demos of senior living CRM software.

Equipped with a “wish list” and workgroup, you’ll be able to narrow down your choices. Schedule demos with the senior living CRMs that match your requirements. In addition to demos, request access to a test site or sandbox so your users can take the software for a test drive.

Some features sound great, but if they’re too complex for an average user, why bother?  Ask lots of questions. This is a high value purchase. A thoughtful and deliberate decision making process is a worthy investment.

When considering the cost, be sure to find out if pricing is based on the number of users, priced by community with unlimited users, a subscription, etc. Ask if there’s an additional cost to migrate data from your current system to the new software. You might be facing set-up fees and training & support fees as well.

Work with an agency that can help you select and implement your CRM.

That would be us! :) We can help you find the perfect CRM for your needs. We have some favorites that we work with (like Sherpa CRM). Plus, we can show you how to get the most out of it. Let’s chat!

sales tour

Senior Living Sales Training: What “Funny Farm” Can Teach Us About Tours

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The movie Funny Farm with Chevy Chase should be required viewing as part of senior living sales training. When Andy Farmer and his wife struggle to sell their country home after a not-so-idyllic experience of rural living, they decide to enlist the help of an eclectic cast of characters from the community. Everyone comes together to create the perfect experience for a hot lead with a “scheduled tour.”

Everything is planned down to the most minute detail: from ducks waddling along as prospects arrive to a deer prancing across the yard to the perfectly staged home setting and refreshments. It all unfolds perfectly with the help of the entire town!

Nothing is left to chance. The deer had been caged, and as the “prospects” arrived, Chevy Chase as Andy Farmer gave the command into his radio to waiting helpers to “cue the deer” at just the right moment.

Senior Living Sales Training: How to Create the Perfect Tour Experience

The couple that was “touring” was so taken by the experience. They offered more than the asking price and closed on the spot. And because everything was so perfect, they even wanted all of the furniture, dishes, and even the yellow dog.

A well-planned tour of a senior living community can have the same effect. People want to fall in love with a place that is the “perfect fit.”  When this happens, there is less price sensitivity because the family sees and appreciates the value. I’ve had many situations where the family wants to purchase the entire model apartment because it is so warm and inviting!

Here are some quick tips for how your senior living sales team can create a “Cue The Deer” experience:

1. Do thorough discovery to learn about the prospect’s life story.

The more you know, the more personal of an experience you can create.  Ask about interests, hobbies, careers, military service, favorite foods, books, movies, music, family, routines, “must haves” and “non-negotiables.”

For example, with my mother, the community must serve tea in a teapot. Heaven help the server who shows up with a tea bag in a cup and tries to pour water over it and call it “tea!”

2. Based on this information, plan the tour and use your team. 

The team can execute some easy personal touches, such as having a welcome sign at the reception desk with the prospect’s name, having their favorite refreshments served in the hospitality room, or scheduling a favorite activity during the visit. You get the idea.

3. Have a personalized gift at the end of the tour – something especially for them. 

Some common themes can be kept on hand (tea/ coffee lovers basket, dog/ cat lovers selections, photo books of local towns spiritual books/ journals, etc.). Others can be purchased prior to the visit if it is something specific (like the latest book by a favorite author).

4. Do things that your competitors are not doing!

For instance, put out a valet parking sign in advance of the tour. (If they can’t find a parking spot or have to park far away, you will have your first strike against you.) Meet the tour personally at the car – what a great first impression, right? Have umbrellas and wheelchairs handy. Have cold water on hot days. Serve refreshments in glassware & china, not Styrofoam and paper. Offer homemade goodies. And, finally, walk every visitor out to their car for the final personal touch.

We can help your sales and marketing teams create red carpet tours!

We can also turn your senior living website into a lead generation machine so that you have plenty of great leads to give tours to. Let’s chat about your needs!

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Senior Living Sales & The Decision Making Process

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Making a decision to choose a senior living community is complex, emotionally dynamic, and personal. Navigating the senior living sales process with families and prospects is delicate.  Very, very rarely is there only one decision maker, so doing thorough discovery using the right questions is important for all involved.

Here are a few senior living sales tips learned over the years:

Senior Living Sales Tip: Who? 

It’s important to understand the various roles and responsibilities everyone plays in the decision-making process.  Roles include the first point of contact, a primary caregiver who understands the day-to-day situation, the financially responsible family member, and the long distance family member who thinks everything is fine. Many possible combinations exist.

Each is a key influencer. And each will have different questions, priorities, and hot buttons. A great way to get this information is to say, “Every family we talk to has a different way of researching and choosing a senior living community.  There are family roles, and often-different priorities. Let’s talk about how you, as a family, are going to make this decision together. How would you define your role? Who else will be involved? Are any of them particularly supportive or resistant to the idea of senior living as an option?”

Bottom line: Identify the person or people you will need to win over. And know who is in your corner!

Senior Living Sales Tip: What?

What’s important to each decision maker? Has something changed in their lives that’s forcing them to look at senior living options? What’s the level of awareness/ involvement that the prospect has in making the decision? (Expect different answers for IL and Memory Care.) What other options are they considering? (Not only competitors, but home care etc.)

Senior Living Sales Tip: Why?

Why are they looking now? And why are they looking at your community specifically? Why would a community setting make sense for them?

Senior Living Sales Tip: Where?

Where is the best location for the family and the prospect? Decision makers will likely be looking in a variety of locations, including out of state.  Where does each decision maker/ influencer prefer for them to be located?  Where does the prospect prefer to live?

Senior Living Sales Tip: When?

When are they thinking about making a decision? (What is their timeframe?)  When are they thinking about making the move?  When can we get everyone together for a family meeting to understand and talk through questions, concerns, and options?

Senior Living Sales Tip: How?

How will you all make the decision? Asking how elicits a strategy. For example “I am going to call every community within 10 miles of where Mom lives to get some basic information.  Then, we will narrow down our choice to 4 – 6 communities to visit. From there, we’ll decide on our two top choices and we will bring Mom/Dad to visit to make the final choice.”

Ask how they’ll know when they find the right community? How will their Mother/Father know which community is the best for them? Knowing in advance that “when I find a community where my mom will fit in and feel comfortable” is very different from “when I find a community where my mom can swim, that has a bridge group, and a rich cultural program.”

Better to know earlier in the sales process!

Senior Living Sales Tip: Who Else?

Sometimes, when you think you’ve met all the decision makers, another hidden decision maker pops up!  This can be a family attorney, financial planner, discharge planner, or spiritual advisor.  It’s always a good idea to confirm all of the known participants and then ask “who else” will be involved.

Need some help tweaking your senior living sales process?

We work closely with senior living sales and marketing teams. Let’s chat about your community’s needs.

sales tools

Putting the Right Tools in Your Sales Toolbox

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It is always tricky creating the right Sales Toolbox – one that creates urgency without eroding revenue.  Used correctly, incentives can be used to shorten the sales cycle and achieve move-in targets but they can also be overused leaving money on the table.  Choosing the tools that are right for the job of occupancy & revenue growth requires good analysis and the flexibility to make changes as occupancy fluctuates.  Here are a few things to consider:

Customize the Toolbox for the Size of the Job

Different tools are needed to boost occupancy by 20% than by 5 % so create different toolboxes for communities at various levels of vacancy.  This can be accomplished by simply using the same incentives but with different values (dollar amounts or percentages) or by sweetening the incentives when the occupancy drops to a certain level.  For example, communities above 90% occupancy may be able to offer a variety of incentives up to a certain dollar amount (reimburse moving costs, apartment upgrades, etc.) or use discount percentage (discount community fee by x%, etc.) but if occupancy drops below 90% the dollar amounts and percentages increase.

Short Term vs. Long Term incentives

Some incentives are short term as the incentive is applied once, usually upfront, and other incentives are applied on an ongoing basis.  This is where the revenue vs. occupancy growth must be considered and balanced.  Waiving or discounting a month’s rent or community fee is a short term incentive that erodes revenue for only the month the incentive is applied; discounting rent or offering rent locks erodes revenue over a longer period of time.   Operators and sales leaders have to work together to determine what the goals are in order to create the right toolbox.

Inspect, Analyze and Adjust

There are certain trends to look at in creating the right toolbox.  The first is the average length of stay by lifestyle (IL, AL, ALZ), which helps to project the impact of long-term incentives.  There is a difference in offering a two-year rate lock when the average length of stay is 18 months then when it is 48 months.   Also, the average rate per unit by type of your current residents is helpful to consider ensuring that new residents are not paying less on average than your residents who have lived in the community for years.  Once the sales toolbox is created and approved, an approval process must be established for transparency and to track the success of each incentive offered.  If families show no interest in one of the offers, change it up!

Best Practices

Here is what I have learned in building sales toolboxes over the years:

  • Have a sales toolbox for the Sales Team and another one for the Executive Directors.  I like to give the sales team the short-term incentives and empower them to use the toolbox to shorten the sales cycle and reserve any incentive that impacts ongoing revenue in the hands of the Executive Director.
  • Get feedback from the community and regional teams while creating the toolbox and be willing to adjust the incentives based on individual market differences.  Everyone likes to be part of the process and collaboration increases buy-in.
  • Make sure there are good systems to track the impact of the incentives.  Knowing the historical move-in numbers, market rates and actual collected rates will help evaluate the impact of the program.  The purpose of a sales toolbox is to increase the move-in volume by empowering community teams to overcome objections and shorten the sales cycle.  In six months the trend should show a correlation of incentive dollars relating to increased move-in volume.
  • Evaluate which incentives are working as it may reveal an underlying issue that can be addressed.  For example, if most families are choosing a 5% rent reduction, you may have a pricing issue or if they are choosing an apartment upgrade (a studio deluxe for the same price as a standard studio), you may have a barrier based on the size of your apartments.

Are there any other tools you would add to your sales toolbox? Let’s Chat

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Senior Living Sales KPIs: Windshield vs the Rearview Mirror

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Facilitating an effective sales meeting requires analysis of both leading and lagging key performance indicators (KPIs). Senior living sales managers at all levels, from the community to regional (and above), often spend more time examining lagging indicators and not enough time digging into leading indicators. Or, as we like to say, look through the windshield rather than the rearview mirror.

To improve the effectiveness of senior living sales meetings, managers should include these KPIs.

Lagging Indicators

Reviewing the completed activities and trends can be helpful in identifying barriers, which can be a learning exercise.  In senior living, managers should examine:

  • Completed activities vs. standards– quality & quantity (were activity goals achieved?)
  • Conversion ratios – trending up or down (is the sales process improving?)
  • Results – new leads, deposits, advances, and referrals (is sales activity turning into sales results?)
  • Market rate comparison to actual rate (impact of sales results to revenue)

Leading Indicators 

Examining the senior living sales plan for the week and month is useful in understanding the future opportunity.  In senior living, managers should examine:

  • Scheduled activities vs. standards – quality & quantity of planned sales activities including;
  • Scheduled Tours & Re-tours
  • Scheduled Assessments
  • Scheduled Sales Calls/ External Business Development – both hunting and farming (finding new accounts & cultivating existing accounts)
  • Scheduled Events
  • Scheduled Call Outs & Lead Follow up/ Nurturing

Spending sales meetings and occupancy calls primarily focused on the “rearview mirror” will result in re-hashing information that is already documented in various reports. Instead, take the “windshield” approach and focus on what’s ahead. In the senior living CRM, identify sales-qualified leads and have the reps focus on those, rather than obsessing on lost leads. In the meantime, marketing can continue to nurture the “not ready yet” leads.

Need help with this approach to senior living sales?

We’re experts at getting marketing and sales teams to align their efforts. Let’s chat!

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How to Increase Sales In Senior Living: The Occupancy Conundrum

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Senior living operators often use the words “sales” and “occupancy” interchangeably.  While closing sales is a key component of growing occupancy, sustainable results require a more collaborative strategy. Occupancy involves sales AND marketing alignment, effective service delivery, and strong retention efforts.

Let’s break down each component and learn how to increase sales in senior living. 

Align marketing with senior living sales.

The senior living sales and marketing teams need to collaborate. Together, they will create and execute a marketing plan that will result in more move-ins. A good plan will include things like website optimization, paid advertising, direct mail, social media, and marketing events. The plan should also include specific sales activities, such as nurturing leads, generating tours, doing site visits, networking, and conducting scheduled sales calls.

But even if your sales and marketing teams work swimmingly together and bring in quality leads that convert to move-ins, that might not be enough. Bad services, such as med errors, yucky food, and boring activities, will turn those move-ins into move-outs. Obviously, move-outs erode occupancy and revenue.

Bottom line: Before bugging the senior living sales director for more move-ins, evaluate move-outs. Are they unusually high? If yes, assess your services and retention efforts across all areas of operations. (Keep reading for details.)

Improve your service delivery.

Are you delivering the services promised in your collaterals?  Many “silent” move-outs happen due to issues no one wants to talk about. Sure, some folks will move to a competitor. But what about people who move out for the following reasons:

  • Respites that don’t convert – they “tried out” the community but didn’t have a good enough experience to become a permanent resident
  • Moved home with family (thought the family would do a better job)
  • Financial move-out – they may be able to afford it but no longer see the value
  • Residents who move out into their own condo or apartment and bring in-home care

Even worse: Many dissatisfied residents simply stay, but they tell everyone that the community is not what they expected. They share their disillusionment with their physicians, family, and friends. No, they may not erode occupancy, but they won’t help increase occupancy with referrals. Remember, resident and family referrals have one of the highest conversion rates of any source (30 – 35%).

Boost retention efforts.

If senior living operators spent as much time managing the back door as they do driving move-ins through the front door, occupancy and revenue would be far greater. Some ideas to proactively retain residents longer include:

  • Invest in updated technology and software that monitors resident patterns and health trends with predictive functions to detect changes before an incident or decline occurs.
  • Hold weekly resident tracking meetings to pro-actively manage resident care collaboratively.  These meetings should include representatives from every department and always include input from caregiving staff.
  • Establish protocols for visiting residents when they are out of the community in an acute setting and managing their care by participating in care planning/ discharge planning meetings.
  • Set retention goals for your nurses to mirror the move-in goals for your sales team.

If you only focus on the sales portion of the occupancy equation, you will miss 2/3 of your opportunity to grow your market share & profitability.

Need help with any of the above? Before we created our agency, we spent decades working in the industry (sales, marketing, and operations). We know how to increase sales in senior living. Let us help!

Waiting For Your Pitch – Swinging in Your Sales Strike Zone

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T

onight I am watching the World Series and watching the psychological battle between pitchers and hitters.  The pitcher’s goal is to avoid throwing anything over the plate while convincing the batter that every pitch will eventually rise, sink, curve or break into the strike zone. The batters instinctively want to rip every pitch and the balls coming at them look like cantaloupes with seams right up until the last moment of commitment. Getting on base ultimately depends on having the patience to wait for the right pitch in the strike zone and then making contact. It takes a keen eye to discern balls posing as strikes and actual hittable pitches.

This analogy is equally relevant in describing the sales process in senior living. The key in being a top closer is the ability to separate Prospect from Suspects early in the sales process before you spend a lot of energy swinging at an opportunity outside of the strike zone. Every community has a unique strike zone comprised of key demographics, strengths and unique differentiators. The strike zone may be comprised of geographical, educational, ethnic, religious, clinical, cultural, recreational or desirable amenities that attract your unique buyer persona. Your strike zone is also defined by basic sales realities such as the match of the buyers wants/ needs and your solutions, the access to key decision makers, financial qualification, the ability to manage the acuity and availability of the desired apartment type and location. Top Closers focus their energy on the prospects who fall within their strike zone.

There is a difference between the lead who is an unrelated friend of someone who is considering moving into the area from out of state with high care needs and limited financial information and the lead who lives up the street who attends the church/ synagogue/ mosque across the street, with a daughter and grandchildren in the neighborhood who was referred by a very happy family, is going to be released from rehab in less than two weeks and does not want to go home alone. All leads deserve empathy, information, and a helpful interaction to offer support and resources. Those in the strike zone need a focused, personalized plan with consistent follow up and a roadmap leading them to your doorstep.  The reality is that not every lead is equal and Closers spend their time with those with the highest conversion opportunities. This is about prioritizing – not permission to avoid lead follow up! Leads that may not start off in your strike zone, can become strike zone leads with nurturing and creative follow up.

Ok sales team, it’s the Bottom of the 9th (the last week of the month!) and you need to score another move-in so take a look at your Hot Leads and prioritize those within your strike zone. Look for those with strong referral sources (professional, friend & family, grass-roots community, & referral agency leads) and those with an imposed urgency (imminent discharge date, break in support system such as private duty/ home care/ family care) and those who would respond to a short-term incentive.  Keep your eye on the ball and when you are ready, swing for the fences – there is still time to get one more on the scoreboard this month!