Tag Archive for: senior living events

“I’m not ready yet” is one of the most common objections that senior living sales teams hear. While it can be frustrating, pushing back too hard can drive prospects away.

So, what should sales reps say?

Below, we share our suggestions.

Demonstrate empathy by seeing things from their perspective.

“I’m not ready yet” is rarely about one reason. It often involves a combination of emotional, logistical, and financial concerns.

Many salespeople instinctively try to “win” the argument, but this approach backfires. Our CEO, Debbie Howard, says selling senior living is like driving on ice—you have to “go with the skid” rather than jerk the wheel.

Lean into the objection and use language that demonstrates empathy:

• I hear you. I can’t imagine how tough a decision this is to make.
• I hear you. Leaving your forever home has got to feel incredibly overwhelming and sad.
• I hear you. You’ve done so much for your mother already. I can feel your exhaustion.

Gently guide the conversation forward.

The goal is to encourage reflection, problem-solving, and possible next steps. Here are a few strategic approaches you can take.

1. Ask open-ended questions to encourage reflection.

Instead of pushing back, invite prospects to explore their concerns by asking them thoughtful questions:

• What do you think would make this decision easier?
• What’s the biggest thing holding you back right now?
• What would have to change for your mom to feel ready?

These questions help prospects vocalize their concerns while allowing you to uncover deeper hesitations.

2. Offer meaningful support and resources.

Rather than arguing against their objections, position yourself as a trusted resource, but make sure whatever resource you offer aligns with their objection:

• I totally understand. Deciding whether to stay at home or move to a senior living community is a big decision. To help, we offer a “Stay or Go” guide that walks families through key considerations like home safety, socialization, financial planning, and future care needs. Would it help if I shared this with you and your family?
• Would you be open to speaking with one of our current residents who had similar concerns?
• Can I connect you with a geriatric care manager who can help you sort through options?
• Would your mom feel more comfortable with a short stay to see if this feels right? She can move in for a couple of weeks, participate in activities, and experience the lifestyle firsthand—no long-term commitment required.

Providing tangible next steps eases decision fatigue and shows that you’re there to help, not just to sell.

PRO TIP #1: Offer to pay for the first session with the geriatric care manager. The prospect and their family have nothing to lose and everything to gain—and you could very well get a move-in out of a nominal expense in the grand scheme of things.

PRO TIP #2: For many families, the biggest challenge isn’t the decision—it’s the logistics. Selling a home, sorting through decades of belongings, and coordinating a move can feel overwhelming. If you offer relocation services or have a preferred senior move manager, talk it up and make the introduction.

3. Accept that they might need to fail.

Sometimes, families need to try a different solution first and fail. This might involve bringing in home care, modifying the home, or moving Mom in with them.

If that’s the case, reassure them that you’ll still be there when and if they’re ready. Occasionally check in with them over the next few months to a year to see how things are going.

4. Gently challenge their thinking (without pushing).

Help them reframe their concerns with gentle prompts:

• I completely understand why staying home feels like the best choice right now. Can we talk through what that might look like a year from now?
• Many families tell me they wish they had made this move sooner. What do you think would happen if you waited another year?
• What would have to happen for you to feel like moving is the best decision?

5. Keep the door open with a soft follow-up.

If they’re not ready, that’s okay—but let them know you’ll continue to be a helpful, low-pressure resource:

• I completely understand, and I want you to feel comfortable with whatever decision you make. How about I check in with you in a few weeks to see how things are going?
• Would you like to join us for an event to meet some residents and get a feel for the community?
• I recently came across an article on downsizing that might be helpful—let me know if you’d like me to send it over.
• If anything changes or you just want to talk things through again, I’m always here to help.

Accept that you won’t be able to overcome every “I’m not ready yet” objection, and that’s OK.

“I’m not ready yet” isn’t a hard no—it’s an opportunity to explore what’s holding them back. The key is to listen, validate concerns, and provide resources to help families feel good about their decisions.

By leaning into objections rather than fighting them, sales teams can build trust and guide families toward a move-in when the time is right. And when that moment comes, they won’t remember a sales pitch—they’ll remember who truly listened, supported them, and made them feel ready to say “yes.”

MORE GREAT SENIOR LIVING SALES TIPS:

• Senior Living Sales Strategies for High-Intent SQLs
• How the Move-In Process Can Affect Your Senior Living Marketing
• 3 More Tips for Overcoming Senior Living Sales Objections

Brand recognition is a critical component of success in the senior living industry. With increased competition and evolving consumer expectations, providers must proactively build a strong, trustworthy brand that resonates with seniors and their families.

Often, despite best intentions and efforts, searching for a senior living community for yourself or your loved one can seem like wading through a sea of sameness. Even when the amenities, activities, and physical plant vary at the communities you’re considering, the same messaging comes through for each. Building a strong brand means standing apart from the crowd and having your messaging, marketing, and operations in alignment.

Here are the best practices for improving brand recognition and establishing a compelling presence in the market.

1. Develop a Strong Brand Identity Internally

Your brand identity is the foundation of recognition and trust in your market. Having internal alignment on the following pieces will allow you to stand out in a crowded marketplace:

• Define Your Mission and Values: Clearly articulate what makes your community unique and how you serve seniors. To understand these values, connect with your stakeholders. Ask your founders and c-suite what their true “why” is. Senior living is not an easy vertical to operate in. People don’t dive into opening, owning, or operating a senior living community without a vision or a compelling reason. Interview your long-term staff and uncover their opinions on what sets you, their employer, apart. And perhaps most importantly, ask your residents and families – why did you choose us? And why do you continue to choose us month after month? The answers to these questions will help you see the true values that your organization embodies.
• Create a Consistent Visual Identity: Use a cohesive logo, color palette, and typography across all marketing materials. Your brand creatives should reflect your unique value proposition and give your audience an immediate sense of who you are. Consider getting feedback from your residents and families as you choose your visual identity.
• Develop a Unique Brand Voice: Ensure your messaging is consistent and reflects your organization’s personality and core values. In this effort, documentation is paramount. Assuring that your brand voice and visual identity are aligned, and accessible to your staff will help keep your brand consistent and recognizable. A brand style guide including fonts, colors, logo versions, visual elements (iconography, textures, etc.), and notes on usage will help keep your branding on point.

2. Optimize Your Online Presence

A well-optimized digital footprint increases visibility and trust with your prospects. Creating and building up a strong digital footprint is a long game. It will take a long-term commitment and a strategic approach. Focusing on the following best practices will give you a leg up:

• Maintain an SEO-Optimized Website: Ensure your website is user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and optimized for local search keywords like “senior living near me.” A well-structured website should include clear calls to action (CTAs), easy navigation, and accessible information about services, pricing, and amenities. In today’s environment of SEO, connecting with your audience with authentic content that answers their questions is the most important thing you can do.
• Claim and Optimize Google Business Profiles: Keep listings updated with accurate contact details, high-quality images, and positive resident testimonials. Add virtual tours and Q&A sections to engage visitors. Google Business Profile optimization is the single biggest factor impacting your local SEO authority and appearance in Google’s “map pack” of results.
• Claim and Optimize Directory Citations: Assure that online directories and citations pages, especially those geared toward the senior living industry, are claimed and accurate. Making sure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are accurate and formatted correctly is the best first step with online citation sites.
• Encourage Online Reviews: Positive Google and Facebook reviews enhance credibility and search rankings (especially local search). Develop a system to request and manage reviews from happy residents and families, on autopilot. Be sure that you are following up and responding to reviews – good or bad – to highlight your accountability and connection with your residents and families.
• Invest in Local SEO: Optimize for location-based searches by ensuring consistency in your name, address, and phone number (NAP) across directories and using geo-targeted keywords in content. Beyond optimizing your Google Business Profile and generating positive reviews, consistency across directories and well-optimized website content will boost your local SEO results substantially. Consider building pillar pages that speak directly of the benefits of retiring in your local community or neighborhood.
• Leverage Paid Search Ads: Utilize Google Ads and social media advertising to increase visibility for high-intent keywords, targeting families researching senior living options. Aligning your ad creatives with your brand and visual identity will help keep you top of mind while your prospects are searching, further solidifying your brand recognition across channels.

3. Create Valuable Content

Content marketing is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engagement. It influences user experience, search engine optimization, and highlights your experience in the industry. Strategies for success with senior living content marketing include:

• Educational Blog Posts: Provide insights on topics like aging, senior care trends, and financial planning for senior living. Creating an authentic and authoritative voice for your blog posts is going to help your prospects understand who you are as a brand. Aligning your content with the conversations that your sales teams are having with prospects is a great way to maintain authenticity and relevance. These posts should always strive to be genuinely helpful to your audience – not “salesy” — while reflecting the brand voice outlined in your brand style guide.
• Local Area Pillar Pages: Create targeted, content-rich pages to highlight your local area. These pages help with local SEO and also help to set your brand apart with hyper-local content that your competitors won’t be featuring. Your locality can be a vital part of your brand.
• Resident Stories and Testimonials: Humanize your brand with real-life success stories. These stories are truly one-of-a-kind and apply only to your brand. They speak powerfully to your prospects because they are authentic and unfiltered. Content generated by your residents tends to resonate well with prospects because they can see themselves reflected back at them, rather than feeling like they are being “sold” to by community staff.
• Video Marketing: Virtual tours, resident interviews, and staff spotlights help create an emotional connection while building authority for your website domain as well. Video content is becoming a must for building brand recognition and trust with your audience. It’s perceived as more natural, more authentic, and less curated. It’s harder to “hide” things when you have a robust video marketing library, from the prospect perspective.

4. Leverage Social Media Effectively

Social media is essential for engaging with prospects and families. Social media is often perceived as more natural and authentic than website content, because it is more immediate and seemingly less curated. Prospects view your social pages to get an unfiltered glimpse inside the community, to see a bit of the day-to-day experience. Key strategies for successful senior living social media marketing include:

• Consistent Posting Schedule: Share valuable content, community events, and resident stories regularly. Striving to post everyday helps keep your content in front of your audience and builds trust with your prospects. They can see inside the community and understand the benefits of living there on a day-to-day basis. The authenticity and transparency is appreciated.
• Engage with Your Audience: Respond to comments, answer questions, and participate in discussions. Connecting with your audience helps the social media algorithms highlight your content to a wider group of people, but it also showcases the human side of your organization and shows that you put care into all of your interactions, no matter how “small” they may seem.
• Use Paid Advertising: Targeted Facebook and Instagram ads help expand reach and attract qualified leads. Highlighting photography and videography from inside your communities in paid advertising is a great way to spread your brand message and increase recognition in the area.

5. Strengthen Community Engagement

Being active in the local community enhances trust and brand reputation (not to mention, it can be a great source of new referral leads). Best practices include:

• Partner with Local Organizations: Collaborate with hospitals, senior centers, and local businesses. Rehab facilities, community centers and groups (Elks, VFW, Rotary International), and your local chamber of commerce are also great options for networking and partnering. Show up authentically with the goal of adding value to these organizations – not extracting it.
• Host Educational Events: Offer seminars on topics like dementia care, financial planning, and wellness. Working with local businesses or community attractions like libraries and museums can be a great way to jump-start your event series. Working with experts in the industry can expand your network and also lend more credibility to your organization.
• Participate in Senior Living Expos: Showcase your community at industry events and local fairs. The best compliment you can get when it comes to building brand recognition for senior living is… “We see you everywhere!” Showing up in person to these types of events is a great way to garner that response.

6. Invest in Public Relations & Thought Leadership

Establishing authority in the senior living industry builds brand credibility. Ways to achieve this include:

• Contribute to Industry Publications: Submit articles or guest posts on leading senior living websites, newsletters, podcasts, and publications. Senior Housing News, Senior Housing Business, McKnight’s, AARP, and more are constantly churning out valuable content for this market. They also have already garnered enormous audiences. Leveraging their media prowess can do wonders for your own presence and credibility.
• Engage in Local Media Outreach: Position your leadership team as experts by securing press coverage. This works in tandem with hosting informative events and engaging on social media. Your team should always come across as being the resources and the experts when it comes to aging in your local area.
• Speak at Conferences and Webinars: Present insights on senior care trends and best practices. Document your successes and submit your findings to industry conferences, summits, panel discussions, podcasts and webinars. First-hand industry research is incredibly valuable to many of these organizations – being able to speak on trends you are seeing day-to-day is highly desirable content that can be extrapolated from for other providers.

7. Utilize Marketing Automation & CRM Tools

Automation and personalization enhance brand recognition by improving lead nurturing and communication. Consider:

• Automated Email Campaigns: Send targeted emails based on user behavior and interests. Following up with leads contextually, rather than generally, shows that you have deep knowledge of senior living and that you actually care about where your prospect is in their journey. Expertise and passion go a long way toward creating a favorable brand.
• Personalized Follow-Ups: Use CRM data to customize interactions with prospects. This goes beyond including someone’s name in an email – by segmenting users based on their behaviors, you can truly align your content creation with their journey and their pain points.
• Chatbots and AI-Driven Assistance: Provide instant responses to inquiries on your website by leveraging machine learning, chatbots, and AI. This allows prospects to get the information they want faster and removes that burden from your sales team – allowing for more productive and informed sales conversations.

8. Monitor and Measure Brand Performance

To ensure continued success, track key metrics such as:

• Website Traffic and Engagement: Use Google Analytics to assess visitor behavior. Are metrics like engaged sessions, pageviews per session, and time on page improving? Direct traffic should also see improvements as additional prospects become familiar with your brand and online presence.
• Social Media Insights: Analyze follower growth, post engagement, and ad performance across social media channels.
• Lead Conversion Rates: Measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and outreach efforts by measuring the change in lead conversion rates over time. If you’re connecting with the right audience and they are finding the information they need within your site, your conversion rates should increase as they download new information and get in touch with your sales team.

Conclusion

Building strong brand recognition as a senior living provider requires a multi-faceted approach that includes consistent branding, digital presence, valuable content, and community engagement. By implementing these best practices, you can establish trust, increase visibility, and attract more residents to your community.

Need help enhancing your senior living brand? Contact our team of experts to develop a customized marketing strategy that elevates your presence in the industry!

While most prospects find senior living communities through digital sources (like organic search and paid ads), other more “traditional” marketing tactics can still be critical during this all-important “find” stage.

The primary purpose of these traditional tactics is not to generate leads but to make people aware that your community exists.

Remember, prospects and adult children often live within a small radius of your community. Effective signage, a presence in the local media, and a strong local referral network can help people become familiar with your community’s name long before they search Google.

Below, we dive into several ways to build brand awareness in senior living via these more traditional marketing tactics:

• Local media
• Referral networks
• Direct mail
• On-site and off-site events
• Grassroots marketing

Local media

The target demo for senior living still reads local newspapers, magazines, and publications. The messaging for print ad campaigns or paid advertorials (a popular staple in weekly and monthly publications) should highlight services and reviews. For the call-to-action (CTA), you can experiment with “Schedule a tour” or “Attend our [fill in the blank]” (like a book club; events do exceptionally well in these campaigns).

Consistency is key when building awareness. You can’t run a few ads and expect immediate results. Success requires sustained effort over time.

Speaking of results, they can be subtle and difficult to measure. Consistent messaging often registers subconsciously: “Didn’t I see an ad for that in the newspaper?” “I think I drive by that place on my way to work; I remember seeing a sign.” “Oh, that’s where we donated school supplies last fall.” These small connections gradually build familiarity and trust.

Print ads are especially important for communities going through transitions, like lease-ups, acquisitions, or changes in management.

We recommend running half-page or quarter-page ads every month. Use a combination of evergreen content, such as resident spotlights, testimonials, and “Did you know?” facts, along with any upcoming community events. CTAs should be relevant to the content (learn more, call today, save your seat), and any URLs or phone numbers should include tracking for proper attribution.

Referral networks

For needs-based senior living (assisted living and memory care), prospects often “find” a community through a direct referral from a professional contact such as a discharge planner, social worker, physician, home care provider, adult day care center, or geriatric care manager.

Independent Living prospects might seek counsel from trusted advisors, such as elder law attorneys, financial professionals, spiritual advisors, and realtors, since their decision is more planned.

Building a professional referral network requires time and a collaborative approach. However, the investment is worth it, as these referrals tend to have the highest closing rate at the lowest price.

Direct mail

Today, you can buy direct mail lists that go beyond age, income, and zip code. You can now source highly targeted lists to include parameters like health criteria, diagnosis, and household demographics.

For example, providers needing to generate leads for memory care can buy a list of contacts within the community’s radius and include other qualifying income and asset criteria related to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

The three essential components of an effective direct mail campaign include:

• The quality and accuracy of your list (refresh your mailing list yearly)
• The demographics (for example, health status, persona, financials, age)
• The offer. Make it compelling! Think visually appealing design and an engaging message and CTA.

Including a QR code, vanity URL, or call tracking number will help measure each campaign’s ROI.

On-site and off-site events

A combination of various events—social, educational, networking, and community—can help attract different audiences at different decision stages.

Early-stage prospects in the awareness/research stage might be more comfortable attending an off-site event at a restaurant, library, church, or country club rather than booking a tour in your community. Dine & Discover, Lunch & Learn, and speaker/author events work well for these folks.

Prospects in consideration and decision stages are more likely to attend on-site events, such as educational programs (financial, legal, downsizing), open houses, Parade of Homes, support groups, and social events.

Grassroots marketing

Grassroots marketing is all about building meaningful connections within the community. Joining local chambers of commerce, donating to organizations like Toys for Tots, food pantries, or Meals on Wheels, and supporting school supply drives are excellent ways to establish awareness. Offering event space for community gatherings, hosting health fairs, and organizing immunization clinics further solidify your presence as a trusted and engaged community partner.

Yes, it is possible to get move-ins from hosting Girl Scout meetings, piano recitals, bridge groups, and even The Happy Hookers (get your mind out of the gutter—we’re talking about a knitting circle!).

Most of these tactics are outbound marketing—and that’s OK.

By “outbound,” we mean that the messaging is reaching a broad audience, most of whom haven’t expressed a need or interest in senior living. The common denominator is that the members of this audience live or work locally.

The hope is they will see your sign, print ad, or postcard or remember your outreach when there is an opportunity to refer. The lead volume for these tactics will be much lower (again, the goal is awareness, not lead generation). However, the closing ratio tends to be much higher in the long run. Senior living has a long sales cycle, and advancing prospects from awareness to close involves a multi-touchpoint and attribution strategy.

Weave these tactics into one comprehensive marketing strategy for senior living.

Do you need help putting all the pieces together and seamlessly executing various tactics? We can help. Get in touch to discuss your community’s marketing strategy.

Editor’s note: We updated this article on 12/17/24 to shift away from pandemic-related suggestions..

Well-planned marketing events for senior living communities can generate qualified leads, re-engage stalled prospects, and create opportunities to develop new professional contacts and nurture existing relationships.

On the other hand, poorly executed events can be a big waste of time and money.

How can you make sure you’re putting together events that deliver excellent ROI? Here are three types we recommend: educational events, social events, and community events.

Educational events: Show that you’re an expert and a resource

Educational senior living marketing events will help position you as a trusted advisor and valued resource. Below are some topics and themes to consider.

• Author Visit. Many authors do book tours, both in-person and virtual For in-person events, the author can speak and bring books for purchase and signing.
• Downsizing/ Transitions. Invite real estate pros and downsizing experts for a lunch & learn series.
• Financial Solutions. Same idea as above. Your community hosts experts for a casual lunch. Think VA benefits, life insurance conversion, and long-term care.
• Memory Care Topics. Again, hold lunch & learn sessions on popular topics like brain fitness, education, research, driving, and dementia.
• Support Groups. Ideas include caregiver support groups, Alzheimer’s support groups, men’s groups, bereavement groups, etc.
• Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Do this in your community or bring your program to a local hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Social events: Be social and show off your community’s fun side

Give prospective residents and their families a taste of what your community is like by inviting them to attend social events and fun activities. Here are some ideas:

• Art classes. Paint and sip nights can be a fun way to get people to mingle, and the prospective resident gets to bring home artwork that will remind them of your community.
• Fitness classes. Offer day passes to your most popular classes.
• Networking. Think breakfasts, lunch, cocktail receptions, martini mixer etc.
• Dash & Dine. Stop by for a tour or event and take home dinner on us!
• Brunch. Ideas include champagne, jazz, holiday, and Mother/Father’s Day.
• Senior/Senior Prom with local high school (Star Dust Prom).
• Holiday/ Special Day Socials / BBQs. Think of all the possibilities: Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Mother/ Father’s/ Grandparent’s Day . . . and that’s just the beginning. You could focus on a silly day like National Hot Dog Day (third Wednesday in July). Invite a hot dog stand to set up shop on the premises and invite people from nearby towns to come by for hot dogs and ice cream on you.
• Chef demonstrations. What better way to give people a sense of the food and menu options than by having your chef demo one of their top dishes or specialties (like cake decorating).
• Fashion Show. Collaborate with a local store and use staff, residents, family, or professionals as models.

Community Events: Grass roots and local community

• Host spiritual groups. Think parish nurses, Stephen Ministries, non-denominational meetings, or meetings with rabbis, pastors, priests, etc.
• Host seniors’ groups. Think Red Hat Society, senior centers, and other related groups.
• Host art shows for local schools/ artists or resident art
• Host piano recitals for local teachers if you have a piano
• Dinner & a movie if you have a theater
• Sponsor a community yard sale
• Host fundraisers. Consider fundraisers around the annual Alzheimer’s Walk or Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September.
• Sponsor a community health fair with free screenings
• Host community group car wash (for example, for the local high school)
• Host a variety/ talent show
• Wreath/ miniature tree decorating – referral sources and families buy a wreath or tree and decorate it (usually with a theme) and raffle them off for charity at a social event.

Bonus: More great marketing events for senior living communities

• Marketing Events for Assisted Living: 5 Fresh Ideas
• Senior Living Marketing Events: Focus on the Three Ws
• More Senior Living Marketing Event Ideas to Try

Need help coming up with ideas? Get in touch and let’s discuss how events can fit into your marketing strategy.