![I’m Not Ready Yet!!!!]()
by Diane Masson | Sep 3, 2012
When you hear a senior prospect or family member say these words – what runs through your mind first? How do you respond? Do you believe them? At every encounter with a prospective resident, someone always buys the popcorn – either the sales person or the senior!
Recently, I was going through some retirement community’s databases and lead after lead after lead had a “NRY” as the number one response in the notes. I had to ask, “What is “NRY”?” The retirement counselors in unison said, “Not ready yet.” I thought quietly to myself, “Why the heck would anyone put such a negative assertion in his or her database?” The next time they look at the lead, they are going to immediately think that it’s a crappy lead.
I believe that every lead is great! If someone hangs up on me, the prospective resident is just having a bad day. I have actually called these back again and they have been receptive, come in for a tour and eventually moved in.
When someone says they are not ready yet, do you blow the person off like I see some sales people do? Are you just looking for a quick sale on a silver platter or a 30-day move-in? Well then you are missing a ton of sales and this is why the occupancy is down at your retirement community. Real sales people know that persistence pays off. I have called people every month for one year and then they turned into a sale! Those can be the most gratifying sales!
Do you have a Negative Nellie working your precious (expensive) senior housing leads that could be potential move-ins? Believing Betty understands that each lead could be worth thousands of dollars and calls with enthusiasm and passion. The customer needs to hear us smiling through the phone and feel our energy and excitement when they arrive in person. We need to believe in our leads and keep calling them back…
When someone says they are not ready yet, they are one fall or one diagnosis away from suddenly wanting to move immediately. Don’t schedule the next call for one year away, because it’s not the golden goose quick sale. Understand the frailty of the senior customer and schedule to call them on a quarterly basis or your competition will get this move-in instead of you!
So when a senior tells me that they are not ready yet…this is great…they are interested for the future. The first thought that runs through my mind is: I need to educate them more about the lifestyle! The second thought I have is: What did I miss saying? Did I build enough value for health services? After I learned about them through discovery, did I tailor the tour to their needs? I need to fill the retirement community today, one year from now and 5 years from now! So if someone wants to wait a year or two, no problem… my positive contact with them can speed up their decision. Then when they suddenly want to move in, whom will they think of first? Well, the nice lady on the phone who was never pushy and always had their best interests at heart…of course!
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/
![4 Things That Can Make Your Senior Living Sales Team Olympians!]()
by Diane Masson | Aug 5, 2012
1) A great Olympic attitude – every single day! The attitude of a senior living sales person can literally increase or decrease your occupancy. Every gold medalist Olympian has an amazing story of adversity that they overcame with a great attitude. Some of the new Olympians even gave up on their sport for a year or more and then came back to win with a positive team spirit and an amazing coach! Does the senior living sales coach at your organization have a winning attitude that is contagious to the team? Can you feel the energy in the office and at your retirement community marketing events?
2) Believing like an Olympian in the community with 100% conviction! If the targeted occupancy goal is 95 percent at your assisted living and you are running at 90 percent, 85 percent, or less, how can you function under this pressure? How can you keep this stressor out of your interactions with the customer? Are you Unbelieving Ursula—wringing your hands and scratching your head? Or are you Believing Betty—charming prospects by painting a pretty picture of their potential lifestyle in your amazing community?
3) Having the work ethic of an Olympian! Move-ins don’t happen without follow up calls and tours period. Are you personal texting and chatting with residents or making 15 to 20 calls a day – EVERY DAY! This will result in a minimum of 5 tours a week! With enough potential residents walking in the door of your Continuing Care Retirement Community, it’s just a matter of them recognizing that your community is the best! Olympic senior living sales people ALWAYS ask for the deposit at every single appointment!
4) Emulating a selfless attitude like an Olympian! One hundred percent of the marketing team’s focus should be listening to customers and understanding their needs. This information is helpful in customizing your retirement community’s features and services to satisfy those needs. There’s no greater fulfillment in life than to help other people improve their lives. If you bring this attitude to every appointment, and there are enough people walking through your doors, occupancy will take care of itself. Many sales people believe their work is more than a job. They consider it a social service or a ministry. These folks are making a difference in the world, building one relationship at a time. Are you this type of senior housing marketer?
Your prospective customers will feel your Olympic attitude and passion. This alone will intrigue them and keep communication progressing with strength. They know intuitively if you are looking out for their best interests or merely want to fill the building for a commission. Your verbal and nonverbal communication in a customer meeting says it all. If you’re listening 100 percent, you don’t have time to talk about yourself. Every word that comes out of your mouth will be for the prospective resident’s benefit.
Please share how you or your senior living team is performing to a gold medal standard of excellence!
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.netBlog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/
by Diane Masson | Jul 30, 2012
Does your team need to recharge their enthusiasm? Has the marketing team gotten off track? Do you need to sharpen your sales techniques?
Try a weekly marketing book review. Whether your senior living team is one sales person and the executive director or your team consists of three to six marketing people, it’s time to get the creative juices flowing again! If a sales team is not learning and growing, it becomes complacent and stagnant.
First, select a book to review. There are lots of great choices out there. Look around on Amazon.com, ask your sales people for ideas or get suggestions at senior housing conferences. My marketing teams are currently reading “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” by Diane Twohy Masson. (Yes, this is my book.) We have completed four chapters in five weeks. Our next book review conference call is chapter five scheduled for Tuesday.
It has been wonderful to watch the teams grow together. Participants include entrance fee sales people for independent living in Continuing Care Retirement Communities, assisted living marketers and skilled nursing admissions. They come from five areas and as the weeks progress the team members feel freer to share what has worked or has not worked in their area and other team members benefit from their experience.
We have had some great discussions including how many calls (in the existing database) it takes to get X amount of tours or people coming to the community for events. Best practice numbers for one team member were 157 voice-to-voice calls in 3 weeks, which resulted in 23 families coming into view the community. These are great numbers and after the call, other team members started asking for help on how to do this themselves. It seemed to bring out a natural – healthy – competiveness amongst the team.
Everyone starts thinking team and has a better understanding of the goals, because they are discussed at the weekly book review meeting (if you have multiple teams – do a conference call). Executive directors, regional marketing directors and directors of sales and marketing in senior housing often assume that everyone on the team knows the goals. Maybe they do or maybe they don’t. Why not review the goals weekly during your team book review? The number one goal is to have 100% occupancy, but what do they need to do this day or week in order to hit that goal this month or this year? Break it down for them and be their coach and mentor during the book review…try it… it works like a charm!
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/
![Do You Educate the Customer on Senior Housing & Healthcare Choices?]()
by Diane Masson | Jul 23, 2012
It’s always beneficial to become the customer’s friend by being a resource for all senior living information. Learn your market choices and share as much information as possible, so the senior or their family can make a good decision.
It’s always good to ask the prospect, if they have just started exploring their options or find out if they are further along into research mode. Seniors and baby boomer adult children, who are just starting out, often need some basic information. How you present it, depends on what senior housing option you represent. When people are making a move, it’s always a good idea to figure out the costs of future health care, home maintenance and services (such as dining, 24-hour emergency call system and housekeeping).
1) One option is for seniors to stay in their own home. Some seniors choose to live with children or have their adult children live with them. This is a great option if someone’s son or daughter is a repair person, great cook and willing to drive them to doctor appointments, when they are not able to drive.
2) Staying at home with home healthcare. Home healthcare can provide a qualified person who can help with medication management and assist with the activities of daily living. Costs average $21 an hour on a national basis, which can quickly turn into $15,000 a month with full time care.
3) Moving into a condo provides for most of the maintenance, repairs, home upkeep and yard work. It can come with home owner’s association (HOA’s) dues of $300 – $1500 a month.
4) Independent living – retirement communities, who offer one level of care, can have strict health requirements, but many communities are allowing in-home care to people’s apartments so they can remain in residence longer. In-home care averages $19 an hour nationally, so just 8 hours of help a day can add up to over $4700 a month. The $4700 a month would be in addition to the monthly rental fee. It varies by state, if the in-home care has licensing and trained staff requirements.
5) Independent living – retirement communities, who offer two levels of care, may or may not have stringent health requirements. If they offer both independent living and assisted living, they tend to be less strict, because they can provide services for two levels of care. The disadvantage is that independent seniors are living with frailer neighbors. Research the cost of independent living and the cost of assisted living (find out what is included with the rent – is any care included – or is care all added on separately?). These prices vary depending on how many meals and services are provided.
6) If seniors wait too long to move when they are independent, they can move directly into an assisted living community, where they can enjoy 3 meals a day and 24-hour care support. Some assisted living communities charge one all-inclusive rate and others charge extra for bathing assistance, medication management, incontinence care, etc. Assisted Living basic rent costs between $2100 and $5700 a month on a national level with bigger rooms and additional care costing more. In Washington State, I personally knew people that paid $9000 a month for heavy assisted living services.
7) Skilled nursing care or rehab is something that people never select as a choice. Typically something happened to the senior that caused a hospital stay and their doctor recommends that they recover in a Medicare certified skilled nursing care or rehabilitation center. This is 24-hour skilled nursing care and can be a short-term stay for a few weeks or a month. Long-term care residents typically cannot get out of bed on their own and live in this environment on a permanent basis. Costs can run nationally between $128 and $678 a day for semi-private room. I have typically seen daily costs in the mid-$200’s for a semi-private room and up to mid-$400 for a private suite on the West Coast.
8) Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC’s) have health and financial thresholds that must be met, in order to move-in. A large number of CCRC organizations, through their foundations, may offer a guarantee of care for the rest of the senior’s life. This can be a powerful choice, to know that if something happened to a senior’s finances that they would have care for life. CCRC’s typically offer independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care, all on the same campus. A one time entrance fee is usually requested that can run anywhere from $60,000 to over $2 million. A percentage of the entrance fee can be refundable back to someone’s estate. There are many varieties of returnable options. The monthly fees of CCRC’s are typically lower than month-to-month rentals for the same square footage.
There are a variety of qualities for all the above choices. Learn your area’s choices and help be an educational resource to the customer. They will appreciate you more and hopefully select your retirement community. Encourage seniors to choose wisely, it’s not just about price, but the quality of services and care that are provided. A good question to ask a prospect would be: What senior housing option gives them the most peace of mind?
Every town, city and state has different pricing. My national price quotes came from: http://www.metlife.com/mmi/research/2011-market-survey-long-term-care-costs.html#findings
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: @market2seniorsWeb: www.marketing2seniors.netBlog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/
![When the Very First Question is “How Much Does it Cost?”]()
by Diane Masson | Jun 25, 2012
How do you respond when the first question someone asks is: “How much is a one bedroom or two bedroom apartment?” Do you share the pricing immediately? If so, how is that working out for you? Is your retirement community building full using this method?
How many of you ask the prospect a few questions first? What do you ask? Do you find out if they have looked at any other continuing care retirement communities for example? Or, do you ask if they are looking for a loved one, if you are an assisted living community? What else do you ask?
Do any of you build value for your senior living community, before giving out the price? Do you believe it’s a disservice to give out the price, before they can compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges? How many of you feel that you are exactly like your competition and a one bedroom at your community is the same as a competitor down the road?
Many senior living sales people fear the angry hang up, if they don’t answer the pricing question immediately. Yet, if you answer the pricing question right away, the immediate response can be, “Oh, that costs way too much.” Then you get the hang up… True sales people and closers work on building a relationship with the customer, practice great listening skills, create value for what they can offer and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Let’s hear – what works for you and how full you are…who is 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/
by Diane Masson | Mar 8, 2012
Part 1 described how the lifestyle of long-term care resident was not discussed in the admission process of the skilled nursing facilities I toured. It was so bad that I could not call them communities, but instead considered them institutional facilities.
These were the 10 worst skilled nursing tour experiences that I encountered recently:
1) Not one receptionist stood to greet me
2) No one invited me to sit down
3) I were not offered a beverage
4) There was no sales – just admissions needs
5) They did not talk about the quality of their care
6) No one mentioned how the residents minds would be engaged
7) No activity program or menu was offered
8) Lifestyle for long-term care was not discussed
9) They used terms like facility and diapers
10) No one asked about my mom as a human being and what was most important to her – such as what does she enjoy most?
These would be my top 10 recommendations to discuss lifestyle for long-term care residents in the skilled care nursing admissions process.
1) The receptionist should stand to greet the guest with a warm smile and a friendly greeting.
2) The admission counselor should offer a beverage and invite the guest to sit down to discuss his or her parent’s needs.
3) The counselor should have empathy for the guest by listening to their full story and determine if it is long-term or short-term stay.
4) The quality of the nursing staff should be addressed and how this will benefit the guest’s parent on a long-term or short-term basis.
5) On the way down the hall to show the available bed in a room (semi-private suite is better terminology), talk about how life can be vibrant at the community and mention some of the residents by name.
6) Paint the picture of the live music coming in on a weekly basis, how a sitting room can be place where the guest can visit with their parent in the future and how residents are engaged on a daily basis.
7) Show the activity calendar and share an example which happened today such as — how many residents enjoyed the morning exercise program.
8) Talk about how they can make their parent’s side of the healthcare suite (nicer word than room) more home-like with personal touches and give examples (so many are two-bed suites).
9) Find out what the resident can currently enjoy and what they could possibly do in the future through excellent therapy at your community.
10) After careful listening, give examples of how their parent could be mentally engaged through an activity program, visiting volunteers or caring staff. Give the guest a copy of the activity calendar and dining menu.
No one ever wants to be admitted to a skilled nursing facility. And no one wants to picture their parent trapped in a wheel chair for the rest of their lives with no brain stimulation. So an admission person has an opportunity to treat the family with compassion and care. They can paint the picture of great activities in the long-term lifestyle and bring some hope for the future of the long-term resident and their family. A better admission process – produces better feelings from the family – and can increase your referrals.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. For volume discount pricing or to inquire on Diane’s availability to coach and/or train your senior living marketing team (CCRC, independent living, assisted living or memory care) – please call: 206-853-6655 or email diane@marketing2seniors.net. For more information: Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/
