Marketing 2 Seniors | The Blog
with Author: Diane Masson
Burned Out in Senior Housing Sales or Over Stimulated?
Are you worn out and exhausted? Is it an effort to get up and get to work each day? What happened? You love your senior housing job – what’s wrong? It is called burn out, burning the candle at both ends.
Think about how work and home life has changed in the last 20 years. Smart phones live with us 24 hours a day. The line has blurred between work and home and senior living sales people are getting fried out emotionally. Are you cooking dinner with the smart phone on the counter in case someone calls or texts you? People are in restaurants having $20 to $30 dinners and texting…this is not a nice experience for your table companions.
Get off the electronic leash for a few hours or a half-day. My boss is taking a cruise and will have no cell coverage for 10 days. My first thought was oh my gosh, I will be cut off from contacting her. My next thought was – boy is she lucky! Could you go without electronic stimulation for a day or a week? Could I do it? It would be very difficult. But I would adjust after a day or two and so would you.
Take time to recharge. If you are introverted, you recharge better by yourself. An extrovert recharges through the energy of their friends. Know what helps you recharge and spend one day recharging your personal batteries. Your work and your family will both benefit.
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
Balancing Discovery vs. Interrogation in Senior Living Sales?
When you initially sit down with a senior prospective resident – what is their first impression of you? Are you like a detective on TV, asking care needs – one after another? Or are you the compassionate sales person who cares and wants to help the senior solve their problem?
When I do mystery shopping, I find that 80% of senior living sales people are interrogators. This is an extremely high statistic; this means that only 20% of sales people come across as kind and compassionate.
How can you know if you are an interrogator and don’t mean to be one?
1) Don’t get to the nitty gritty details too fast…
2) Do offer a beverage – especially when it’s hot outside– I have been touring on 90-degree days and was not offered a beverage – this really happens…
3) Invite guests to sit down – don’t tell them to sit here or just point to a chair…
4) Don’t shut a prospective resident in your office – this happened to me 80% of the time and causes people to keep their wall up and not relax with you.
5) Don’t sit across a desk from someone, give up your control and meet around a round table, in the lobby on comfy chairs or in the model apartment.
6) Find out about what is most important to the senior or the adult children…why did they come to your retirement community today?
7) Do ask how they are doing (what they are feeling) and take the time to listen!
Do you want to increase sales, move-ins and up the occupancy? Then stop interrogating people…it is a horrible experience for the senior and their family members!
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
How to Train a “Green” Senior Living Sales Person (Part 2)
This week I want to share with you which four techniques I used to train a new “green” sales person recently.
Last week, I talked about four sales training techniques in “How to Train a “Green” Senior Living Sales Person (Part 1)”: Shadowing an existing sales person, throwing the new “green” person in (with no senior housing experience) to just start selling, sending them out to study the competition and a dedicated all day training.
Recently, the first step I used training a “green” sales person was an all day training with the marketing team. This was crucial, so she could have immediate knowledge of how this business works in a nutshell. I interactively taught her and the team how to engage with a prospective resident, build a relationship in a short time and help someone make a decision to move to our community for the next chapter of his or her life. She heard the successes of the other retirement counselors and she started to visualize how easy this business can really be.
The second step was letting HR do their thing and allowing her to shadow some quality senior living sale people, so the all day training would sink in a little more.
The third step was sending her out to study the competition. This helped her articulate the strengths and weaknesses of our Continuing Care Retirement Community versus the retirement community down the street. She truly saw the business through the eyes of the senior customer and learned what a senior housing interrogation, from one of our neighboring competitors, can feel like.
The fourth step was having her start to become a student of this business. She started studying the web site, all the marketing materials and reading a senior housing book with 12 keys to marketing senior housing. During training there is a half an hour here or an hour there, when the trainer (me) may need to address something that has nothing to do with training. These can be opportunities for the “green” person to read a chapter of a senior housing training book like “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full.” Part of the reason, I wrote this book was to help train “green” sales people quickly.
Actually, I used all the steps that I talked about in Part 1, except throwing them in to sink or swim. Once my “green” person knew the right way to build a relationship with a prospective resident, I sent them out to study the competition and their eyes were opened. They have no doubt that our Continuing Care Retirement Community is the best. I think it is vital to get your person to believe in their heart that your retirement community is the best and a great value for the money – as soon as possible.
Good luck and I would love to hear your stories of what training techniques worked best for your new employees and why…
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
How To Train a “Green” Senior Living Sales Person (Part 1)
When a brand new sales person starts, what is most important to teach first? My definition of “green” is that they have never worked in senior housing before. “Part-green” means they have some background in senior housing like working in the homecare industry. I love coaching “green” and “part-green” senior living sales people.
So what do you teach a “green” sales person in the first couple of weeks?
Is it shadowing an existing sales person? You may or may not be lucky enough to have a quality person they can shadow. It can be very helpful, but it can also get a little boring for the trainee. If this is your whole training program, then you are missing the boat of opportunity.
Do you just throw them in to sink or swim immediately? This might not be the brightest idea. They don’t understand the business and what you offer yet. Leads are money, so are you willing to just blow off some potentially hot leads, because a “green” person does not know how they should be managed properly? Some smaller retirement communities have no choice, because they only have one marketer.
Or do you send them out to study the competition? This can be very important in the first couple weeks of training and allows them to compare senior housing communities like the prospects would. They can start to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of their own community versus the retirement community down the street.
How about a dedicated all day training? You could spend a whole day with an interactive program that explains how the prospect really thinks, what to do when the prospect arrives at your community, how to ask discovery questions without interrogating someone, the steps on giving a “wow” tour, helping the prospect connect that your community is the answer to their problem and how to complete the interaction at the end — with determining the next step(s). This is how I started a “green” person two weeks ago.
What has worked and not worked for you – training “green” sales people? Next week I will share what techniques I use training “green” sales people and why…
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
How Homework Can Improve A Senior Living Sales Person’s Performance
Are you doing a senior housing sales book review each week? If not, you should be. If a sales person is not growing then they are moving backward. Sales people can get in rut and become complacent. They can claim that the lack of sales is from the economy or houses not selling. Well, I am telling you that none of that matters. It’s the attitude of the senior living sales person, which determines the sales growth.
Book reviews do several things: First it creates collaboration among colleagues on a new topic. Plus it has a sales person revisit their own techniques to see if there is room for improvement. A new word or sentence said at the right time during a tour can spur a prospective senior resident to say yes to a move instead of thinking about it. Thirdly, the stronger performers can help teach the new or weaker team members.
Now, let’s talk about the homework. When a sales person is working at a million miles an hour pace, they don’t have time to be introspective about anything. They barely have time to eat lunch. Homework – happens at home – where he or she is away from the busy work place and they have time to absorb new material. Reflection on positive outcomes for work – at home – can help a sales person become more effective.
Senior living sales people want to perform well. Help them by offering a weekly book review – one chapter of homework a week…
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
Role Playing Can Help Senior Living Sales People Improve
Role Playing Can Improve Sales Performance
Some senior living sales people know it all! Do you have one of these? Others are like sponges and thrive learning a new technique or improving their sales performance.
Role-playing as a team can help standardize sales techniques. This could happen at a weekly sales meeting, but I think a retreat format can be more effective. It’s hard for a senior living sales person to switch off working and jump into role-playing. It’s better to set the stage in a comfortable atmosphere. Last week we talked about the importance of a sales and marketing retreat to rejuvenate and inspire the team.
Here are some great topics to role-play:
- The opening greeting and questions for a walk-in prospective resident
- Discovery questions – make sure seniors don’t feel interrogated
- Giving a “wow” tour
- How to prevent objections
- A variety of closes
- Asking for the deposit – multiple times
In a team environment, there are always stronger sales performers. Have them role-play first. It makes them feel valued and other sales people can learn from them. If no one on the team knows how to do the role-playing topic correctly or it’s a new technique, always teach by example first.
Everyone hates role-playing, but boy does it work. Watch the sales increase and your occupancy go up, up and up.
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
Too busy for Senior Living Sales Training? Think Again…
We are all going a million miles a minute in senior housing sales and marketing. The phone is ringing, walk-ins show up unannounced, preparing and managing monthly events, helping our move-ins get settled, getting new sales, hand-holding upcoming move-ins, weekly meetings, reports and the list goes on and on. Many sales people eat lunch with prospects and work way past 5:00 PM.
These are the exact reasons that you do need a sales training. Call it a marketing retreat. Take a moment to get off the work treadmill and breathe. Rejuvenate and refresh the team. Remember why you love serving seniors and connect with some like-minded colleagues.
Pick a few topics that need improvement or clarity. Have a sales and marketing consultant or regional manager organize the retreat format. Make it fun…with prizes and a nice lunch to pamper them. Have it be all about improving their performance, so they can become more successful.
Depending on the size of your senior living company, some make the sales retreat experience a half-day, a whole or several days. It’s best to bring all the communities together at one time or break it down by state or region.
The marketing retreat goal should be – creating an opportunity for each senior living sales person to gain new knowledge and feel inspired. The sales people need to feel supported and appreciated by corporate and know that each of them are valued as individuals to the company.
Next week, I am going to talk about how role playing can help senior living sale people.
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
Deciding To Use Incentives Or Not In Senior Living?
What Is The Best Incentive You Have Ever Given In Senior Living?
Discounting can be the owner’s operational nightmare and the sales persons best friend. Incentives cost the company money and affect the bottom line. Just giving away one month of rent can cost $2000 – $6000 depending on the retirement community. Yet, empty apartments are losing revenue month-after-month. Should you or should you not use incentives?
I believe that incentives can permanently ruin some sales people. Some sales people can ONLY sell apartments with incentives. When the gravy train stops they don’t know how to just simply sell an apartment at regular price to a senior. Seriously?!? In my opinion, this is right up there with someone who is simply an order taker in senior living.
The benefit of incentives is bumping up the occupancy to get ahead of the move outs in a very short period of time. Every senior living community has to look at their financials and determine what is best for them. If you have more two-bedrooms than one-bedrooms, an incentive on two-bedrooms can create balance again in your inventory. It is a funny thing in our industry – how every five years the surplus of a certain size apartment switches. Right now everyone seems to want a one bedroom…
Here are some common assisted living and independent living incentives:
- One free month
- The fourth month free
- No move in fee or a discount on the community fee
- A free TV
- A moving or downsizing allowance
Continuing Care Retirement Communities can use the same or different incentives:
- 90 – 100% Returnable entrance fees
- A percentage off future healthcare
- Paying for the move completely
- Discounting apartments that are the farthest walk from the dining room
- A discount off the entrance fee if a prospect commits to moving in within a short period of time
Do you use incentives? Which ones? Which incentive in your career resulted in the biggest flurry of sales for your retirement community? My favorite incentive of all time was a 100% returnable entrance fee at a new community that I opened. It worked like a charm! Within months, 70% of the building was spoken for, so we could start construction.
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
6 Reasons Why You Should Take Your Senior Housing Co-workers To Lunch
Are you so busy selling at work, that you thank a co-worker for their help as you race down the hall to your next appointment? Sales and marketing in senior housing cannot exist without operational support. To pull off a fantastic event, it takes great dining services, housekeeping and maintenance teams. Often the activity department is helping out too.
When moving residents into an apartment, it’s a collaborative effort between sales, maintenance and housekeeping. Once the resident moves into their new home at your retirement community, it takes the integration of the dining and activities team to help the senior feel settled. Take a moment to slow down and invite a few key department heads to lunch this week.
6 Tips when you take your senior housing co-workers to lunch:
- Appreciate how each department wants the senior residents to have a great life. Ultimately, all the department heads love the residents and want to do a great job serving them.
- Explain how sales and marketing appreciates the other departments. Share a few stories of how residents have shared with sales and marketing about how they have been helped by maintenance staff, housekeeping or had an incredible dining experience…
- Develop a deeper working relationship. Your lunch will create a shared experience. Ask – what are their biggest challenges now? Share what marketing challenges have happened recently and how many calls or appointments you do on weekly or monthly basis. (They may think you just sit in your office and chat with people on the phone or in person. How hard can that be?)
- Solve an on-going challenge without being in someone’s office or “territory.” For example: Every community could use better collaboration and communication in regards to apartment renovations.
- Take a moment to laugh. Show that sales and marketing is human and wants to enjoy the journey with them!
- Pick up the check and say thank you again! The other department heads will love you and feel appreciated.
How does your maintenance, housekeeping and sales teams coordinate to have the apartments ready for a move-ins? Are you organized enough to have 50 or 100 move-ins this year? Figure out how to improve as a senior community team over lunch. My meeting is scheduled for Monday…
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
How To Do Senior Living Social Media In 15 Minutes A Day
It only takes 15 minutes or less per day to engage in social media! Has your retirement community entered the twenty first century with social media yet?
Some of the larger senior housing organizations have wonderful social media programs. Sunrise Senior Living posts great blog content multiple times a week. Emeritus sends out engaging monthly email blasts. Other organizations with a nationwide presence have a staff who are dedicated to social media.
What do you do if you are a stand along retirement community or only have a handful of senior living communities in your portfolio? You can still do social media for 15 minutes a day. Seriously – I am doing it at two Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) in Southern California.
First, you can either set up some social media yourself or have it professionally done for about $1000 per community. I had mine set up professionally. Then I trained one person at each CCRC to add content. At first it took them some time to get into the swing of it, but now they can create three or four posts at time and then schedule one post to be released online at a time – one per day using Hootsuite.
We post – fun stuff the residents are going to do, show pictures of what the residents or employees have done and repost interesting articles that seniors would like. The 15 minutes timeframe per day includes taking pictures of some of the resident activities, a plate of food or searching for a image on line to share. And yes, we have signed photo releases… Post your upcoming marketing events and engage with prospective residents.
You can pay extra money for followers, but we have let it grow organically. Employees, residents and family members are getting engaged and we even do the Fan of the Week on Facebook. Freedom Village and The Village each have Facebook accounts, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest.
As local seniors pick one of our CCRCs, the Boomer children that live out of state can see and connect with their parent’s selection through social media – this has had a positive impact on sales. Our most popular posts are residents and employees pictures that go viral.
How is your social media going and has it created or confirmed any move-ins for you yet?
Please comment to join the conversation and interact with other senior living professionals on what is currently being effective to increase occupancy on a nationwide basis.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com. Masson’s book will be required reading at George Mason University in the Fall as part of the marketing curriculum. She is currently consulting with Seniors For Living and two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California. Connection and partnership opportunities: Email: diane@marketing2seniors.net
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