Senior Living expert Roy Barker, Director of Special Projects at Moore Diversified Services, recently shared in a webinar what he has learned in his years of experience in the Senior Living industry about Professional Selling and how important it is to go “Back to the Basics.” Barker specifically used his mystery shopping experiences to highlight some of the main mistakes Senior Living sales staffs are still making, mostly without even realizing it. If Senior Living sales staffs take Roy’s advice and implement his suggestions, it could have a big impact on the bottom line.
If you missed the webinar, you can view it in its entirety by clicking on the video below at the end of this article. You can also view past webinars on the Moore Diversified Services Senior Living YouTube channel. This article gives a brief recap of some of the main points of the most recent webinar. Roy broke up the Sales Process into three stages: the Beginning, the Middle, and the End. But first, Roy talks about a Shift in Focus needed in Senior Living sales.
Shift in Focus
Roy said the days of prospects walking in, asking for a tour, and signing up on the spot are over. Now most prospective clients come in with a lot of knowledge about your community, as well as your competitors. Therefore, the focus needs to shift from information dumping and pushing hard to close the sale to relationship building. You must take the time to build the relationships. That’s what sets the successful sales staff apart from the mediocre or poor sales staff. Find out who this prospect is and what their individual needs are to build these critical relationships. Slow down, be genuine, and get your entire staff involved—not only the sales staff.
The Beginning
The call taker is usually the first point of contact between the Senior Living community and the prospective client, therefore, the call taker’s role is incredibly important. In fact, Roy will go into depth about the importance of the call taker’s responsibility in his next webinar on July 21, “10 Must Do’s for the Community Call Taker.” The call taker should always be friendly, knowledgeable, speak slowly, and speak from a quiet environment. Prospective clients can easily pick up on any frustrations or unfriendliness from the call takers and that could be the difference between the prospective client further exploring your community, or not.
The greeter is also very important. Always make sure a greeter is immediately visible when visitors walk in so no one ever feels lost or out of place. The greeters and the call takers make the first impression of your community. What first impression is your community making? To hear some of Roy’s negative experiences as a mystery shopper with call takers and greeters, watch and listen to his webinar in the video below. Is your Senior Living community making some of these same mistakes?
The Middle
Always have a plan for walk-in, unscheduled visitors wanting to know more about your community. If someone comes in on a Sunday afternoon asking questions about your community and wanting a tour, but your regular sales staff is off that day, have a plan to move forward with that client. There should always be someone available who is knowledgeable, friendly, a relationship-builder, and can help anyone who walks in unexpectedly regardless of the day or time.
When someone does come in, especially for a scheduled tour, make sure everything is ready and available for the prospective client. Be fully present. Roy says to treat the prospective client like manna from heaven with the utmost respect and consideration for their time and energy. Roy said as a mystery shopper, he has been surprised at how many times this did not happen at the Senior Living communities he visited.
It is also a good idea to have prospective clients come in at meal time when possible, because that’s usually the time to see the residents socializing and interacting the most. Additionally, do not perform an information dump. Do not use a script or anything that sounds like a script. It is disrespectful to the prospective client and the client will see right through it. Roy says instead to ask questions, build the relationship, and do more listening than talking. Find out if they really are a good fit for the community. Do not be afraid to say, “You know what, we’re probably not the best fit for you, but there are a couple of other senior living communities that might be a better fit. Let me get you their information.”
The End
Roy says at the end of the sales process, make sure you have answered all the prospective client’s questions, always thank them for their time, and set the next step if it makes sense. Never assume you will close on the first visit. Take the focus off of closing everyone to building a relationship. And when you do close, stop talking. Roy has seen people talk themselves out of a sale. When people say they are ready to sign papers, take off your sales hat and let them sign the papers. Most importantly, always follow-up after the visit with a phone call, email, snail mail, or a combination of these.
Remember, not all follow-ups have to be sales related. Even if someone goes with another senior living community, you can continue the relationship. You never know when the senior living community they first choose may not work out. Keep the trickle campaign going with non-sales tactics. Roy gives great examples of this in the webinar.
Again, this was a quick recap of Roy’s latest webinar. To listen to the webinar in its entirety and hear all of Roy’s points on this important issue, you can watch the full webinar with slides in the below video at the end of this article. Have others mystery shop your Senior Living community to find out where you are shining in the sales and marketing process and where you need improvements.
Next Webinar
Roy’s next Webinar, “10 Must Do’s for Community Call Takers,” will be Tuesday, July 21 at 1 p.m. Register for the webinar by clicking this link.
Senior Living expert Roy Barker is currently offering “Wellness Checks” to Senior Living communities where he will use his business’s 40 years of experience to do an in-depth look into the operations of your community and find where things are healthy and where improvements can be made to immediately impact your bottom line. Is your for-profit or non-profit Senior Living community ready for the changes coming in the industry? Where can your Senior Living community improve? Roy Barker can help you find out. Contact him at roybarker@m-d-s.com or call him at 817-925-8374.