Selling Senior Living Today

Based on a recent experience, here’s a reminder to check each of the apartments you expect to show that day in the morning.  If you don’t check it, you might be surprised at what you find in the apartment, or the bathroom, or some other part of the apartment.  What you find could certainly lose the customer, but it could also provide negative word of mouth.  I’ll let your imagination work on this one, since I’m not going to tell you what I found when visiting a vacant apartment recently.

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~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

Hopefully this tip will help you if you are in sales of senior living communities.  When a prospect says they are not ready yet, ask them if they have lived in a senior living community before.  Most will say they have not, and then you ask them how they know they are not ready if they have never lived in a community before.  The best thing to do at that point is to invite them for a trial visit to your community.  Trial visits result a high percentage of move-ins, since many seniors then realize that they are really ready after they experience the lifestyle.

For more tips, subscribe to our monthly newsletter!

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

I was with a client over the last two days and one of their sales people who had attended my full day sales training several months ago wanted me to know about the effectiveness of two of the things she learned in the sales training that she has been using consistently.  The first one was to simply ask a new inquiry on the phone or in person this question very early in the conversation, “What is your situation?”  She said she was amazed at how the majority of the people she asks the question just start talking about why they are looking for a senior living community and what is going on in their life.  She said that this question has made it so much easier for her to establish a relationship with the customer, because with that question, it’s clear to the customer that it’s all about the customer, and not all about the community.

Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Are you building trust and credibility for you and your community at the beginning of your sales presentation?

Here’s what I mean.  I strongly suggest that at the very beginning of your presentation (not tour) with a prospect, you say something like this once you’ve settled in your private discovery area.  “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, I’d like to tell you just a little about me and my company, and then I’m going to ask you some questions about you and your situation.  I have been helping people like you and their family members understand their options in senior living for the last 5 years here, and with my background in XXXXXX, people have found my experience and knowledge to be very helpful.  And, our community has been serving seniors like you for over XX years, and most recently had a resident satisfaction rating of XX%, as well as ……”

The point is that you should tell them something short and sweet about you and your company that lets them know that both you and your community are credible and can be trusted to help them!  You can use the words that best work for you and your community.

 Give it a try!  I think you’ll find our prospects relax sooner when you use this technique.

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

If you will be enhancing the talent at your organization or community, you need to know about Senior Living Talent.  This service is helping senior living organizations find the talent they need to grow and succeed, and helping senior living professionals grow their careers.  For more information, contact Darren Arnett at Darren@SeniorLivingTalent.com today.

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

What is your community’s biggest competitive advantage?

Did you ever realize that if you are one of the sales people, YOU are probably your community’s greatest competitive advantage?  That’s right!  Other than influential family and friends, who has a greater influence on prospective residents than you?

And YOU are the reason for SellingSeniorLiving.com, since this popular website is designed to make YOU an even stronger competitive advantage for your community.   This website provides you and others like you with the tools and information you need to win the competitive battles with other communities and the resident’s home, which we know is the biggest competitor.  Visit www.SellingSeniorLiving.com today to review the resources available to you right now.

And, if you are not yet a subscriber to the monthly newsletter, Selling Senior Living Today, you owe it to yourself to subscribe by clicking here. 

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

If you will be enhancing the talent at your organization or community in the near future, you need to know about Senior Living Talent.  This service is helping senior living organizations find the talent they need to grow and succeed, and helping senior living professionals grow their careers.  For more information, contact Darren Arnett at Darren@SeniorLivingTalent.com today.

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

One of the best ways to get new leads in anything you sell, including Senior Living, is to ask everyone you talk to in person or on the phone this question before you conclude your conversation, “By the way, Who Do You Know TODAY that would like INFORMATION on our community?”  We are offering to send you free 2” x 4” reminder cards that you can stick on your computer, phone or office wall to remind you to ask this question to everyone you talk to!  It really works, so let us know how many cards you would like us to send you.  For a request for cards, send a request to info@SellingSeniorLiving.com.  If you’d like to see the card click here.

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

Want to generate 20 new warm leads each month at no cost to you?

Ask everyone you talk to this question at the end of your conversation.  “By the way, do you mind if I ask you one more question, who do you know TODAY that might like INFORMATION on our community?”

If you are talking to at least 10 people a day, and ask them all that question, you should get at least 1 name per day.  That would be 20 names in a month!  And, since these names were given to you by someone who knows these people, they are not a cold lead, but a warm lead!

Give it a try!  What do you have to lose but a few minutes in asking the question!  I guarantee you’ll be glad you did!

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com

Have you developed your Marketing Plan for 2011 yet?

Are your strategies and tactics based on connecting with your customer at each of the 5 Steps of their Decision Process?

It’s not too late to start your plan, or review and revise your plan, to make sure that you are reaching your prospects at each Step!

Step 1:  Need Recognition/Problem Awareness

Step 2: Search for Information

Step 3: Evaluation of Alternatives

Step 4: Purchase and Implementation

Step 5: Purchase Evaluation

Today it takes new and different approaches to be successful, and building and executing a plan with the customer in mind works! 

For more information on our Interactive Internet Workshops on Building Your 2011 Marketing Plan, email us today at RickHunsicker@HunsickerConsulting.com

~ Rick Hunsicker
214-906-3801
President/Founder
www.HunsickerConsulting.com
www.SellingSeniorLiving.com