Covid - 19 and The Reinvention of Spring Burials Talking with funeral directors across the nation and Canada I am hearing (as you are experiencing) that you are busy but the services are mostly abbreviated or direct. So your revenue is deeply affected. Many wonder what funeral service will be like after we struggle to return [...]
I have a book on my office shelf entitled “Perfectionism...Sure Cure For Happiness”. The reason this is important is that, having performed almost 100 culture assessments in funeral service I know that perfectionism is the dominant industry neurosis. Yes, I agree, “Funeral Service Is In The Details”. But it’s how we measure performance that gets [...]
This week I was privileged to be interviewed by Sebastian Thalhammer of Austria. You may or may not have heard of Sebastian but he is a pretty interesting media guru who somehow decided I had something to say. So, Here is my "15 minutes of fame." Actually, it's 45 minutes but it does have [...]
I think I saw my first Urn Ark around 20 years ago. I was immediately taken and still consider it to be the best way to dignify the ceremony in a cremation. Most funeral homes that use them... and, sadly, too many do not...don't charge for them. That practice doesn't bother me but I do [...]
What happened to social etiquette? You spend a couple of million dollars on a new building and you let the public be disappointed the moment they enter the door. I visit a lot of funeral homes and the experience ranges from abysmal to glorious with a whole lot more on the abysmal side than the [...]
Here is a great video that you should watch with your staff and talk about. QUESTION: How do you mentally prepare yourself to wholeheartedly serve people each day?
Equalize Price Points to Crystallize Personal Relevance. This is the first recession to show a measurable impact on DeathCare. Most surprising have been the many reports from rural and "rustbelt" funeral directors that cremation has recently spiked, not because people in their markets want cremation but BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD BURIAL. YIKES!!!! A recent article [...]
There are, in fact, many firms today that remain in denial that our profession has changed dramatically and will continue to change into the foreseeable future. We cannot help them. I have lost count of the financial statements I have analyzed over the last several years. What strikes me is that virtually all of them [...]
A few years ago I was meeting with a husband and wife who operated a very successful funeral home. Like most successful people they were always looking for new ideas to help them stay in front of their competitors. To protect their privacy I'll call them Bill and Jane. Over the course of our two [...]
No One Dies So Poor He Doesn't Leave Something Behind. Blaise Pascal Ya wanna know how to make a difference and set your funeral home apart? Take some of your advertising budget and hire a good journalist to do what this video talks about and post them on your site. Don't put it in [...]
