Last week, in Part 1 of this series, we explored the idea that funeral Directors, as consummate relationship builders, may be wired to lose in an environment that has changed radically over the past 30 years. Based on non-industry research we posited that the "Challenger" style was 13 times more likely to succeed in the [...]
DeathCare has been losing ground relative to consumers for almost 30 years. Now comes research that may explain why and what to do about it. To many observers (myself among them) what we sell seems well on the road to becoming a commodity. As a means of moving market share, differentiation based on price seems [...]
A week ago I published a post that suggested humor would work in funeral service but expressed doubt anyone would do it. Well, I am grateful to say I was wrong. Congratulations to Schmidt and Bartelt. These ads will work but I do have one suggestion. The "call-to-action" should be stronger. A close something like: [...]
I do my best to keep these posts short. I know your time is important. But, on your behalf, I am a little shook up. One of the benefits of age is wisdom. I have seen so many things come and go that i don't shake up easily. Yesterday, I was introduced to one [...]
The theory of commissions is that it motivates producers to produce more. This is not necessarily true. What is true is that if you overpay two things happen: Your program becomes economically unsustainable and your producer becomes demotivated. Here is why: First, It is my absolute belief that preneed selling should never...repeat...never... be a burden [...]
These are good tips. I know many of my readers have autoplay music or "walk-ons" so you need to know I agree with point number 4! How to avoid the 7 Deadly Mistakes Websites Miss
It has been the vision of many DeathCare firms to become the death resource for their community. All too often this leads to a focus on post death issues as well as funeral planning. But for Boomers there is also a need for learning to cope with predeath issues...especially what it is like to watch [...]
We know a few things: There are 48,000,000 people who are active adult caregivers in the U.S. Many Boomers are currently active caregivers or anticipate soon becoming one. If the surviving spouse is still living at the time of the funeral someone you are talking to is already a caregiver or soon will be. If [...]
I have found that "unfriending" people (in particular vendors using this mechanism to solicit) is an emotionally rewarding pastime...and I don't think I am alone. As you know I have been trying to get my head around this social media thing. (See "You Annoy Me") You probably also know that I like Epiphanies. And I [...]
Recently my friend, Dale Clock, wrote an article entitled "Should Funeral Homes Be In The Grief Business?" His position is that they should not for several reasons including: The formal involvement in "Grief" has failed to move the needle Not everyone needs it It is an indication we are failing to listen to the public [...]
This category contains articles about how to get and keep customers