If you have been following the posts for the last few weeks, you know we have been sharing our thoughts on marketing action steps every community should be considering in these tough times. For the most part, we’ve stuck to the basics, because these provide the best return.
We began by talking about executing a consistent program to drive a steady stream of leads. Then we shared the value of a targeted approach to focus your efforts with prospects that match your community profile. We told you not to overlook your lead base and to find every opportunity to leverage this valuable asset. We highlighted ways you can make your web site work more effectively, as seniors look there first to gather information. And finally, last week, we spoke to the need for a well-trained and motivated sales team that can convert the highest percentage of leads.
In this final installment, we bring everything together by touching on tracking results. Executing several of the suggestions we’ve made requires detailed marketing data such as resident profiles, top-producing zip codes, sales staff conversion rates and others. These are only available if data is being tracked each and every day. Do you track every lead? Do you know which sources are producing the best results? Are you tracking re-inquiry? Is data being entered consistently by everyone? Do you know the level of web traffic coming to your site? If you don’t know the answer to these and other questions, you can’t effectively measure the return you are receiving from your marketing investment.
We know from our conversations with community marketing staffs that budgets are tight and choices need to be made. What should we do comes down to what has worked? Where do we get the best return is answered by what has performed in the past? If you’ve been tracking results and building your knowledge base, keep up the good work. If not, get started. Here are a few things to consider.
- Make it a priority, so it doesn’t get pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.
- Integrate it into the process. Put it on a checklist and train for it right up front.
- Spot-check data to be sure all data is being collected and tracked correctly.
- Review results on a regular basis to gain value from the practice.
Marketing isn’t a one-time event. It’s an evolving, ever-changing activity that must be continuously evaluated. Having a record of past activity helps you make better, more confident decisions, and lets you invest your marketing dollars wisely.
I recently had the pleasure of attending one of our client’s marketing events, where prospects are invited to come and learn about the community and be treated to lunch.
The marketing staff did a great job of selling the features and benefits of the community to the audience. And, as a way to really bring the community to life, real residents were asked to share their personal stories.
What these “ambassadors” did was bring the marketing speak to life. It was very exciting to hear one of the gentlemen stand up and with complete conviction say moving to a CCRC was the best thing he ever did. He was so passionate about his statement, and even used the sometimes cliché phrase, “I wish I had done it sooner.” There is no doubt it resonated with those prospects in the room. This resident even stated he may sound like the ringer in the room, but his conviction was so strong, he couldn’t help but stand up and share.
We all know leads and prospects like to feel that what they’re embarking on is the right move to make at this point in their life. Those who’ve already been down that path can relate very well to those feelings.
The testimonial in this case was not rehearsed. It was straight from the heart — and that’s something hard to duplicate.
If nothing else, it serves as a reminder that the best salespeople truly are the residents.
Don’t forget to include them in your next marketing event. Don’t forget to ask them for referrals. Residents are proud of where they live and the decision they made to be there — and they love sharing the good news. Their passion may lead to your next sale.
Everyone is looking for cost-efficient, smart ways to reach customers. TopRank Online Marketing conducted a poll on their blog over the past 11 days in which 532 readers cast 1,559 votes for their top 3 digital marketing tactics for 2009. Blogging, Twitter and Search Engine Optimization topped the list, but equally interesting was that out of the top 10 tactics, six fall into the category of Social Media Marketing.
TopRank asked: “What 3 digital marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2009?” Here are the top ten tactics selected:
- Blogging (34%)
- Microblogging (Twitter) (29%)
- Search engine optimization (28%)
- Social network participation (Facebook, LinkedIn) (26%)
- Email marketing (17%)
- Social media monitoring & outreach (17%)
- Pay per click (14%)
- Blogger relations (12%)
- Video marketing (10%)
- Social media advertising (7%)
For the rest of the list, click here:
http://www.toprankblog.com/2009/02/reader-poll-top-digital-marketing-tactics-for-2009
In our continuing series on action steps operational communities can take to address the down market, I want to speak to the quality of your sales staff. So exactly what skills are needed to be a successful senior living salesperson? They are not much different than other types of consultative selling. I am certain that sales techniques and methods are teachable to most who have a desire to learn. However, there are natural skills that are of great benefit to those wanting to be successful in sales. By evaluating your team with some thoughtful questions, you can identify where the strengths of your sales staff might be hidden.
- How energetic is your team? How easy will it be for them to consistently maintain the level of productive activity required to achieve their sales targets?
- How effective is your team at inspiring prospects by helping them discover how they can solve their problems? Along with enthusiastic communication regarding the benefits of your community, another natural skill inherent to good salespeople is persuasion and the ability to chip away at the prospect’s need.
- How sociable is your team? Do they enjoy interacting with others? Do they build rapport with strangers quickly?
- Does your team have the ability to listen? Along with having good product knowledge, being a good listener is a key natural talent that captures the need of the prospect and cements the relationship bond that says, “I care about you and have genuine interest in your needs.”
- How well-organized is the team? Not necessarily in their surroundings, but with their thoughts and planning methods. Good salespeople have a way of breaking things down into smaller steps and organizing the plan of action.
- How determined is the team at overcoming roadblocks that arise during the sales process? Do they come up with creative solutions and collaborate with management to explore all possibilities? Will they follow through on their commitments?
- How focused is the team? Are they able to stay on task with day-to-day activities such as phone calls, follow-up and data entry for effective lead management? Or do they let themselves get caught up in unnecessary details and non-essential duties along the way?
- Are they self-starters? Do they move forward on their own and have a persistent need to finish what they have started?
- Does the team know how to ask for incremental commitments? Senior living is not a quick sale; it takes relationship-building. However, successful salespeople ask for some type of commitment by securing a follow-up call, next appointment or invitation to an event to continue to build the relationship.
- Story-telling engages people and creates interest in listening. Does your team use stories to overcome fear by sharing how others were fearful and later learned they didn’t need to worry after all? Do they use features and benefits as a fascinating story and not a laundry list?
With the investment to generate qualified leads, consistently target the right audience, and capitalize on the power of your web site, it seems only natural that increased sales are where the payoff lies. By taking a look into the natural abilities of your sales team, you can provide meaningful feedback and enhance any educated skills they possess. This will lead to creating a planned and tailored approach that implements what is needed to fill the gaps to optimize sales.
