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Are you selling the Sizzle or the Steak? It’s not the real estate you’re selling that inspires senior customers’ desire for it, but rather the anticipated lifestyle and feelings they’ll experience as a result of having it. While this may not be a news flash, it’s always smart to step back and reflect on how you’re currently selling.

Let’s use a quick checklist.

1) Do you create excitement and enthusiasm? Do YOU believe your community is a good value? Demonstrate your personal belief in senior living and what you are selling. You’re not just selling the steak, you’re selling the pleasure and satisfaction that steak will bring.

2) Do you have YOU density? Educate seniors on your program or service, while also offering advice on how to best accommodate the details associated with your solution.

3) Do you create the sense of urgency? Remind prospects of the perils of inaction, and the unique benefits of accepting what your community has to offer. Ask them what the past year has looked like, and discuss how the future 12 months might bring about changes.

4) Do you make an irresistible offer? Seniors are cautious, and they don’t part with their money easily. Are you piling benefits on top of your reasons why, in exchange for immediate action?

5) Do you inspire your readers’ imagination? Tell your ‘new and better’ story through effective marketing communications and advertising that inspires seniors to envision themselves living in your community.

6) Do you speak intimately and effectively to prospective residents? What is a tour and presentation like at your community? When visitors leave, do they feel like they just spent time with good friends?

7) Are you FAB balanced? Features, advantages and benefits are basics to selling, but would a scale find you have the right equilibrium? Do you know how to turn features into benefits? Try describing the feature to yourself and simply ask, “So what?”

8) Do you roll out the red carpet? Do all who visit your community feel they receive Five-Star treatment with the best customer service? How do you know, unless you ask them?

9) Do you have a killer follow-up plan? Ask the questions, “How soon?”, “In what way?”, “How often?”, “Send what?” Your fortune is in the follow-up. 

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If you are in the business of selling senior living, have you ever thought of yourself as a storyteller? Most successful salespeople are, because one of the best ways to engage a prospect is with a story, an illustration or an example.

The idea of telling a story scares a lot of salespeople. They think they’re not good at telling stories, or some think they have no stories to tell. I would say you do, you merely have not connected how your experiences can be shared as an interesting or thought-provoking story.

So how do you develop stories? Start with everyday activities, the residents you know, people you’ve helped in the past. All these situations offer abundant material for storytelling. Remember that the story you tell should help the prospects see themselves in the story, and it should have an outcome favorable to your community. When you share stories, you can connect on another level with your prospects by talking about what matters to them. And by telling a story about yourself, you begin to build the trust that is so vital to selling senior living and creating the relationship.

If you as a senior living salesperson can craft vivid stories that help prospects relate to what you do, you have strengthened the relationship immediately. You are no longer the salesperson — you become a guide, advisor or possibly a friend. 

Things happen in everyday life that can become funny, interesting and inspirational stories to be shared with your prospects. Add new stories to your selling process, and see the difference it makes for both you and your prospects. Try it, you’ll like it!

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I was consulting with a community recently and asked the marketing director what she needs the most to help to her get more sales. She replied that she was so busy and there were never enough hours in the day to accomplish her goals. I wasn’t surprised; I hear this a lot. However, over the course of my visit, I observed that she was easily distracted, had a very brief attention span and many of the other employees of the community would just drift into her office and “chat.” She welcomed interruptions.

On a visit to another community, I was approached by the executive director who asked me to keep an ear to the ground for a director of marketing and sales for his community. This client had just recently replaced this position, so I asked what happened. He replied that the previous individual had resigned because she didn’t want to be “micro-managed.” Interestingly enough, they had just initiated a new lead management reporting system.

I recall still another salesperson who welcomed the abundance of leads generated, but then found every reason not to effectively follow up with them – the front desk needed help, meetings to attend, decorating for an event, etc.

You get the picture.

All these might mistakenly be categorized as time management issues, when in fact it is the lack of focus and accountability within the sales process. All these individuals had plenty of time, but they were allowed to fill that time with non-sales activities. For executive directors and sales managers, if the team never has to execute the marketing plan because of other distractions, the sales goals become a low priority. If this behavior seems familiar, it’s time to change quickly! Focus the sales team on setting appropriate priorities and moving the ball down the field toward the goal every day. A simple question at the end of each day might be, “How many hours were spent selling the community today?”

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People like being recognized. It’s a simple fact. People are often motivated to do good things just for the recognition. Senior living residents are no exception to this and typically are the best ‘sales’ people to spread positive accolades about the community and create a buzz of excitement. Happy customers are one of the most powerful forms of selling, because word of mouth is the single most effective form of advertising. Claims from existing customers offer instant credibility; it’s more than familiarity working in our favor — we are tapping into existing relationships, which can and do accelerate the decision making process.

Once the buzz is created in your community, nurturing it will be easy. Enthusiasm is contagious. If they love us enough to live in our communities, the enthusiasm behind their decision will very likely bring us new referrals that become new residents. Sometimes we just forget to ask for referrals. Simple, yes, but not often accomplished. In senior living, resident referral programs with simple-to-execute tactics and easy referral rewards can accomplish the goal. This keeps top-of-mind awareness through hosting events, executing clever reminders, and consistently increasing the odds of capturing these valuable leads. So, I’m asking, “What’s stopping you from increasing your referrals?”

Want to learn how to generate a buzz with your sales effort? Join me for my sales webinar, “Small Steps for Greater Sales Success.” I have many ideas to generate strong referral programs, as well as additional easy steps to reach your sales goals. Click here to register.

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People like to be around positive people. People don’t want to be sold, but they’re happy buyers when they deal with salespeople they like and those who make their days brighter. It’s easy to blame circumstances and situations for a negative outlook. Your big ah-ha moment will come when you realize that your attitude comes from within you, not from any other factor. We make the choice each day to express ourselves with a positive and pleasant attitude, or take a negative look at everything around us. It’s easy during tough times to become negative, but it ultimately leads to poor health, work failures and unsuccessful relationships. In sales, your challenge is to respond consistently in a positive way. The rewards can be enormous.

A positive attitude takes the form of a contagious, upbeat outlook. Salespeople who exhibit this are generally positive, approachable and cooperative. For them, the glass is almost always “half full.” Do they ever get down and have bad days? Sure … they’re human! But they typically bounce back quickly – choosing to be victors rather than victims. Another benefit to having a positive attitude is a can-do spirit. Here, the mentality is: Give me a task and I’m all over it! We can do this. Let’s get to it. Salespeople with this mindset focus on making things work, rather than on lamenting on why they won’t. That’s why these folks are the DOERS of the world. Finally, salespeople of good character display an “attitude of gratitude.” They appreciate the people they know, the things they have and the opportunities they’re afforded … and they SHOW it!

Do these character traits describe you? Remember this: You can have all sorts of marketing strategies and tactics in place, but they won’t mean a thing without a positive, upbeat, can-do attitude.

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