After years of coaching senior living salespeople on increasing occupancy and shortening their buying cycle, Aspire has identified six essential sales foundations that remain critical to a salesperson’s performance and success.
Over the last eight months, we have trained against these top 6 skills and applied the necessary modifications and approaches to sell even during COVID. For many Senior Living Communities, occupancies have dropped as much as 12.5% and move-ins even more. But, not for everyone. With the right application and focus, the uncertainty of COVID has become an opportunity as COVID has opened new doors when it comes to increasing occupancy and shortening a potential resident’s decision-making buying cycle.
Here are 6 of the most important questions to uncover the essential skills Senior Living Salespeople need to be successful, effective, and increase occupancy:
What is your virtual tour experience?
1. How is it focused on what is most important to your prospective residents and their families? Do your salespeople know how to speak and design their virtual tours to engage and help the residents and their older adults go to the next stage in your buying process and customer life cycle?
2. Do you have a clear sales methodology? How have you adjusted it to this new world reality? Do your salespeople work their sales pipeline effectively? If not, you are missing out on occupancy opportunities in your sales process.
3. Is your sales team asking thought-provoking questions that speak to what is on the adult children’s mind as well as speak directly to the fears potential residents might have? “Leading questions” have never been more essential to engaging potential residents and making the COVID reality the reason to buy.
4. What is your ongoing virtual communication approach? Seniors are great connectors, and if they can’t experience your unique experience onsite or through the dining room, how are you bringing the experience to them differently? How is your sales team consistently connecting? How are your residents engaging with potential new residents and their families to understand how well your team has supported them through this time and the great benefits they enjoy?
5. As always, your current residents are your loudest voices and biggest advocates. How are you giving them a platform to speak with potential new residents and their families when they cannot stop by as easily or maybe in a position only to experience you virtually? Videos, chat rooms, virtual coffees or happy hours, and virtual lunch and learn programming are just some of the ways you can help a potential resident find “their people” and get excited about the prospects of their new home. The feeling of connection, joy, and comfort friendship brings an integral part of the buy connection stronger.
6. How has your senior living marketing strategy changed in generating leads to your two primary buyers and influencers? The idea of grocery shopping and its health risks, issues of being alone during this time, and having someone available to check-in are all big motivators. How is your pitch demonstrating how you can decrease stress and worry for everyone? How does your messaging reflect what is top of mind for seniors and their adult children?
The opportunity to turn your occupancy challenge around is now. Thinking differently about your approach will allow your Community(ies) to soar while others hope and wait for COVID to pass.
How do you increase occupancy with fewer leads, provide engaging virtual tours, and strengthen your resident experience journey? Aspire’s customized onsite and virtual senior living sales training programs are influences by hundreds of hours of research, proprietary processes that ensure your salespeople have the mindset, skills, and processes they need to drive results.
If you are ready to drive occupancy and want to think differently about your sales efforts, please reach out to us, and we can walk you through how we can drive occupancy and shorten your sales cycle.
All in, JC and the Aspire Team