We have to do better as an industry, y'all! I just spent the last few hours calling senior living communities with a desire to book tours at 3-5 of my top communities next week for a couple that is looking to move in the next 3 months. Here is how my morning went:
- Community #1: 9:30am call placed. "I'm sorry, the marketing manager will not be in for another 1, maybe 2 hours. I'll send you to her voicemail.". Never asked me for my information.
- Community #2: 9:45am call placed. "I'm sorry, the sales counselor is in a meeting. I'll send you to her voicemail and she will call you when she can". Never asked me for my information.
- Community #3: 10am website peruse to find a number to call for the community. No number listed anywhere on the website. The only option to inquire is a contact us form. Filled out contact us form.
- Community #4: 10:15am Call was answered by a lovely receptionist who told me that she was going to connect me to the sales counselor. She gave me her name and transferred me. I spoke to the sales counselor, who was kind and proceeded to discuss my friends and book a tour. The sales counselor then followed up with me within 30 minutes in an email with details of our tour. WINNING.
- Community #5: 11:00am call placed. Received call center after pressing a few numbers to learn more. Call center asked me 2 questions, what was I looking for and how was my friend currently handling her dementia. She then gave me prices ranging from 4700-5029 for IL apartments and told me the second person would be $500. She shared about their on demand care and asked me to book a tour. I shared that I may want to book a tour after I learn more about how they handle memory progression. She said her counterpart would call me later and would have those details.
- Community #6: 11:30am call placed. I was greeted by a very chipper receptionist. She was kind, verified my name and number, asked me if I was looking for myself or someone else, asked me what prompted my call, offered to transfer me to the sales counselor and gave me her name. Put me on a brief hold then came back and said the sales counselor had actually just sent an email that she was leaving the community and would be back around 1pm. She shared that she could call me this afternoon and I agreed.
- Community #7: 11:45am call placed. Phone rang and rang. Automated answering services picked up, pressed some numbers, phone rang and rang again while trying to transfer me, automated voice came back on and said "the person at extension 0000 is not available. Please try your call again".
In an industry that is suppose to be people focused, an industry whose success depends on every move in captured, we are certainly on the struggle bus. It all starts with a simple connection.
President and CEO of Primo Solutions, LLC | Motivational Speaker | Senior Housing Corporate Sales Trainer | Consultant | Author | Army Combat Veteran | BTG Ambassador
1 年First call! That's fantastic, especially when the industry average is 7 call attempts!
Sales and Marketing | Coaching & Development | Cultivating Partnerships | Sales Interactions | Building Organizational Talent | Market Analysis | Revenue Growth | Portfolio Management
1 年Brigitte Specht, what a wonderful reminder as we all need to ensure we are putting out best foot forward on the initial call to our communities to connect with prospects. A little project just moved up on my list. Thanks for the examples of REAL experiences from your calls. ??.
VP of Sales and Field Marketing
1 年Woohoo! I had no idea you were doing this but happy hear we met/exceeded your expectations. I have a great team in Carri Tindal , Sarah Callahan Dixon , Donna Levesque , Ashley Lowery and Jennifer Gallo, CRCFA .