The Lift - October 2018

October 2018 //

Inspiring Senior Lifestyle

Marketing & Sales Teams to New Heights

Planes & Train-ing

FLY WITH US AGAIN

SOON

Feedback Surveys for 2019

TERMINAL UNDER

CONSTRUCTION Website Ref resh Underway

Sales Habits and Their Outcomes

Proper Identification Please

Smarter Marketing Starts With Better Data

In the Shop Referral Collateral Available

A MESSAGE FROM THE CREW Thank You, Team!

The SL Marketing Team would like to acknowledge how particularly needy we have been in September. Between budget season and the website refresh, we have been asking a lot of you. From a plethora of forms to floorplans and finances, we appreciate you getting back to us with all these pieces of information.

Your timely response helps us do our jobs right and ultimately helps you to get the right funding and marketing tools. We want to help everyone reach their lead generation and occupancy growth goals in 2019. So, thank you again for your frequent and swift replies.

Your Marketing Leadership P.S. If you don’t know what we are thanking you for…check your email…please.

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HOW WAS YOUR TRIP

To move forward in 2019, we need to know more about your experiences in 2018. We want to hear your opinions on how we did this year and invite you to be honest and thorough. · What made your job easier? · Harder? · What campaign or marketing piece did you love? · Or hate? · What can we do the same, better, or different next year?

TAKE THE 2018 FEEDBACK SURVEY HERE

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Website Refresh Underway

Our website is getting a fresh, new look. The site will be fully optimized and use best practices in order to attract and convert new leads. If you haven’t heard from us about your community’s page, we’ll be contacting you soon.

Grapevine Store: Referral Marketing

Outreach Referral Emails

To keep your referral sources interested and engaged, we’ve been sending them designed, heartfelt emails for relevant holidays. It’s just another way to keep your community top-ofmind.

Q1 Planning

Arriving November 15th and departing December 1st (final due date).

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Looking to get residents, employees and realtors to send more leads your way? Check out the store to see all the latest, new referral marketing collateral.

Monthly Workshops

Join us Thursdays in November at 11:00 AM CST. These presentations by marketing leadership are packed with information and allow time for questions and discussion.

Nov. 1 Increasing Your Online Reviews Nov. 8 Invoca Nov. 15 Preparing for 2019 Planning Nov. 22 No workshop. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov. 29 Planning for 2019

GOT WRITER’S BLOCK? GO FOR THE GRAPES. Grapevine Designs’ writing services will help you say it and say it well.

All you have to do is give us the details.

Brochures

Flyers

Invitations

Articles

Letters

Press releases

Emails

Surveys

Let’s make your marketing memorable. Just fill out a Creative Request Form.

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PROCESS REVIEW Brand Style Guide in the Works for 2019 In order to showcase the Senior Lifestyle brand and your community’s highlights, we’re creating a comprehensive style guide.

Why?

To ensure your marketing materials are on point and on time. From reviewing our production standards to documenting your preferences, we’re working hard to be your best partner.

Be on the lookout for surveys coming soon.

Grapevine Designs Creating the Imaginable

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PLANES & TRAIN-ING: SALES HABITS AND THEIR OUTCOMES CINDY AMES, CORPORATE DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING TRAINING

Recently, a professional outside our industry who is interested in understanding more about how salespeople work asked for my opinion on the bad habits salespeople get into and the why.

As I reflected on this question, I thought of the results our mystery shops, completed for all sales associates within four weeks of hire and after they have completed their Sales & Marketing Training.

A bad habit I hear in the mystery shop recordings is too much talking done by the sales associate. A large number of sales associates don’t follow the 70/30 rule, which is the customer speaks 70% of the time and the sales associate speaks 30% of the time. This bad habit generates a few different outcomes.

The first outcome is the lack of information gathered from the customer. By not having the right information or enough information from a customer, the sales associate is not able to provide personalized solutions during the call or plan a customized community visit experience for the customer. Another outcome is the sales associate is making fewer connections with the customer and therefore not fully developing a relationship. Because of the lack of relationship, there is less opportunity to convert a customer from an inquiry call to a community visit.

Let’s now look at the why. Why do salespeople not follow the 70/30 rule? For some, it can be a benign reason. They are so excited about what their community has to offer that they rush to tell the customer all their good news. Others just want to get the customer in the door for a visit and think if they just push their own agenda forward, it will cause the customer to say yes to a visit. It can also be a matter of insecurity. Some sales associates are not secure with their Inquiry Tool, with asking questions, drilling down to learn more or waiting for an answer.

Take a listen to your most recent mystery shop or an Invoca recording. What percentage of the conversation are you talking? If you’re not using the 70/30 rule, then ask yourself why? Figure it out so you can adjust your conversation to provide space for your customer to share their story, allowing you to know how to best match their needs and plan for their community visit.

Listening more removes a bad habit and allows you to convert more calls to community visits.

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THIS IS YOUR CAP

Catherine Erikson, Nation

SMARTER MARKETING

STARTS WITH BETTER DATA

by emotion … especially in our industry.

As 2019 approaches, we’re all looking to up

socioeconomic level than the one in which

As children help their parents look for an ideal residence, they sometimes

shop “up,” searching areas with a higher

our game. And that goes for our marketing

their parent currently lives.

reliability of our database information, is

Reason #2: The decision to buy is

new residents. But in order to get the right

patterns in one section of your ZIP code

time, we need your help.

visit, your community might end up out of

strategies. Data integrity, the quality and key to your community’s ability to attract

oftentimes based on convenience. If traffic

message to the right person at the right

make it too difficult for family members to

Currently, we market your building to

prospects by targeting a radius around your ZIP code. As a result, we could be missing prime potential residents. Why?

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Reason #1: Buying behavior is influenced

the running.

Reason #3 (and this is a big one): We’re

missing the correct names, addresses and

ZIP codes of the people who already have an interest in your community.

PTAIN SPEAKING…

nal Director of Marketing

WITH BETTER DATA, WE CAN TARGET

PROSPECTS THAT WOULD FIND YOUR COMMUNITY DESIRABLE. Here’s what you can do

When you receive someone’s name, address, phone number or email:

1. Ensure that it’s complete. Visually check the

information while the person is there with you.

3. Ensure you enter it into CRM. If you need any instruction, we’re happy to help.

4. Ensure that what you enter is correct. Take a moment to review before hitting enter.

With this information, marketing can

help nurture your lead. In addition, data

intelligence companies can create a list of other seniors from that area with a similar

2. Ensure that the info is accurate. Repeat

background. I’m looking forward

reading their handwriting correctly or to help

our database work harder and smarter for

it back to the person to make sure you are

to collaborating with all of you to make

the person catch their own error.

all of us.

Have questions? We’ve got answers.

Submit your question now.

Thanks for being part of the journey. See you next month.

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303 E Upper Wacker Drive, Suite 2400 Chicago, IL 60601 www.SeniorLifestyle.com