Leverage Weekly Data Findings to Enhance Your Business Performance.

5 Reasons You’re Not Increasing Your Senior Housing Occupancy

If your small- to mid-sized operation experiences negative occupancy trends or stagnant revenue cycles that never lead to growth, you may wonder what obstacles are standing between you and better senior housing occupancy.

While fierce competition and overall market conditions can cause difficulty, many times, the struggle to drive move-ins comes from simple mistakes.

From poor referral development to faulty visit planning, it’s important that you remove any factors your community is creating that can negatively affect your revenue.

Here are 5 reasons your sales department may struggle to turn leads into residents:

#1 Your senior housing occupancy is affected by poor follow-through.

Failing to follow up with leads is one of the surest ways to destroy revenue growth. The reality is that many Senior Living communities have qualified prospects—they simply don’t ensure consistent communication with those leads.

To see if your community struggles in this area, ask yourself the following questions:

  • How many leads do my sales counselors close prematurely in the community database?
  • How long does it take my team to respond to a missed inquiry call?
  • What is the time lapse between receiving a contact form and my team communicating with that prospect?
  • Does my team reach out to potential residents if their inquiries don’t convert to tours?
  • After a tour, does my team fail to follow up with the potential resident?

#2 Your sales counselors struggle to support occupancy with visit planning.

Poor visit planning is another way you can accidentally exacerbate your community’s struggle to meet senior housing occupancy goals. Community tours weigh heavily in the decision-making process for your prospect residents.

 

If mom has Alzheimer’s, it’s vital that you showcase how she won’t be confined to a room. If dad feels lonely, you’ll need to highlight how he will enjoy his favorite activities with others his age.

What your sales counselors present on the tour can be the difference between closing the sale or losing your lead to another community. And failing to leverage these key techniques can put a dent in your occupancy and revenue.

#3 Your sales team fails to fully cultivate referral development.

While digital marketing and community events go a long way in driving leads, you can’t underestimate the continued importance of referral development. Even if your team is answering inquiries correctly and conducting successful tours, they may still neglect important referral sources for new leads.

Consider if your sales team is building deliberate relationships with…

  • Online referral sources.
  • Hospitals.
  • Physicians.
  • Support groups.
  • And more.

Your senior housing occupancy is dependent on your sales team building trust and clearly communicating what your community offers to each organization.

#4 Your senior housing suffers from poor strategy in staging apartments.

When the caretakers of your prospective residents visit your operation, they are painting a mental picture of what it would be like if their loved ones lived in your community. That’s why community tours should create a strong first impression.

If your revenue is dipping, it may be a good time to reevaluate the rooms you’ve staged for display. Consider their appliances, ambiance, location, and more. Try to imagine the initial experience visitors receive, and you may discover why your tour-to-move-in ratio is so low.

#5 Your interior furnishings fail to represent your community.

While online ratings, care levels, and cleanliness play a pivotal role in how inviting your community appears to prospects, you also need to give attention to something just as important—your interior furnishings.

Scuffed walls, old couches, and yellowed linoleum floors will take away from the range of care levels and other benefits your community offers. You best support strong revenue when you remove anything that would distract your future resident from the great experience he or she will enjoy.

Whether your community needs an interior design update or simply better visit planning, it’s not always easy to spot why you struggle to increase occupancy and revenue.

To help you uncover hidden obstacles, Bild & Company offers an on-site assessment of your community and full-length report of our findings so you can remove what’s keeping your occupancy at subpar levels.

To have one of Bild & Company’s specialists evaluate your community and offer targeted expertise, contact us today so we can build a customized solution for you.

Closing Your Senior Living Revenue Gap Is A Phone Call Away.

Contact Bild & Co to grow your
occupancy now at (800) 640-0688