There’s a significant need for the proper onboarding and training of new hires within Senior Living sales and marketing departments.
From years of experience in working closely with owners and CEOs to grow occupancy and revenue, I’ve found that one of the biggest barriers to driving move-ins is the lack of sophisticated Senior Living sales processes.
Most sales people, who are responsible for driving company revenue, have no formal sales training at all. T
his means they don’t understand how to properly move new leads through the sales cycle. This means they struggle to…
- Convert inquiries into tours within 48 hours (the industry average is 9 days).
- Practice effective follow-up and closing techniques.
- Advance leads to move in at the volume needed to net up and grow occupancy.
The result: Small- to mid-sized operators are unable to gain traction; move-ins always equal move-outs for zero net growth; occupancy remains flat, and revenue is subpar.
To help close revenue gaps, a symptom of untrained sales counselors, and to assist operators with this daunting and never-ending task, Bild and Co. launched Bild Sales Academy.
This 6-week program is a live web classroom that is limited to just 15 people and runs every three weeks.
This program was designed to properly train newly hired salespersons and executive directors and, most importantly, set them up for long-term success.
We launched our first three classes, and they literally sold out in a matter of days.
You could say this is proof that there is a strong need for the proper training and onboarding of newly hired salespeople and executive directors.
Sales Challenges
Even though you are in the business of care, as owners and operators, cash flow and solid revenues are critical to providing the level of service promised.
And these two things are directly tied to the ability of your sales counselor to effectively sell and the ability of your executive director to lead the community to full occupancy.
While it would be nice to assume you could simply hire someone away from a competitor who can fill your community, the reality is that your competition is facing many of the same challenges, challenges like…
- Regular discounting to increase sales.
- An aging resident population that frightens or delays the move-in decision of the coveted younger resident.
- Referral sources who are, more and more, difficult to reach.
The choices are vast, and the decision-making process for adult children and their loved ones is more daunting than ever, oftentimes leading to a stalled sale.
In these situations, you can’t simply wing it. Sales counselors need proper strategies and training proven to advance leads, even the most challenging ones, to close.
6 Reasons for Training New Hires: The Statistics
While providing sales training is most likely at the bottom of your priority list, this type of investment can be one of the most impactful on your bottom line!
I’m going to give you 6 reasons why sales training lands a top spot on your list when you hire new sales representatives or sales directors:
- Did you know that over 40% of all incoming leads are lost and/or mismanaged (at an average cost of $600 per lead)?
- Did you know that less than 45% of inquiries convert to an on-site tour, and when they do, it’s an average of 9 days later? Ouch!
- Did you know that only 22% of those who tour assisted living communities and 20% of those who tour independent living communities convert to a move-in?
- Did you know that the Brevet Group reports that 87% of customers believe a salesperson can’t understand their needs? (Not surprisingly, our national mystery shop results find that sales counselors spend on average 2 minutes on an inquiry call and ask just 2 questions! How can you understand a prospect’s needs in this environment?)
- Did you know that the Brevet Group states that sales training will yield 50% higher net sales for each employee? (This explains our cult following here at Bild. Nothing gets people more excited than results, and the Bild Sales Systems remove the discomfort around selling and foster confidence and move-ins instead.)
- Did you also know that the Brevet Group reports that 92% of customer interactions are communicated by phone? Yet in two decades of conducting sales training, we know that 90% of all salespeople have call reluctance and fear of the phone (which creates low levels of income-producing activity). And they lack proper telephone skills to advance the sale (most salespeople are great in person but are poor over the phone).
We can do better, and without a doubt, proper training is critical to the success of your senior care community.
It’s important to understand how proper sales training can help sales counselors get off to a fast start and create consistent move-ins month over month for the overall health of your individual communities.
Very likely, your sales counselors deal with low consumer trust from first contact; after all, this is your prospect’s mom or dad we are talking about (in most cases).
And that first contact typically occurs over the phone—a medium that doesn’t allow for the full communication of a face-to-face conversation.
So it is more difficult than ever to foster the emotional connection and bond needed to create urgency and move the sale from a tour to a move-in.
Are you starting to connect the dots? Sales training, while not sexy, is equivalent to spending for a new print ad or a commercial; it’s a necessity.
Sales Training Where It’s Needed Most
If you’re looking to increase move-ins, occupancy, and revenue, we can help. Through our affordable Bild Academy, we’ll create a turn-key system proven to get results.
Here’s a brief overview of what your team will learn during this 6-week course:
Week #1: Your Mission 100% Occupancy, Zero Lost Revenue
With new operators flooding the market, this is a very competitive time that calls for quality training that provides your salesteam with essential skills.
In this session, we will map out your personal plan to move occupancy toward 100%—without discounts and incentives. Learn more…
Week #2: The Inquiry System
Scheduling on-site tours is proven to be the #1 most important skill factor required to drive occupancy.
In this session, we’ll teach the art of taking an inquiry call that converts into an on-site visit 75% of the time. Learn more…
Week #3: The Visit Planning System
With competition at an all-time high, it is more important than ever to personalize tours and create a memorable visiting experience.
In this session, we’ll teach you how to hold appointments that increase first-appointment deposits.
You’ll learn how to increase the odds of closing to the next step by an astounding 70%. Learn more…
Week #4: The Follow-Up and Closing System—Part One
Just 5% of Senior Living leads have a clearly defined next step that is executed post-tour.
In fact, out of 100 tracked tours, just three salespeople followed up. Learn how to overcome call reluctance and fear of the telephone to improve results by over 200%! Learn more…
Week #5: The Follow-Up and Closing System—Part Two
This session provides the skills needed to ensure you are effectively following up in a way that is meaningful and productive.
In addition to teaching the art of calling at the right time, we’ll teach the Bild Five-Step Telephone System, which is designed to garner five “yes” responses in under two minutes, engage prospects in meaningful conversation, and ensure that one out of every two contacts is converted into an appointment. Learn more…
Week #6: The Activity Point System
In this session, we will turn sales into a game and help you learn to focus on what you can control versus what you can’t!
The Bild Activity Point System is transforming and will allow you to understand, based on your personal skill level, how much sales activity is required to achieve your monthly move-in goal and move to 100% occupancy and zero lost revenue. Learn more…
Bild Academy isn’t just an erudite experience in book learning.
This course provides practical, hands-on training that allows participants to apply what they are learning week by week.
If you’re a small- to mid-sized operator looking to transform your sales counselors into well-trained professionals, this 6-week course can be an integral key in obtaining your objectives.
Class Details
Here are the details for the next Bild Sales Academy live web classroom: Taking spots now!
- Start date: October 13, 2016
- Time: 1 p.m.–2 p.m. ET
- Class seats available: 5
- This is the last class until 2017.
To register, you can send us an email to amanda@bildandco.com. And since we still believe in the importance of the classic phone call, you can call Amanda at 1.800.640.0688.
If we are unable to get you in this classroom, we will ensure you are immediately registered for the October class.
We look forward to the privilege of training you or your sales team through Bild Sales Academy!
