November 12, 2013

Reviving Sympathy Sales Jeff Corbin, AAF, AIFD, PFCI

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Reviving Sympathy Sales

Imagine …

…A Funeral Without Flowers

Increased Baby Boomers = Increased deaths

Increased deaths ≠ Increased Sympathy Sales

What’s wrong here?

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Reviving Sympathy Sales

Effects of “In Lieu of”

• Derogatory

– No alternatives

– Has created a mindset against flowers

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Reviving Sympathy Sales

Traditional Sympathy Sales

• Regular customers

• WOM

• WAS

• Funeral Home Referrals

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Reviving Sympathy Sales

Relationship With Funeral Home

• Good, Bad, Indifferent?

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Competition for Funeral Home Support

Free Websites

– http://www.consolidatedfuneralservices.com/

– http://www.funeralone.com/

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Competition for Funeral Home Support

• www.consolidatedfuneralservices.com

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Competition for Funeral Home Support

www.consolidatedfuneralservices.com

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Competition for Funeral Home Support

www.funeralone.com

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Competition for Funeral Home Support

http://blog.funeralone.com/grow-your-

business/attract-families/funeral-home-

website-traffic-into-dollars/

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Reviving Sympathy Sales

Increase Sympathy Sales – Improve Funeral Home Relationships

– Consumer Direct Advertising

– Evaluate Product Offerings

Improve Your Funeral

Home Relationship

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Improving Funeral Home Relationship

Communications

• Discuss “In Lieu Of”

– Baby steps

– Personal “Thank You” when they do

• Ask Questions

– Expectations

– How can you do better

– How can you benefit them

– How can they benefit you

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Improving Funeral Home Relationship

Image/Service

• Physical image

– Dress

– Clean Vehicles

• Attitude

• Current selection guides

• Reliability/punctuality

• Help them “look good”

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Improving Funeral Home Relationship

Work Quality

• Freshness

• Mechanics/Balance

• Water

– Baskets & sprays

– Bottoms of vases/containers

• Styles/Trends

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Improving Funeral Home Relationship

Origination Fees

• Yes or No?

– Percentage

– Payment terms

• Employee benefits

Consumer Direct

Advertising

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Consumer Direct Advertising

• Low-key & Continuous

– Mailers/Handouts/Stuffers

– Billboards

– Social Media

– Work Style & Quality

– Website

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Consumer Direct Advertising

Mailer/Handout/Stuffers

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Consumer Direct Advertising

Billboards

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Consumer Direct Advertising

Social Media

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Consumer Direct Advertising

Website – Keep modern

– Informational pages for each locality

– Sympathy websites

• Include trivia, history, pictures

– Sympathy & death need not be morbid

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Website – Landing Pages

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Website – Landing Pages

Evaluate

Product Offerings

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Evaluate Product Offerings

• Flowers

– Unique tributes

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Evaluate Product Offerings

• Plants

– Trees/Perennials

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Evaluate Product Offerings

• Memory Gifts

– Garden Plaques

– Memory Blankets/Throws

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Evaluate Product Offerings

• Food/Comfort Baskets

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Reviving Sympathy Sales

Special Thanks to:

Questions???

Email: Jeff@JeffCorbin.com

Handouts are available at: FTDi.com/FTDUniversity/webinarmaterials.htm

Webinar will be available to view at: FTDUniversity.com