Dear Subscriber: 

Don’t throw employee manuals at your new pre-need counselors and expect them to ramp up sales and service, says Quinn Eagan, president of Preneed Funeral Programs, Metairie, La. 

Better: Get your newest counselor to work one-on-one with the pre-need manager for 2 weeks. In a small firm, that manager may be you. In a large firm, you may have a dedicated person who oversees pre-need.

The plan: The first week, that person goes with the manager into families’ homes and watches the sales presentations. In the second week, the new person gives presentations and the manager offers feedback. Make sure to review presentation style, body language, dress code and listening techniques.  

Side note: Notice we say in the above paragraph “goes with the manager into families’ homes.” Eagan believes if you don’t write 90% of your pre-need contracts in families’ homes, you don’t have a successful pre-need program (FSI 1/21/02, 10/8/01).  

Eagan shared his systematic steps to pre-need success during the Insider’s “Send Your Sales Soaring” audio conference last month. Here are more conference highlights: 

1. Set a financial goal for your pre-need volume. Benefit: The goal will help pre-need counselors work toward something concrete.  

You’ll see on page 2 a sidebar to help you work through your goal. Here’s how you do it: 1) Jot down your number of annual at-need calls. 2) Set a target pre-need to at-need ratio to determine how many pre-need contracts you’d like to sign annually. The Insider discussed pre-need to at-need ratios in last week’s issue. A general recommended target is 60%. 3) Determine your average at-need call revenue. Let’s say it’s $5,000. 4) Multiply your contract goal by your average at-need call revenue. This is your annual pre-need revenue target.  

2. Focus on the 2 or 3 lead-generation systems that work best for your firm. Measure and test a variety of lead systems, such as direct mail, newspaper ads/inserts, group presentations, TV ads, seminars, telemarketing and referrals. Experiment and measure the results from the lead areas you test. Then, select the 2 or 3 that are the most lucrative. “You can’t do 30 different things, because then you’re good at nothing,” says Eagan. 

3. Let your counselor do what he or she does best – find and follow-up on leads. You shouldn’t have your pre-need person doing at-need calls, running errands or delivering flowers. “I want the pre-need counselor out ‘hunting’,” says Eagan. How you do this: Hire a dedicated pre-need person if your firm does 200 calls or more. If you’re smaller, share a pre-need rep with a non-competing firm that’s 20 to 30 miles away from yours. 

One problem: Some states, like Pennsylvania, require licensed FDs to sell pre-need. By nature, FDs usually focus more on service rather than sales. That is tough, Eagan agrees. However, if you have a methodical system to train staff, find leads, follow up on them and close on contracts, you’re fine using licensed FDs as well as natural-born salespeople. 

4. Sponsor seminars on important seniors’ issues, such as wills or veterans’ benefits. The goal: Have some of the attendees set up pre-need appointments. You’re not looking to make an immediate sale. Where to hold it: You’ll attract more people if you hold the seminar at a local restaurant. Other places: The YMCA, the library or a local hotel. The downside: You get more qualified leads when you hold the seminar at your firm. Eagan knows an FD who dedicates 1 Tuesday a month to seminars, and he holds them in the funeral home. TIP: Try it both ways and see which location yields better results, says Eagan.  

How many people to expect: A Minnesota funeral home sent out 600-700 invitations for a seminar and had 60 attendees. IDEA: Attract ‘em with food, Eagan recommends. End result: When it’s all over and you have some appointments/and or sales, track your cost per sale. That’s the dollar figure you’ll want to whittle down.