Third-party preneed marketers can help

you in the race for future business

   Branding is big in business today.  Leading companies spend millions to create an identity for their product lines in order to differentiate them from each other and the competition.  Why?  To create brand loyalty and ultimately to secure future business.  From frequent-flyer miles to discount-building credit cards to your local supermarket's super savings card," big companies are looking for ways to bring shoppers back repeatedly.

   Well, American Airlines, GM and Wal-Mart, we have something for which you would give your eyeteeth: a guarantee of future business.  As Steven Whitehead, CPC and president of Cornerstone Management Systems, points out, the unique advantage of preneed planning puts funeral service in this enviable position.

   Many funeral homes offer preneed programs, but most are not doing nearly enough.  Quinn Eagan of Preneed Funeral Programs (PFP) thinks the typical firm captures only 20 percent of at-need volume in preneed funerals.  Eagan believes that preneed volume equal to at-need volume is a reasonable goal to provide a secure basis for serving your community well into the future.

The Race is On

   No wonder the big corporate funeral firms are developing preneed in a big way.  Some estimate that Service Cor-poration International (SCI) has

 reached Eagan's recommended goal, with three years of future business tied up.  with an aging population and 78-million baby boomers well into their 50s, the funeral market is growing.  Over the next 30 years, demographers predict a 50 percent increase in U.S. deaths.

   The opportunities in this growing market are being snapped up early, however.  According to estimates by the American Association of Retired Persons, in 1994 more than 7 million U.S. funerals were already pre-arranged.  The race for the funeral market is well under way - are you in the running?

A Quick Entrance

    A quick firm lacks a well-developed preneed program, there is a quick and proven way to protect your future.  You can call on an established preneed marketing company, often called a marketing management company or third party marketer.  Some of the leading preneed marketing companies are Cornerstone Management Systems, TRUST 100/Vanquard America, and Preneed Funeral Programs (PFP).

   Preneed marketing companies help their funeral firms through dedicated counselors who market preneed services to the families in a funeral firm's extended marketing area.  The counselors work on behalf of the funeral home, though they are not employees, and marketing preneed is their full-

time work.  "Counselors may generate $350,000 to $500,000 of funded funerals a year," says Lou Lawson of Fortis Family.

   Why would a funeral home select a preneed marketing company?  some funeral direc-tors prefer to concentrate on at-need service and administration instead of marketing preneed products to the community.  It is risky to grow or maintain a firm on walk-in-business alone, how-ever.  Thus, funeral directors can let the preneed marketing com-panies handle the preneed work -and guarantee a future for the business.  As Lawson points out, "One TRUST 100 client I know has $15 million of future business guarantees" through preneed funerals.  "With that kind of future, you can make some long term plans-and it cost the funeral director nothing."

   Nothing? Well, the funeral director might have prearranged and pre-funded the funeral and captured the commission, if they had the time and inclination, or the funeral home could have hired its own counselors. A preneed marketing company is simply another way for a funeral firm to build a future through preneed marketing.  Many firms find it is the right way for them.

   Typically, a preneed marketing company will train, install and manage preneed counselors in your firm.  The firm pays for office space and direct-mail marketing costs, such as letter-head, mailing lists and postage, while the preneed marketing company uses insurance commissions to compensate the