80 Seconds to a Better Presentation of Your Funeral Home's Offerings

80 Seconds to a Better Presentation of Your Funeral Home’s Offerings

March 21st, 2013

By Rochelle Rietow

March 21

I hate being sold to, don’t you?

And if you’re anything like me, you can probably smell a cheesy sales pitch from a mile away.

For some reason, funeral professionals have been given a bad name when it comes to selling to families. In fact, we’re often dumped into the same category as used car salesmen.

The bad news is that many families have lost interest in the value of a lot of the products and services we offer. The good news is that we can fix this by re-thinking our approach when it comes to presenting our products and services to families.

If you’re a fast reader, it might take you more than 80 seconds to read this guide, but I can guarantee that once you’re finished, you’ll see a significant difference in the way families value what your funeral home offers.

Let’s not waste another moment! Here are 10 ways to better present your offerings to your families:

1. Show, don’t tell

I’m not comfortable spending money on something if I don’t know what it looks like, are you? Probably not. If you truly think a family will benefit from one of your products or services, show it to them. For example, if you offer tribute videos, create a Youtube channel and upload every tribute video you create to show off to potential future families. That will allow families to visually see what your offerings can do for them.

2. Get personal

You already know your funeral business is based on the relationships you create, so remember this when it comes time to discuss your offerings. Every family is different, so don’t ever use the same used sales pitch on them. Tailor the information you share with families to fit their specific needs.

3. Use word-of-mouth to your advantage

Research shows that your families trust each other way more than they trust advertisements – in fact only 14% of consumers trust ads. Use the power of word-of-mouth marketing by sharing testimonials or stories from your past families about their experience with your products and services.

4. Follow the 80/20 rule

Greek philosopher Epictetus once said, “We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” As a funeral professional, you’re already a good listener. So when it comes to the merchandise conversation, spend 80% of your time listening and 20% of it talking. Start by asking families how they’d like to memorialize their loved one, then tell them how you can help with your offerings. This approach is far better than the tired old sales pitch families are used to hearing.

5. Be clear and direct

Come up with a 15 second “elevator pitch” that describes your products or services and perfect it. The more clear and direct you are with families about the products and services you offer, the more likely they are to stay tuned into your conversation and not leave feeling confused or overwhelmed with information.

6. Tap into the power of storytelling

Everyone loves a good story – stories have been an integral part of humanity since the beginning of time. They’re captivating, memorable, relatable, and create a personal connection with your prospects. If you really want to capture their attention, tell them a story about how your products or services have helped families heal and create a celebration of life. They’ll not only be more apt to listening about your products, they’ll also be more likely to purchase them, too.

7. Remember that value trumps price

Funerals are expensive, and the last thing you want to do is nickel and dime your families. However, if you think one of your products or services can solve their problems, show them how. The families of today are willing to spend the money if they think your offering is valuable. The key to explaining value leads me to my next point…

8. Believe in yourself and what you offer

The most important aspect of explaining value is being confident – both in yourself and your product/service. Phoniness is easy to sense, so don’t be a used car salesman and offer families something unless you truly believe it’s going to help them or solve their problems. If you don’t believe in one of your products/services, the answer is simple: stop offering it.

9. Be exciting – it’s contagious

I don’t know about you, but if someone is trying to sell me on something and they’re not oozing with passion, I find myself yawning within minutes. Passion and excitement are contagious, so think about this the next time you talk to your families about your products. If you’re not excited about what you offer, why should they be?

10. Don’t take advantage of their emotions

84 percent of all buying decisions are based on emotions, and those numbers may be even higher when someone has experienced a loss. Don’t take advantage of your families’ emotional state to get them to make a decision they might regret later on. At the end of the day, you want to feel good about what you’ve offered families… not feel like you’ve ripped off or oversold them on something they didn’t need.

Now that you have some way you can better present your products and services to families, go forth and practice these techniques! Better yet, share them with your funeral home employees. You never know what effect they might have on your funeral home’s sales or revenue!

Did we miss any techniques? Share with us the techniques you use to present your offerings to families!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Krystal Penrose is the content marketer and funeralOne blog manager. As content marketer, her role is to research the changing needs of today’s families, and present them to funeral professionals through educational content. Krystal also engages with thought leaders in the industry to help create an online community for funeral professionals across the country. funeralOne’s solutions include: website design, aftercare, eCommerce, and personalization software. For more information about funeralOne, visit www.funeralOne.com. –>