ICCFA 2013 is finally here! The energy here is amazing, and the funeralOne team is more excited than ever to be here!

Yesterday morning I attended Jeff Gitomer’s keynote presentation: The Cost of Death vs. The Value of Life. I loved every minute of it, so I want to share with you a few key takeaways and things I learned.

Without further ado, here’s 13 things I learned from Jeff Gitomer’s keynote presentation:

Ask LOTS of questions during the arrangement process

When you meet with a family, don’t tell them about what you do, ask them questions about their loved one.  What better way to get your families talking than to say“so tell me about your mom. What did you love about her? What did she do for fun?”

Don’t sit behind your desk

When Jeff planned his mother’s funeral, the funeral director sat BEHIND their desk the entire time. He said it took everything in him to not get up and leave because it was so impersonal and stuffy. Always talk with them in a comforting setting that makes it easier for you to establish that personal connection with them.

Record your conversation

When you’re asking families questions, record what they say and give it to them so they can understand how they can create a memorable eulogy for their loved one. Tell them to go home and talk about, think about, and look at memories of their loved one.

Skip the clergy

Have the families deliver the eulogy, not some clergy who doesn’t know the loved one. Having someone be responsible for celebrating their loved one’s life is a lot of work but it will be the coolest experience they’ve ever had.

Tap into the “emotion of the moment”

Ask the family how they’re going to celebrate their mom. Don’t talk about death, talk about celebrating life.

Don’t depend on certified celebrants

Don’t hire celebrants, make sure every single one of your employees at your funeral home IS a celebrant! This is our expertise, so let’s use it to our advantage.

When talking about costs…

Don’t bring up your GPL before you talk about the families wishes. Simply say “let’s talk about some of the details of the funeral and go over the cost considerations.” This creates less pressure and makes the whole process less scary for the families.

“Close the sale”

Closing the sale is the wrong thought process – the customer is making their decision as the sales call progresses. It’s the responsibility of the salesperson to EARN the sale, not close it.

Ask yourself these questions

The sale is made emotionally, then justified logically, so think about the following considerations: How emotionally engaging were you? How different were you perceived to be? How compelling were you? How believable were you? How self confident were you? Give families a prepared, friendly, engaging, different, valuable, compelling, believable, self-confident, relatable, trustworthy salesperson and they’ll give you the sale… EVERY time.

Don’t…

– Play your music, play the family’s.

– Leave room for flowers, leave room for photos.

– Use a clergy for the eulogy, use the next of kin.

– Forget about aftercare, it’s the biggest opportunity you have!

Get on social media!

And while you’re at it, start a blog. Blog about how to remember, how to give a eulogy, how to recover, how to pay respects, how to take care of the grave site… the possibilities are endless. Think about what makes you an expert, and how you can communicate that through social media and your blog.

For every service you have…

Include stories, quotes, humor, thanks, praise and goodbye in EVERY funeral service you have. Celebrate their life in every possible way you can.

And lastly… LOVE what you do!

When you love what you do, all your days are the same… they’re holidays.

We loved Jeff’s keynote presentation at ICCFA this year! Share with us in the comments below what you liked most about it!

Rochelle Rietow

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