Are your prospects worried about price and not truly seeing the value in your community? Here are some strategies that can help lead you to Victory with Value.

You've told your prospects in so much detail about all the benefits they will receive but they just don't seem to get it. You know that if only they could see the value in your community then price, or even the housing market, may not be such an issue.

Selling on value, not price or "all that is included" involves a balance of personal rapport and confidence.

Think about some of the "Steps to a Sale.

"Have your prospect tell you the value (instead of you telling them) If you tell your prospect about the value you offer, they may or may not see this as relevant, of interest, or of value. However, if you ask the right questions so your prospect tells you the value of solving their problem, they will then see this value as relevant, of interest, and of value. The big difference is that they have told you (and themselves) the value as opposed to you telling them. The common trap that you don't want to fall into is to start selling your community and services when you first meet. Simply have a conversation and ask the right questions so your prospect can vocalize his or her concerns. This is the 'Discovery Phase' and it is where you should be spending the majority of your time in the sales process. Questions such as "What made you contact me today?" and "What are the 3 most important criteria you are looking for in a retirement community?" These questions will inherently create value in your prospect's mind for your community. 

Tell your prospect about the history of the community                                                      

This 'Credibility' stage helps build confidence in you and your community. Telling your story helps you and your prospect relate on a personal level. We all tend to value the recommendations and opinions of those that we have a personal connection with much greater than those that we do not. 

Reinforce the value of your community 

Gaining agreement throughout the sales process reinforces the value of your community to the prospect. Demonstrating the benefits that your community has to offer, specifically to your prospect's concerns, does this as well. 

Ask for the sale                                             

Just before asking for the sale we want to remind our prospects of the reason that they contacted us by restating the "3 most important things" that they are looking for in a retirement community and how we demonstrated that our community addresses these concerns. Asking for the sale demonstrates our confidence in our community and our confidence in our recommendation. If our prospects do not think that we see the value...they most definitely will not see it either. 

Overcoming Objections                              

This step often becomes overlooked when it comes to reinforcing value. When we remain patient, restate our prospects objections and ask more clarifying questions, we are essentially going back to the first step, which is getting the prospect to sell themselves again on the value of moving to our community! Remember, we will increase our value when we overcome the objection and ask for the sale again. 

In summary, by asking the right questions, your prospect will see the value in solving their problem on their own plus they will see the value in having a relationship with you. You are then in a position to help them justify their decision by adding more value to what they have sold themselves. This all leads to a sale (Victory) based on value. 

In the simplest terms "dig deeper" could be likened to a treasure hunt. When someone buries treasure, they rarely bury it shallowly so that any interloper can easily find it. Instead, they hide it in a deep hole so that anyone wanting it will have to work for it.

The same idea holds in sales and marketing. Easy and obvious facts and ideas are rarely very interesting. Instead, ideas should tantalize you to try to figure out why they exist, what they mean, and what the real implications are. You can turn facts into insights when you "dig deeper".

Thus, "dig deeper" really means to be curious. "Dig deeper" means you have to be able to take basic data and be curious about why it exists, how it came to be, and how it would make you change your plans with your prospects.

If you want to be a trusted partner, helping your prospects solve their most difficult problems and create lasting success, you have to solve the right problem. "Digging deeper" is the way to this success.

When presented with a problem, ask questions that start with 'why'. Why did that happen? Why will this solve the problem? Why are things the way they are?

1. Deeper Understanding: Many sales people are knowledgeable about their communities. But do you understand your client? Do you understand how your community and lifestyle can help them with quality of life? Do you have expert knowledge of your competitors; not just your community? Do you know the industry trends and changes? Take 30 minutes each day to read up on the industry and prospects to increase your understanding in these areas. Deeper knowledge about industry and prospects will enable you to help solve the prospect's problem. Being armed with knowledge also gives you the confidence in "digging deeper" with questions. 
2. Deeper Questions: Don't ask simple questions that can be answered without any thought. Ask questions that make your prospects stop and think. Instead of asking "What brought you to XYZ community today?" Say "When you were thinking about a community such as ours, what three things were most important to you and why?
3. Deeper Relationships: Think about how many of your prospects become your friends. If you have not created lasting relationships with your prospects, it is easy for a competitor to steal them away with a good sales pitch.

At the end of the day, people like to do business with people they like. The top sales representatives build relationships with their prospects. Building relationships with your prospects means asking the next question and answering their problem.

How often do you find yourself running out of time during the day and getting frustrated because you can't get everything done? For some, it may seem that there's just never enough time in the day to reach their prospecting goals AND get everything else done. There's a marketing event coming up that needs planning...a move-in to coordinate by the end of the week...two appointments scheduled today...a walk-in five minutes ago...a mandatory meeting in one hour...and the need to make 10 phone-outs today...you know the drill.

If this is your typical day, stay tuned, as this article will provide the insight and skills that you need to do a complete 180 degree turn to overcome this frustration. When you know how to manage your time effectively and prioritize, you gain control of not only your day/week/month, but your overall success as well. Rather than busily working here, there, and everywhere, effective time management and prioritization helps you to know what to work on and when to complete it. This is essential if you're to consistently achieve your prospecting and sales goals. The power to handle this begins with five powerful skillsets that will help you get it all done.

1. Know and track your prospecting and sales goals
   To start managing time effectively, you need to know your goals. When you know where you're going, you can then figure out what exactly needs to be done. Without proper goal setting, you're apt to spend your time away on a confusion of differing priorities. If you want to turbo-charge your productivity and success, make sure you have a clear, written plan of action...then, follow it. Your goals must be specific and measurable to be effective in guiding your behavior and next steps.     A vital component of a successful sales plan is setting effective and realistic prospecting activity goals. This begins by constructing activity goals that can be easily tracked to monitor successes and areas of improvement. We call these DSPIs - Direct Sales Performance Indicators. This tool helps to determine prospecting activity ratios from phone-out to appointment, phone-in to appointment and presentation to sale conversion ratios. It is a diagnostic and predictive tool that helps to streamline prospecting activity essentials to reach the end goal, so that clear activity goals can be established within the set time. When you know your DSPI's, and follow them consistently, you will know how to shape and protect your time each day to conduct the necessary prospecting activities around your other responsibilities. At the end of the day, our number one responsibility is prospecting activities, and our time should reflect this through our knowledge and tracking of goals.                                              
2.  Properly set your priorities
   Most people have a 'To Do List' list of some sort. The problem with many of these lists is they are just an assortment of things that you need to tackle and get done. There is no rhyme or reason to the list and, because of this, they usually are unstructured. So how do you work on your 'To Do List'? By due dates...top down...oldest to newest...easiest to hardest?
   
   May I suggest an easier way? To work effectively, you need to prioritize your 'To Do List'. This means that you should work on the most important, highest value tasks first. Analyze your list before you take action. Then, break the list up into a quadrant ranking system to help determine how to prioritize and work on necessary tasks within your given time. The following system will help you better determine your priorities and aid in navigating you through your list more efficiently:                                                                                               a.    Quadrant I - Your highest ranked task that needs to be completed within the hour. This task should come first and is considered your highest value task (Note: At any given time, you should only have one Quadrant I item to focus upon).                                                                                                 b.    Quadrant II - Tasks that need to be completed by noon. These tasks should be secondary and not interrupt scheduled prospecting time (phone-outs, team phone blitz time, appointments or home visits) or your Quadrant I priority task.                                                                                                              c.    Quadrant III - Tasks that need to be completed by the end of the day. These tasks should never take away from scheduled prospecting activities (phone-outs, team phone blitz time, appointments or home visits) during the day, but instead, be worked around high value tasks and prospecting activity time.                                                                                                              d.    Quadrant IV - Tasks that can be completed the following day/week/month. These tasks should not interfere with any Quadrants I-III tasks or prospecting activities slated for the working day.                                                                                              Without effective prioritization, you may work very hard, while putting in long hours, but you won't be achieving the results you desire because what you are working on is not of strategic prominence. Keep your focus on prioritization and you will find that your work will be more balanced and manageable.                                                                    
3. Take ownership of your responsibilities      Strive for the 'A+'...don't settle for a 'C' average. When you're at work, concentrate on work while you are there. Be careful to not squander your time or fall into the habit of treating the workplace as a community where excessive socializing with peers is acceptable. If you want greater commission and award potential, pick up the pace with your prospecting activities. We all know that this type of activity leads to the end result...a sale. So, keep this as your focus...this is what you are paid to do. While at work, develop a sense of urgency with a focus on prospecting, and maintain a steadfast tempo in all your activities and responsibilities. Dedicate yourself to treating your position and job as your own business. Take ownership in your actions, time, department and community. When you do this, it will not be so much the hours that you put in that matter most, but the quality, quantity and achievement of results that you will reach.                    
4. Manage your procrastination  It is easy for all of us to tell ourselves the common words "I can get to that later, I'm busy now". These words have led to the downfall of many a good community staff member. After too many "laters" our work piles up so high that any new or old task can seem insurmountable. As a prime example, I can think of endless C3 Leads data entry notes from prospecting activities earlier in the day/week that we still need to enter. When we don't document directly after each activity, and hold them until "later", we can find ourselves in an unpleasant situation of not only monotonous data entry, but sometimes, not as accurate documentation. Procrastination is as tempting as it is deadly. The best way to beat the urge is to recognize that anyone can be apt to procrastinate, and then, determine that you will beat the dangerous habit in every aspect of your job. Reward yourself for getting jobs done on time, and remind yourself regularly of the horrible consequences of not doing those tedious tasks!                                                                        
5. Protect your time through scheduling  Much of time management comes down to effective scheduling of your time. When you know what your goals and priorities are, you then need to know how to go about creating a schedule that keeps you on track, and protects you from stress or un-attainment. This means understanding the factors that affect the time you have available during the day. You not only have to schedule in prospecting activities and priority tasks, you need to remember that there will always be interruptions and unexpected events that otherwise can wreak chaos in your schedule. By creating a schedule that reflects your priorities and well as supports your personal prospecting activity goals, you have a winning combination: One that will allow you to control your time and keep your work life in balance. Ensure that you schedule regular (daily) prospecting time for phone-outs that are in alignment with your DSPIs, just as you would for a prospective resident appointment. A good practice is to section off two-hour blocks in your day with no interruptions, alternating the times throughout the week to maximize your phone-out potential. This will not only ensure that your calls are made and goals met, but that you are continually building your sales pipeline and stronger prospect relationships for success. When you have a protected schedule that continually aids you in meeting and exceeding your prospecting goals, you will be prepared for the unexpected disruptions that will happen, but not use them as the excuse for not reaching your goals. 

It is imperative to take advantage of these five easy skillsets to become more organized, get it all done and to not only maintain your prospecting goals, but exceed them. When you know and track your goals, properly set your priorities, take ownership of your responsibilities, manage your procrastination and protect your time through scheduling, you will find that this frustration will be a thing of the past.

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success. -Stephen A. Brennan

Branding is nothing new. Ranchers have historically used branding to mark their cattle with distinctive identifying letters or personalized symbols. Today branding still involves distinctive markings, but when we discuss branding for our communities it involves a great deal more than logos and signage. 

A Brand Strategy is essential and the first step to establishing a community's identity, reputation and position in the market. Whether you are refreshing an existing brand or developing a new one, getting the entire organization involved is critical and a necessary part of the process.

You might be thinking that since you have a logo, tagline, and business card, you've completed your branding, but you need to think again. Unless you have carefully considered and defined ALL five of the key brand elements - position, promise, personality traits, story, and association - you still have work to do. To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your prospects. It is important that your brand strategies are evident at every point of public contact. Your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your community and it differentiates you from your competitors.

You should be sure that your brand strategy accomplishes the following:

1. Does it deliver the message clearly?
2. Does it confirm your credibility?
3. Does it connect to your target prospects emotionally?
4. Does it motivate the buyer? 

You must define how, what, where, when and who should receive your brand messaging, carefully planning when and where to advertise; making sure that your message is clear, sincere and appealing to your audience. Every employee should be aware of your brand and know what it means.

Deciding what you need to target and motivate your prospects requires a bit of research. Make a point to know who your prospect is. What does your prospect do in their daily life? What do they read? Which websites do they visit? Where do they go? What films and television shows do they watch? Where do they eat and drink? Once you have a clear understanding of your prospects, you are in a better position to target your advertising materials and to make your messages emotionally appealing and motivational.

Your branding extends to every aspect of your business--how you answer your phones, your e-mail signature, everything. Develop a great logo and place it everywhere. Define and understand your brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand?

Create a "voice" for your community that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials.

Analyze advertising that you know has been effective, and ask why? You should always be willing to fine-tune your branding strategy. This can be done most simply through self-assessment - honestly and regularly reviewing how well your branding strategy is working. Be true to your brand. Clients won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise. BE CONSISTENT.

C3 LinC is an LCS-developed marketing and accounting system that allows you to track agreements, inventory, fees, and a myriad of other information. It is an incredibly helpful tool for both you and your community. As C3 LinC continues to expand into more LCS communities, we want to provide you with words from an active user about her insight of this system and how it has benefitted her and her community.

Ilene Kitchens is the Marketing Director for Carillon Senior LifeCare Community and has been working with C3 LinC for 2 years. She started working with C3 LinC in November of 2010 when the C3 LinC system was piloted at her community. She has worked through the growing pains of this robust system and still continues to rave about the benefits she sees from C3 LinC. Below are some highlights from an interview with Ilene.

Were you initially reluctant to use C3 LinC?

Ilene: Yes! However, C3 LinC was going to replace CRIS which was a very manual system that made things quite complicated. There were reports that had to be submitted each Monday morning, but with the hectic schedules of Monday morning, these were often delayed. By the afternoon, there were rather upset people calling me because the reports were late. When C3 LinC came along, I knew that it wasn't likely that this system would make life harder for me than it already was with CRIS! I had extra support from Chris Diana at LCS while we were learning the system, and as a beta site, we had the opportunity to provide feedback and watch the system improve as it was further developed from our use of it.

Why were you reluctant to use C3 LinC?

Ilene: Because it was a new application and new applications require training and extra time for users to review the new processes and training. Anything new is just another thing that takes time when there is so little time as it is. The system was time consuming during the initial few months because everyone had to learn their role and each person affected the work process. We each had to be willing to learn and ask questions. Fortunately, we all wanted to learn the system and to make it as easy as possible for each other.

How has your opinion of C3 LinC changed since you started using it?

Ilene: Now that we are all properly trained, everyone using the system does their part quickly and accurately. Once in a while, we have an unusual situation that may require us to review the training modules or contact LCS for support, but these issues can be resolved quickly. My Mondays can now be used for meetings, presentations, walk-ins, and other marketing opportunities. C3 LinC reporting is literally at the push of a button now! The real-time feature of the information allows me the opportunity to see that the data is correct and in the system immediately.

Some communities do not use the Commission Module within C3 LinC, however, Carillon does. Do you recommend that other communities use the Commission Module? If so, why?

Ilene: The Commissions Module saves a great amount of time for the Executive Director and me. It helps with accuracy so that mistakes of under- or over-payment to individuals can be avoided. I use this part of the system at least every two weeks. I can look back easily to commissions recently paid and ensure accuracy from the convenience of my desk. Approving and processing commissions is a more streamlined process than it ever was before. My team gets accurate payment, on time. The morale is higher than it once was about commission payments because they know what they will be paid and when. Furthermore, the Residency Counselors watch key indicators in C3 LinC for the number of sales/closings the team needs to trigger quarterly and annual bonuses. As time gets close, they look at the data themselves and push to achieve that one last closing needed for the bonus!

What do you like most about C3 LinC?

Ilene: The time it saves me in compiling reports and ensuring my data and reports are accurate. Our Residency Counselors look at the data frequently on their own so that they are self-motivated to push toward that goal, extra commission, and bonus payouts.

Do you have any advice for other users who may be hesitant to use C3 LinC?

Ilene: Try it! It's easier to use than you might think! The online training modules are short and easy to understand. They are always available on LCS Connect when I need to review something that I haven't done in a while. Know that the C3 LinC support team is very responsive and always eager to help. They understand that we depend on the system, especially at the end of the month, quarter or fiscal year. They have even been known to assist when they are traveling and on vacation!

For Ilene's full interview, please feel free to email me at nekolaheather@lcsnet.com and I would be happy to provide you with all of Ilene's great input about C3 LinC.