Pre-need What's Your Excuse? R egardless of the size of your firm, if you do not have a dedicated pre-need program, you are doing your funeral home a disservice and only kidding yourself. Throughout the year, we hear a multitude of reasons/excuses as to why a particular firm does not need a dedicated pre-need person, writing agent or even a set plan. The smaller funeral homes are quick to report that the families they serve do not like to prepay or that they do not have time for pre-need because they are simply too busy. They then will round out the conversation with the fact that they do not believe in time pay. If you relate to any of these excuses, I urge you to change your mindset a little or I believe that your entire business will flounder. Larger firms lacking a solid pre-need program will cite various reasons that are typically apparent within the first 5-10 minutes of conversation. “We have multiple funeral directors on staff who handle pre-need” or “Our secretary schedules and coordinates pre-need appointments,” they share with us. Sometimes it is a financial concern of not wanting to give up any commission dollars to an outside firm. Could be a belief that families only want to meet with a funeral director, not a sales agent. You name the excuse, we have heard it. I think even the larger firms with the best of intentions fall short with a solid plan mainly because they are wearing so many hats and pulled in too many directions without even realizing their pre-need program is falling way short of what it could and should be doing. Most funeral home owners go to mortuary school and have little or no business background beyond what they received working on their funeral director’s license. At their core, most funeral directors and owners are caregivers but are still expected to handle and be well versed in business and operations management. They are called on to serve as their funeral home’s bookkeeper and auditor, human resource officer, marketing specialist, legal, IT, sales and customer service representative, run a funeral, do a little embalming on the side and the list goes on. When considering all that an owner does in their daily duties it is not hard to see how pre-need does not get the attention it deserves. The truth is pre-need is a job in and of itself that cannot be done or overseen by one person if it is going to be done right, and typically requires a team effort to reach its fullest potential. Make it Happen Revamping an entire wing of your business – or starting a new wing for the first time – can seem daunting, but many practices can be tailored to your firm’s size, culture, market area, market share and the resources you have available. Larger firms can typically draw on additional resources, like larger cash flow, more trained staff, stronger name/ brand recognition and even multiple locations. These are funeral homes that are obviously doing a lot of things right already or they would not be serving the number of families they are. For these reasons I believe that with the right support and guidance a great pre-need plan can be implemented with little disruption to daily activities or additional responsibilities and workload being added to the staff or owner. Most funeral home owners have little or no business background beyond what they received working on their funeral director's license. Larger firms: Utilize your resources The first step in implementing any good pre-need plan is to partner with a company that can provide what you need to achieve your goals. The days of partnering with a pre-need provider who has a friendly, good-looking sales rep knocking on your door or just a decent commission schedule are long gone. Your pre-need partner must have the experience and capabilities to recruit, hire and train a dedicated pre-need sales agent or agents. Dedicated trainers on staff with your partner are an absolute must! You should also look for marketing expertise and access to turnkey direct mail pieces, social media campaigns, ability to perform market research analysis for your specific situation, plus support and resources for public speaking engagements are some of what can be provided. A pre-need partner www.ogr.org | The Independent® 49
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