This is part one in a three-part series on the Top 30 Tips for building relationships with prospects in senior living sales. Without further ado, here is part 1.
Moving into senior living can be an emotional, complex and costly decision for a person and their family. Senior Living sales professionals need to build trust and help guide a prospect’s decision to help them see themselves living in your community. 
The activities that a senior living sales professional engages in (such as pre-call/tour planning, discovery, tours/virtual tours, follow up, and closing the sale) are done for the purpose of more capably influencing prospects. This is critical. Otherwise, people would just sign up via your website! Right? Bottom line is that basic information alone will not move a new resident in.
What IS critical is how that information is given to your prospective residents and families. What moves people is not merely information, but how that information is presented. Hence why you have sales professionals. Each prospect has different buying criteria and it is important that your sales professionals use a personalized approach to this process.
Here are the first 10 ways that your senior living sales teams can build trust and rapport with potential prospects:
- Open-Ended Questions: Ask great questions starting with who, what, where, when, why, how, or tell me. Become a great listener. As a colleague said to me once, “Two ears, one mouth, use proportionately!”. Also, remember or write down what they say, record it in your CRM before you leave for the day as well so you can reference it later.
- Be the expert: Most prospects have no idea what senior living is, what it includes (tangible and intangible) and what it costs. Be their expert resource. Know your competitors and your services inside and out.
- Under-Promise & Over-Deliver: Set realistic expectations that you can easily exceed. Tell a prospect you will send them information via email. Double the time and then send it sooner than expected.
- Be 100% Present: Turn off your devices and limit your distractions when communicating with a potential customer.
- Reflective Listening: Repeat back what prospects share with you to make sure they know you are listening and so that you know you have it right.
- Find Common Ground: Find something you have in common. It could be sports, hometown, pets, sports teams, etc.
- Use The Person’s Name: Repeating someone’s name makes it more personal and people enjoy hearing their own name.
- Be Honest: If you’re not 100% sure of the answer to a question, tell them you will circle back with them.
- Be Complimentary: Thank someone for showing up on time, taking your meeting, etc.
- Humor is key: This can be a stressful experience. We know that moving is a top stressor for everyone. Laughing can change a state of mind immediately and allows for better rapport building.
Here is part 2 and here are part 3 of the 30 tips for building relationships with prospects in senior living sales.