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Preneed Dog Pound: Pit Bulls and GoldenRetrievers
March 19, 2009In my time of the world of  preneed,I have observed two types of sales reps:
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Pit Bulls
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Golden RetrieversPit Bulls are reps who work more leads (to the bone) and get more sales. These are usually professional sales people that have come into thefuneral industryfrom other sales positions.Golden Retrievers though are more nurturing andfrom what I have witnessed, have a higher average funeral value. I think it is because these people have a deeper belief in funeral service –  but they usually don’t “close” as many sales. Usually “Funeral Director  to Preneed” converts are Golden Retrievers.Instead of just dividing up your leads – “one for you and one for you” – you can start to segmentthe lead sources. Those leads that are from direct mail or from a direct response inquiry – wherewe have had to change their way of thinking – you can sic the ‘Pit Bull’ on them.The people who have already made the decision that prearranging is a good idea will most likely be a phone inquiry or a walk in. These leads just need to be nurtured, not sold, so they should bedirected to the Golden Retriever.I have noticed that the walk-ins and the inquiries were more people in that
near need
situationwhere they are in that category of twenty four to six months to live. Maybe they have just got theword from the doctor. You want to look after them and nurture them along the way. They don’tneed to be sold on the idea of having a funeral pre-arranged because they know it is going tohappen in short term. These people need that ‘Golden Retriever’ to take care of them.Reflect on your preneed business. Check your stats. Do your preneeds that come from direct mailhave a longer “shelf-life” than inquiries or walk-ins?
So Why Is This Distinction Important?
The other thing to be aware of is that more people are going to the Internet for information. Youhave probably seen over the last year that you are getting more inquiries about pre-arrangementsover the Internet – right?
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