January 2020

Page A6 JANUARY 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Order Direct at 1-800-782-8249 Free UPS Ground Shipping www.mccordcasketsandvaults.com Glenn Gould CEO, MKJ Marketing Call the only person in funeral service that has done over 800 studies. 1-888-MKJ-1566 | www.mkjmarketing.com “Business is down and I don’t knowwhy.” By Christopher Kuhnen There’s More To It... Advance Funeral Planning Make This the Year You Conduct a Successful Funeral Pre-Planning Seminar In 2019 I was amazed at the number of pre-need sales agents I met, that had never conducted a community fu- neral pre-planning seminar. I mistakenly thought that most everyone in this career used this lead generation path as a normal part of their overall lead generation strategy. Was I ever mistaken! Seems that more agents and funeral homes have not conducted such a seminar as have. This needs to change! Organizing and conducting such a program is an excel- lent way of obtaining quality exposure, in front of a great number of people, in a concentrated time period. The principle reasons for conducting such a seminar are to help your firm build (and/or enhance) brand awareness; form personal relationships in the community; reach, educate, guide and market consumers on your funeral home’s ser- vices and merchandise; and generate beneficial pre-need leads in a casual, relaxed, simple manner. In short, community funeral pre-planning seminars can help your firm meet both short- and long-term pre-need marketing objectives. Establishing a successful seminar pro- gram requires that you carefully plan every aspect, from set- ting the right foundation through program promotion, im- plementation and quality follow-up. Doing so will ensure that program objectives are not only met – but exceeded. In planning such a seminar there are many questions to ask, such as: How do you fill the room? How do you effec- tively and efficiently organize, promote, deliver and follow- up the seminar? These helpful suggestions, from those who have experi- enced better than average results, will undoubtedly make your seminar the best it can be. • First and foremost, you must promote a seminar that will be attractive to the 50+ age demographic. Not just retired seniors but working (about retirement) Baby Boomers. They are primarily attracted by informational and educa- tional seminars with appealing titles such as “Getting Your House In Order,” “The Biggest Mistake You Can Make When Pre-Planning Your Funeral,” “Everything You Ever WantedTo Know About Funeral Pre-Planning But Didn’t Know To Ask,” and/or “Don’t Be Caught Unprepared on TheWorst Day of Your Life.” Deciding upon just the right seminar title is an essential element that will draw atten- tion and attendance. • The most common mistake made in hosting such sem- inars is that the speaker attempts to become a universi- ty lecturer and pontificator. Don’t travel down this road! Your audience is looking for straightforward solutions, not a college degree. Meetings should last no longer than one hour, with an additional 15-20 minutes for questions. • When presenting, be relaxed, be yourself, be honest and be realistic. Stay away from funeral jargon, which we as pre- planning professionals are familiar with, but the audience will not know or understand. • While you are sharing helpful information, the primary purpose of your seminar is to obtain in-home sales ap- pointments to specifically answer attendees’ questions. Obtaining leads should be the primary objective. • At the conclusion of the seminar take very few questions – steer them instead toward an appointment with you to thoroughly answer their specific questions in private. Re- member, everyone in attendance has a different set of cir- cumstances, wants and needs. If you start answering every- one’s questions you will open a jack in the box, you may not be able to stop, and you will lower your follow-up ap- pointments significantly. Why meet with you when they already got what they came for? • If possible, don’t invite outside guest speakers to present the program. If you bring in a special speaker, at the con- clusion of the seminar all the seminar attendees will au- tomatically gravitate toward them and not you. You will quickly be forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind, and out of appointments. Don’t make this mistake. You (The Ad- vance Funeral Planning Professional) or someone you real- ly trust to project and protect your interests, should be the presenter. A mediocre seminar personally given by you will consistently and significantly outperform the glossy skilled seminar given by a guest speaker. If you must use outside speakers, make sure they are individ- uals you can effectively work in conjunction with and that “they understand” the purpose of the meeting is to obtain qualified leads for all parties. • A successful seminar is all about developing credibility and creating a lasting relationship with the audience members. The attendees are there because they want to hear what you have to say. They have questions and you have the answers. Don’t worry about being per- fect. Be honest, forthright and let them know you care. They will respond. These will only get you started. I have written a com- plete seminar “How toGuide” that will walk you through each step of the process. It’s yours free for the asking. Just e-mail me your complete contact information (name, FH address, telephone and e-mail) and request the guide. Send your request to cpkuhnen@gmail.com. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. Blogs Christopher Kuhnen of Edgewood, Kentucky has been actively en- gaged in funeral service for over 34 years. As an insider into excel- lence, he is a trustworthy advisor to many funeral home and industry professionals. Kuhnen provides regular comprehensive consultation and support and additionally trains and bolsters leading death care professionals concerning profitability, management, pre-need sales and marketing, family service follow-up, and much more. Over the course of his professional career, he has presented nu- merous continuing educational seminars and workshops (on sales, marketing, pre-need, public relations, etc.) to a variety of national, state, and regional funeral associations. He is on the forefront of the industry and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. Kuhnen is a Kentucky Licensed Funeral Director, Life Insurance Agent, and member in good standing with the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky. Additionally, he is a Certified Marketing Specialist, as be- stowed by the National Marketing Academy and a Certified Funeral Celebrant as bestowed by the distinguished Insight Institute. He can be reached at cpkuhnen@gmail.com . Jake Johnson Gives Back to the Profession Through Newest Book SCOTTSDALE,AZ— Jake Johnson is excited to an- nounce that his latest book, Staying Alive in the Funer- al and Cemetery Profession has officially launched and is available as a hardcover, as well as an audiobook on Amazon. “This book should help build optimism and create an understanding of how to enhance the worth of a business owner’s most valu- able asset,” says author Jake Johnson, “This is a great book for the front line em- ployee as well anyone in management to gain a bet- ter understanding and ap- preciation for what a funer- al business has been, is, and will be facing as customer preferences shift, and the in- ternet and applications con- tinue to gain popularity.” tery industries. He is known as an innova- tor, change agent and thought leader. Jake’s success is based on his unique ability to identify simple solutions to complex busi- ness problems and communicate across all levels of the organization, instilling posi- tive morale, empowerment and employee ownership to drive service excellence. His strong foundation in accounting, financial analysis and EBITDA forecasting is com- plemented by technology savvy and broad general management qualifications in busi- ness development and operations. As president and CEO at Johnson Con- sulting, Jake provides strategic direc- tion and marketing innovations that laid the groundwork for the company’s rap- id growth, gaining recognition as the pre- miere intelligent business solutions provid- er within the funeral industry. Jake has decided that 100 percent of the proceeds will be going back to the industry in a variety of ways. He plans to donate a portion of these books to mortuary schools to provide to those who are entering the profession. Johnson is also planning on do- nating books to industry associations, such as NFDA, ICCFA, Selected Independent Fu- neral Homes, as well as other state and na- tional associations to sell to their members. “Selected is excited to offer Jake John- son’s book to its members, and we are deeply grateful to be able to donate the sales proceeds to the Selected Educational Trust to help support education for funer- al service professionals,” said Dan Bea- vers of Selected, “Jake and his team are valued members and leaders within our organization, and we share his vision of enriching and advancing the death care profession for generations to come.” Jake is a firm believer that knowledge is key and optimism is the fuel needed to weather change. The book dives into in- sights from Jake reflecting on his own ex- perience as a funeral business owner, in addition to looking at current trends and opportunities to buy, grow, and sell while building a legacy you can be proud of. “Loved the book! Funeral service has a great number of maturing owners who should read this!,” said Mike Klett, for- mer owner and divestiture client of JCG. Jake and the entire JCG team are very ex- cited to see how this book will impact the profession as they move forward into 2020. Jake Johnson has rapidly advanced into senior leadership roles and gained re- spect throughout the funeral and ceme-