February 2019

Page A6 FEBRUARY 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Triple H Company P.O. Box 5790 Ventura, CA 93005-0790 (805) 650-6944 (800) 252-3444 Fax (805) 650-6444 www.triplehcompany.com Oversized 9” x 13” x 14.5” Original 9” x 9” x 14.5” Peace White Antique Gold Gray Granite Triple H Company Cemetery, Crematory and Mausoleum Supply Since 1950 • Solid Jewelers Bronze • Gold, Oxidized and Nickel Finishes Empire Design Princess Design Resists UV Discoloration MAUSOLEUM VASES • MADE IN THE USA Plastic Mausoleum Vases and Holders ULTRA Flip-Top Plastic Urn SHEET BRONZE URNS 5 Sizes – Dozens of Styles INFANT & CHILD PLASTIC URNS 32, 78 &125 Cubic In. White ‘utility urns’ ® Original Hi-Impact Plastic IN SIZES AND CONFIGURATIONS TO ALL NEEDS Cremation Identification Discs Vase Lifters for All Manufacturers Vases Cremation Rollers Floral Lawn Vases Dozens of Options Green Velour Lined • Tongue and Groove Connection Excellent for Committal Services ® Vases USA Manufacturer Triple H Company Exclusive Originals Urns and Vases ® ‘utility urns’ ® Original Hi-Impact Plastic ® ® Plastic Mausoleum Vases Solid Gray Granite texture inside and out for Consistent Appearance feature the exclusive Green and Gold Triple H Company Logo Authentic ® By Christopher Kuhnen There’s More To It... Advance Funeral Planning No such thing as a Free Lunch. This adage refers to the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. Same holds true for pre-need sales leads. You can’t do nothing and expect the droves of people you need to come walking through your door to materialize. You need to proactively do something, any- thing to spur people to take action today. Take the time to prospect for sales leads on your funer- al home/mortuary website and social media sites. Run newspaper ads. How about a local radio or cable televi- sion campaign? Develop a community speakers bureau. Seek our community events that you can participate in with a display booth or exhibit. Start attending Chamber of Commerce after hours or breakfast events. Improve your networking and sales referral skills. Get out among the populace and spread the good news about funeral pre-planning. It’s an exceptional story to share! Make 2019 Your Best Pre-Need Sales Year! I might be slightly biased, but in my opinion pre-need agents are among the most vital people in the industry. In a sense, the future of the funeral profession is in their hands, as they continue to assist an ever-growing number of peo- ple with their final planning. Funeral homes and mortuar- ies depend on the continued success of their agents. The propagation of traditional funeral service hangs on the knowledge and interpersonal skills of these agents. As we enter 2019, my telephone has been ringing off the hook. Pre-need sales agents, from around the country, have been asking me for advice on how they can make more sales in the New Year. I shared with them, the same thing I share with you in this column. Here are some secrets to sales success practiced by the fin- est pre-planning professionals I know. The regular applica- tion of these principles is virtually guaranteed to move you forward to where you want to be this year. Get serious! Decide right this minute that you are going to join the top 10 percent in pre-need sales. There is no one and nothing that can hold you back from being the best... except yourself! Identify your limiting skill to sales success. Identify your weakest single skill and plan to become excellent in that area. Ask yourself, “What one skill, if I developed and practiced consistently in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my pre-need sales in 2019?” Whatever the answer to this question, write it down, set a deadline, make a plan, and then work on it every day. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Christopher Kuhnen has been actively engaged in funeral service for over 32 years. He is best known as an industry go-getter, a cap- tivating professional and progressive leader. As an insider into excel- lence, he is a trusty advisor to numerous 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 celebrated career, he has directly con- tributed to the success of many award-winning funeral homes, pre-need sales and marketing organizations, as well as an ac- claimed pre-need insurance company. 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 bestowed by the National Marketing Academy and a Certified Funeral Celebrant as bestowed by the distinguished Insight Institute. Chris can be reached at (859) 307-7223 or cpkuhnen@gmail.com. Be around the right people. Get yourself around positive, successful, and upbeat peo- ple. Associate with men and women who are going some- where. Get away from negative, critical, complaining people. Remember, you cannot fly with the eagles if you continue to scratch with the turkeys. Take good care of your physical health. You need high levels of energy to sell effectively and to bounce back from continual rejection and discouragement. Be sure to eat the right foods, get the right amount of exer- cise, and get plenty of rest. Visualize yourself as one of the top people in the field of pre-planning. Imagine yourself performing at your best all day long. Feed your subconscious mind with vivid, exciting pictures of yourself being positive, confident, competent, and com- pletely in control of every part of your life. Practice positive self-talk continually. Control your inner dialogue. Talk to yourself and keep tell- ing yourself you’re a winner. You do the things that winners do. You think the things that winners think. You take the ac- tion steps that winners take. You are a winner! If you say it to yourself long enough and strong enough, your subconscious will begin to believe it and you will turn yourself in the direc- tion you seek to go. Take positive action toward your goals, every single day. Be proactive rather than reactive. If you are not happy with something, change it. All successful salespeople are intensely action-oriented. They have a sense of urgency. They develop a bias for action. They do it now! They have a compulsion for closure. They maintain a fast tempo and move quickly in everything they do. The faster you move, the more energy you have, the more ground you cover, the more people you see. The more people you see, the more experience you get. The more experience you get, the more sales you make. Continuing Education By Dan Rohling, CFSP In my never ending quest to find continuing education that is both relevant to our business and that benefits us as well as our client families I offer the following: California Funeral Institute offers a course: Arrange- ment Counselor Training & Law Review. This three hour course is designed for anyone that makes funeral arrange- ments with clients in the state of California. This course is mandated for funeral arrangers that have not passed the California funeral managers examination. I passed the California funeral managers exam many years ago but I was interested in taking this course. This course covers California funeral law and the Federal Trade Commis- sion Funeral Rule (of which we all should be aware of.) You or those on your staff may not be licensed in Cali- fornia however the Funeral Rule has applied to all of us since 1984. The California law exposure brings state law to your attention. We should all be aware of what laws pertain to our business in the state we earn our living. This course is affordable, professionally presented and comprehensible in scope. Their flexible scheduling makes it easy to fit into anyone’s calendar. For more information, contact Kathleen McLaughin at 562-354-1581 or visit www.californiainstitute.org . Dan Rohling, CFSP is licensed as a funeral director/embalm- er in Idaho as well as an embalmer, certified crematory opera- tor and funeral director in California. He has been a licensee for over 30 years. In 1998, he joined DMORT (Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team) as a Mortuary Officer for the Federal Government at time of disaster. Deployments with DMORT include The World Trade Center, hurricanes Ivan, Charlie and Katrina. For over 20 years Rohling has worked nationally as a consultant and expert witness in the funeral, cemetery and crematory in- dustries. Dan Rohling may be reached at dan@rohling.us . SUBSCRIPTION 1-800-321-7479  $25.00 Subscription  $45.00 First Class  $50.00 Canada & Mexico  $65.00 Outside North America YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Subscribe Online at www.nomispublications.com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS