RETHINKING PRENEED… A MODERN APPROACH

Superstar sellers, unreliable incomes, infighting amongst staff, confusing metrics… the list of problems in the world of preneed sales can be exhausting. The world of preneed is full of myths, misnomers, and fake news. These things can foster unrealistic expectations, or worse, can create significant barriers for managers responsible for their preneed programs and for regular folks seeking a meaningful career in funeral sales.
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To find the solution, let’s take a look at the following formulas:

AC / #AA = C%
#CG / C% = RA
AC / AAB = CC%
RA / CC% = RLG

No, these are not a new batch of curse words or hashtags, they are tools you can use to maximize your preneed potential. They may look intimidating, but they are easy-to-use formulas that allow you to use real data to drive real sales.

play moneyball

But let’s digress for a moment.

Most readers will have seen or heard of the movie Moneyball. The film dramatizes the real-world example of how, in 2002, the Oakland Athletics baseball team radically changed the traditional game of baseball by using statistics and mathematics (called sabermetrics) to scout and analyze players.

What they realized was that traditional methods of scouting relied heavily on biased or incomplete information. This led other teams to overpay players in the hopes of buying success. In contrast, the Athletics adopted sabermetrics to build formulas using quantitative analysis of different player abilities. By building the right formulas, they were able to put the right pieces together to build success. This new method translated to on-field success; the newly-built Athletics tied the longest winning streak in American League history, and clinched the 2002 American League West title.

How does this concept translate to preneed sales? To quote a line from the movie: “Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players (i.e., counselors), your goal should be to buy runs (i.e., appointments).”
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Using statistics and mathematics, a successful preneed program can be developed to reliably predict success and take the mystery and magic out of the game of preneed.

​METRICS VS. INTUITION

So where do we start? The most basic metrics of a successful preneed program can be distilled into a simple mathematical equation:

Actual Contracts divided by Actual Appointments = Close %
AC / AA = C%

This should be the launching point for the development of a simple formula to accurately predict the number of contracts a program can produce annually. All managers responsible for preneed programs should have a reliable way to accurately measure the closing percentage of each of their counsellors. Further, they should know their closing percentage for every type of lead. For example, the closing percentage for call-in and walk-in business should be over 80% whereas the closing percentage for a more challenging lead, like direct mail, will be significantly lower. When developing your program, this metric can be used to strategically apply human resources to the appropriate lead source.

​TEAMWORK VS. SUPERSTAR

When developing a preneed team, many people are overlooked for a variety of perceived reasons: they’re too quiet, they aren’t motivated, funeral directors aren’t good at sales, etc. However, it is unrealistic to expect that one person can bring all of the necessary traits or skills to develop a successful preneed program. In the same way that the use of sabermetrics in Moneyball proved that a baseball team doesn’t need to have a superstar to win, the game of preneed doesn’t need to have a superstar seller to be successful.
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Once you have figured out your closing percentage, you can safely estimate the number of appointments you need to book to reach your goals. This formula looks something like this:

Contract Goal divided by your Closing Percentage = Number of Required Appointments
#CG / C% = RA

This means that if you have an 80% closing percentage and your goal is to sell 200 contracts, you need to book 250 appointments to meet your goal.
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Working backwards, you then need to know how many calls you need to make in order to book those 250 appointments. This can be tied to your call conversion percentage, which can be calculated by using the following formula:

Actual Calls divided by Actual Appointments Booked = Call Conversion Percentage
AC / AAB = CC%

If you make 100 calls that result in 15 appointments booked, your Call Conversion Percentage is 15%. If we tie this percentage to the previous example, where your number of required appointments was 250, this means that you’ll need to have 1,667 leads to call to meet your goal:

Required Appointments divided by Call Conversion Percentage = Required Lead Generation
RA / CCP = RLG

Each organization will generate leads differently, but the best way to build leads is to diversify your lead sources. Consider incorporating direct mail campaigns, social media, referral programs, group seminars and presentations into your marketing mix. You can even apply Moneyball-style formulas to calculate how many leads you’re generating and where they’re coming from.

putting it all together

Using these formulas, or designing your own, can reap huge benefits for your organization. Using a reliable and consistent approach will put an end to the “feast or famine” results that are often seen when working campaign to campaign. Year after year, your contracts and volume will stabilize and your success will become much more predictable.

For more information on how “hacking your process” can improve your preneed business and help the families you serve, check out my session “The Art (and Science!) of Creating a Successful Preneed Program” at this year’s CANA Preneed Summit!

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Are you looking for more about creating a preneed strategy that makes a difference? The Art of Selling Cremation: A Preneed Summit is back for the second year to with a one-day intensive on today's pressing preneed topics. Join colleagues in Las Vegas on February 5th, 2019 – see the full schedule at www.cremationassociation.org/CANAheroes.

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Heather Kiteley is the President of Guaranteed Funeral Deposits of Canada (GFD), bringing over 25 years of experience in the field to the largest organization for managing preneed funeral trust funds in Canada. Heather blends her unique background and experience together with a skilled team of professionals at GFD to provide members with a trusted resource to help ensure their preneed programs succeed.