Retirement Dynamics

The Cow in the Convertible

Jeff House — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:21:24 GMT

In community presentations and focus groups people often ask Retirement Dynamics, "What's the best deal: a Lifecare or fee for service retirement community?" or "Is it better to pay a smaller entrance fee or get a refund?" These questions are often another way saying "I'm not ready yet." Here are some ideas to help people get themselves ready to make a decision they will be happy with.

Retirement communities are like any other business: they cost what they cost. There are no bargains: best will always cost more than worst, but that doesn't mean all communities are created equal for you. The good news is that there are 2,000 retirement communities from which to choose, and often you have more than one important choice within the same community.

If you begin by picking the "best deal" you are likely to end up carrying cows in your convertible. Yes, you could make that work, but you wouldn't be happy with the results.

Before you think about the "deal," think about what would be a successful retirement for you. First, decide which characteristics matter most to you. In the list below, the easiest questions are listed first. Do this homework before you start the field work of visiting communities and reading brochures.

Have You Walked Your Community Recently?

Bonnie Blair — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:36:46 GMT

When was the last time you drove into your community and actually walked the path that your prospects walk every time they visit? When was the last time you walked the halls where they walk to see your major amenities? Better yet, what might you find if you came for a "Guestpitality" overnight stay in one of your guest rooms?

Sometimes we just don't see the forest for the trees. Sometimes we need a wake-up call!

Here's a list of items to spot consider as you walk around:

Audits Work

Perry Aycock — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:53:23 GMT

Planning Your Work, Working Your Plan

Virginia United Methodist Homes (VUMH) has 6 CCRCs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The organization's newest community, WindsorMeade in Williamsburg, opened in July 2008. Like many of the other CCRCs in the United States that opened during the recession, WindsorMeade faced a rapidly changing market:

Values and the pace of home sales in the PMA dropped by 25% before opening
Entrance Fees in the community were more than double the average home value in the PMA
The percentage of depositors and residents from the PMA dropped below 60%
Attrition of 10% depositors was more than 60% higher than projected
Established and respected competitors offered lower Entrance Fees

Efficiency, Efficiency and Efficiency

Jeff House and Ann Marie Ladis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:59:48 GMT

When I heard these concepts for the first time, the TV talking head was referring to the economy, but they apply very well to retirement community sales and marketing programs.

Most of us would agree we need to be efficient, but what is efficiency (other than a one-room apartment that's agonizingly difficult to sell)? Your image of an efficient person likely is one who is competent, well-organized and able to function with minimal waste leading to fast work turnaround. However, if you dream of creating an efficient community, a balanced, successful program needs to address three forms of this concept: allocative, operational and adaptive efficiency.

Sales - More Than Simply A Job Title

Patti Briggs — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:46:20 GMT

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
-Theodore Roosevelt

I am called a salesperson because I am a person that sells…no surprise there! Sales are the results that I achieve and the value that I add to the retirement communities where I work. To me, it is not simply a job title.

As a frontline salesperson, I am always excited to learn new sales tips and benefit from the advice of others. By attending seminars, reading industry-related material, and practicing what I learn, I strive continually to better my sales performance. After many years of selling retirement housing, especially CCRCs from Florida to Seattle, I’ve found that there doesn’t seem to be any new fabulous sales techniques, just the same suggestions, described in countless ways. Although the sales tools may appear to be the same, each prospect that walks in the door has a personal story; each one that I call or meet with has his or her hopes for the future.

Achieving Sustainable Growth From Within

Tina McLeod — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:24:18 GMT

A company that emphasizes growth from within (also known as organic growth) does just that; they start building the business from the inside out.

Edward Hess, Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, conducted extensive studies of public companies. After examining 800 companies, Hess found that just 22 consistently created significant economic value for their shareholders and excelled in their industry through organic growth. Rather than relying on smart acquisitions or clever marketing, these companies grew from within by focusing on building their customer base, creating new products, and operational efficiencies.

A Bit of Nostalgia

Bonnie Blair — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:18:39 GMT

Thanks to all who helped Retirement DYNAMICS celebrate its tenth anniversary at LeadingAge DC in October. The "W”, Washington, DC’s, Rooftop Lounge overlooking the Washington Monument was a great setting for such a celebration. If not for our 170 clients and partners we would not have had ten years to celebrate. Great views, great libations and great friends. THANK YOU ALL!!

LeadingAge Conference Contest Winner

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:16:33 GMT

Congratulations to Marcia Hoffman for winning the IPad2 at the LeadingAge conference last month. Marcia was kind enough to drop by the RD Booth at the convention and share her card for the drawing and we are happy to share her good fortune! Marcia is the Executive Director of a CCRC in Pennsylvania and we feel certain she will find ways to use this new tool to keep track of all her responsibilities and maybe play a few games of Angry Birds too. Thanks and congrats again Marcia!

Necessity is the mother of reinvention

Bobby Sumner — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:02:15 GMT

A community reinvented

Located in a resort development in Florida, Glenmoor opened in early 2001. In 2003, Retirement DYNAMICS was engaged to perform a marketing audit and was subsequently hired to provide full service marketing consulting. Within 18 months, the community achieved 95% occupancy and remained at that level or higher for the next 3 years. Then the real estate market began to deteriorate. Also stung by the financial upheaval in 2007-2008, occupancy began to slide. Nevertheless the community maintained an average occupancy near 90%.

Fast forward to 2010 - lead generation slowed and the sales pipeline began to shrink. Additionally, only half of the move-ins during 2009 and 2010 were coming from the PMA. Dramatic action was called for: the community would have to re-invent itself. Retirement DYNAMICS was hired once again to provide marketing and sales management services. RD made several recommendations that management approved which led to significant changes resulting in achieving new marketing heights.

Is the Future Up, Down or Sideways?

Jeff House — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:25:42 GMT

Auguste Comte, one of the founders of sociology, coined the notion of “social physics” to describe how humans in society are analogous to molecules. The performance of one is unpredictable, but the behavior of many often falls into recognizable patterns. As a familiar example, physical gravity is colloquially used to describe human behavior; “what goes up must come down” applies as well to the stock market as to Newton’s apple.

Simple graphs use the social physics analogy to illustrate how your community might have changed and will change as time goes by. We may not be able to describe the future in words, but we have an intuitive vision of where we are and how things will change. If members of a group hold different visions, agreeing on direction and action can be difficult. Because these graphs are abstractions they may evade personal agendas, entrenched positions or even shyness that can distort purely verbal discussions.

Secrets To More Successful And Rewarding Follow-Up Calls

Patti Hutton — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 07:50:46 GMT

Yes, Virginia, there is an approach to follow-up calls that can help make both the caller and the listener happier.

We all know that making follow up phone calls is one of the most important parts of our job as sales professionals. The expectation of completing 15 or more follow up calls per day has been drilled into you since your first day on the job. Yet the knowledge that this one activity is the most direct path to sales success does not always lead to enthusiastic compliance. Most people I know dread making follow-up calls. The list of prospects we need to follow up with always seems to get longer. We put artificially long periods of time between scheduled follow-up calls and, days or even weeks go by before you place important calls. There always seems to be something more important to do, something we find more enjoyable. I have been puzzled why so many talented, intelligent, and caring sales professionals work so hard at avoiding follow-up calls. I came to the conclusion that it is because they may not be aware of a very simple series of steps to make their follow up calls more successful and more rewarding. Dare I say even enjoyable?

Try these seven easy steps for a month and see if you can turn your dread into future residents.

Good Customer Service is Your Community’s Competitive Edge

Tina McLeod — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:48:34 GMT

A few years back, Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, wrote a book called Moments of Truth and has become a must read in the study of customer service. It has come to mean those defining moments when customers evaluate products and services and determine “This is good” or “I don’t like this.” Industries, such as the retirement industry with many complex customer interactions, can have thousands of moments of truth every day.

The New Normal, New Numbers, And The New Techniques To Adapt

Bonnie Blair — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:25:58 GMT

The Carolina’s Marketing Group was formed by North Carolina marketing professionals during the last decade. Representative of most all the not-for-profit marketing teams in the state, the group rotates quarterly meetings at member communities to share ideas and challenges as well as to discuss news from across the state.

Although I have participated in CCRC marketing groups throughout the US, I have not found another quite like this one. These professionals are exciting and extremely open and collegial, recognizing that many of their communities exist just down the street from each other.

In August, it was my pleasure to share the attached presentation with them as they gathered at The Village at Brookwood in Burlington, NC. As you will find, what you choose to focus on is the factor that differentiates you from your competition.

Click here to view presentation

Show Me The Money

Jeff House intro by Perry Aycock — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:29:29 GMT

All decisions are more heavily influenced by financial factors during volatile times. Prospects weighing whether to move, communities exploring new agreement types to appeal to a larger demographic, and the budget battles at all levels of government are focused on one main thing, money. The Retirement DYNAMICS’ (RD’s) team has been fortunate to work with many of the communities in the Chapel Hill/Durham area of North Carolina over the years so it seemed a good place to start looking at the out of state resident origin and the financial benefits of CCRCs.

We really appreciate the teams at Carol Woods, Carolina Meadows, Croasdaile Village, The Cedars of Chapel Hill Club, Galloway Ridge at Fearrington Village and The Forest at Duke sharing their resident origin information and helping RD learn more about residents moving from tertiary markets to CCRCs. A key projection that this study illuminated is that if this area is representative of North Carolina then the state has gained over $144.5M of annual income and $1.445B of assets as a result of families choosing to move to the state’s CCRCs (see page 9 of the study for more detail.) There were lots of other interesting perspectives that we’d be happy to discuss (or debate) if you’re curious.
- Perry Aycock

So what is all this hype about Brands?

Tina McLeod — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:41:50 GMT

Because Brands (and your community is a Brand) provide the major defense against price competition. Strong brands develop more trust and comfort and an image of better quality than less well-known brands. People are willing to pay a price premium for the stronger brands. But it should be understood that your community’s brand is not strong simply because it spends more advertising money. The ultimate strength of your community’s brand is based on its performance, not its promotion. Your community’s brand is a promise of value.

Is Now A Good Time To move?

Nancy Nolan — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:25:37 GMT

Nancy Nolan is Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Foulkeways at Gwynedd, a CCRC near Philadelphia, wrote this article for www.phillyburbs.com explaining why people should not put off moving to a CCRC.

The sale of the family home is often the most significant obstacle in making the decision to move into a retirement community. Many fear that they will lose valuable profits by selling in a "depressed" housing market. Others worry that the market is not rebounding to pre-recession levels, as some had expected it would. Waiting to sell, however, is no guarantee that you will be rewarded with more equity in your home than you currently have accrued.

Knowing When To Say No

Jeff House — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:10:18 GMT

Retirement DYNAMICS is driven to make things work; that’s how marketing and sales people are wired. Most of our work comes when our clients are doing heavy lifting: either achieving the critical velocity to get a new community off the ground, pulling a stalled community out of the mud, or expanding an existing community to respond to ever-changing consumer preferences.

The Strength of CCRC’s when Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt seize our markets

Patti Hutton — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:39:39 GMT

This White Paper was originally written at the start of the financial and banking meltdown and the beginning of the real estate downturn in 2008 as a way to highlight the advantages CCRCs have for residents and their families, especially during times of volatility and uncertainty.

I thought the country had moved out of those dark days and back to a calmer more rational time. Our prospects, residents and their families had begun to make peace with the current state of the real estate markets and once again were able to move beyond their “Wait and See” mentality that had frozen so many in their homes.

The 80/20 Rule: Your path to increased sales

Patti Hutton and Ann Marie Ladis — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:28:42 GMT

Turn-of-the-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto’s observation that the majority of wealth is distributed unequally inspired the “80/20 Rule” that is taught in many of today’s sales training programs. Exemplified by the fact that during his lifetime 20% of Italy’s population owned 80% of its land, “Pareto’s Principle” describes the concept that most of a result is attributable to just a few inputs. How does this principle translate to the sales world? Are statements such as “twenty percent of sales people make 80% of the sales,” and, “a salesperson should speak only 20% of the time so that a prospect may do 80% of the talking “ related to sales success? Why is 20% a seemingly magical number?

Is Our Iceberg Melting?

Bobby Sumner — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:19:06 GMT

Much has been written about the need of the retirement communities to “reposition” themselves in order to improve occupancy - from a new name to a new logo to new messaging (and catchy jingles) to new brochures and new signage.

But before we go to the expense of hiring consultants to increase our occupancy statistics, communities need to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask the all-important question: “Is Our Iceberg Melting?”

John Kotter’s book, Our Iceberg is Melting, is very applicable to the retirement industry today. Bottom line – our “iceberg” is melting if we don’t change the way we market and manage our communities.

Proactive Preparedness…An Emerging Trend

Bonnie Blair and Ann Marie Ladis — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:23:09 GMT

Things we took for granted before are now more important than ever, such as high occupancy in our communities. When home values were high, real estate sales were strong, and the stock market was skyrocketing, it was not unusual to achieve occupancy levels of 95% - 98%. During this time, a Marketing Audit or Analysis was authorized only when a covenant violation had occurred or was on the horizon. I remember remarking to an investment banker, “I wish communities would call before the cart is in the ditch.” He responded, “It will never happen.”

But the last two years have been financially challenging ones at best, and as Warren Buffet says, “When the tide goes out, you find out who has on a bathing suit.” Today most communities are happy to maintain occupancy above 90%, and even they are above average. There is a new awareness of the importance of sales and marketing that no one had considered before.

The Age Curve

Perry Aycock — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:19:59 GMT

A few months ago friend of mine shared a book titled, The Age Curve,( http://www.kgcdirect.com/) that provides food for thought for anyone dedicated to serving older adults. Some of the numbers (his data is shown below, I realize there is always room for debate on these estimates) were familiar but the effect of immigration on the size of generations was an interesting and new perspective for me:

A Lot To Swallow

Perry Aycock and Jeff House — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:48:35 GMT

People talk about the Baby Boom as if it were a permanent change. Depending on whom you ask, the Boom spans about 17 years, but it peaked in 1957. Just as Boomers have changed our society with everything they’ve done, the aging Baby Boom will reverberate through many aspects of our lives and our service to seniors. The resulting interactions will be complex and not always comfortable for everybody, but they won’t be permanent.

The Genesis of Marketing Problems

Jeff House — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:19:29 GMT

This article is the first of a three part synopsis of a presentation to the North Carolina Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging (NCANPHA). That presentation describes in greater detail the reasons that Retirement DYNAMICS has found that lead to marketing problems; these issues, once understood, are the key to solving those problems. Not all “marketing problems” are the result of subpar marketing and sales programs.

What Makes A Lead Talk?

Ann Marie Ladis — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:26:43 GMT

You do! Salesperson, know thyself: Are you the cause of your own suffering? People share private information when they feel either a) it’s in their best interest to do so; and/or b) when they feel safe.

Making Connections

Tina McLeod — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:51:08 GMT

When Rob Wallace, President and CEO of Canterbury Woods in Williamsville, NY, began telling me about their plans to expand and enhance Canterbury's current dining program, I knew exactly where he needed to go—Bishop Gadsden in Charleston, S. C.

Bishop Gadsden has recently completed a major transformation of their dining program and added one of the country's best displays of innovation and design in their new Market Place Café. So, right after the AAHSA Annual Conference in LA, where Bill Trawick, Bishop Gadsden's President/CEO, and his team had made a presentation on their new dining program, Rob and his team made a special visit to Bishop Gadsden.

I asked Rob to share his experience at Bishop Gadsden and the benefits of their visit, "Benchmarking the entire community of Bishop Gadsden has become invaluable as we continue to grow and evolve here at Canterbury. The community was a good fit for ours in terms of size, age, and resident demographics."

Sales Tips

Bobby Sumner — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:48:46 GMT

Indeed, these are trying times for many retirement communities throughout the country. Just as we were attempting to determine what exactly the "silent" generation wants (and 'needs'), we got hit with a double whammy of the real estate plunge and financial crisis – they have affected everyone.

The sales techniques that used to work may not work in today's environment. The days of "taking orders" are long gone. We have to sharpen our 'sales saws' everyday. We have to learn new skills and techniques from lead generation to getting the appointment to getting the check and moving new residents into our communities.

Saturation marketing is a unique lead generation technique that was first implemented with effective results by one of RD's Marketing Consultants. It has proven to be invaluable for existing communities, those undergoing an expansion as well as 'greenfields.' It works and it works very well. And, it's cost effective, which pleases all CFO's!

Models Do Make A Difference

Bonnie Blair & Ann Marie Ladis — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:52:41 GMT

So often prospects come to visit your community and there are no apartments available for them to see just how they will look once they are furnished. Remember that some prospects cannot visualize what a residence will look like when furnished and also vacant apartments appear smaller than they are. All of those obstacles can put the skids on sales, especially for a difficult-to-sell apartment or cottage.

Fixing that problem can be easy but it does require a financial investment on the part of the community…spending money to make money. For instance, last year in the height of the recession, Ingleside at King Farm in Rockville, Maryland, had a large supply of an unusual 1,000 square foot, one-bedroom, one and a half bath with den apartment. The den had an angled wall, which made it difficult for prospects to visualize furniture placement. The team was having difficulty selling them.

Model to the rescue! An interior designer was hired, and she scored a coup. She painted the walls, laid out the "funky" den with the angled wall in a manner no one would have thought, installed a California Closet System in the master walk-in closet, and in six months, the community sold six of them.