4 Tips for Sales Counselors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

For the foreseeable near-term, we have a new normal. This new normal has already made a significant impact on our industry, our economy and consumer behavior. To ensure current and future success, we must pivot to deliver what is most important to our residents, leads and prospects today while keeping a mindful eye on how to prepare for our communities’ longer-term future demand.

Now more than ever, it’s vitally important to bridge the gap from the offline experience to the online experience with your sales leads. Our sales enablement and consulting experts at Attane are here to help.

Here are four practical, best-practice tips that empower sales team members to take what have traditionally been in-person engagements and effectively translate them into successful alternate approaches. These insights are designed to help you lean into data-driven and personalized direct mail methods that allow conversations to continue in this rapidly changing COVID-19 business climate.

Bridge the Gap From an Offline Experience to an Online Experience

1. Continue Hosting Your Tours and Sales Meetings – Online

Recent research conducted by experts at NIC shows that prospective-resident interest and intent remain positive for senior living communities amidst the current COVID-19 environment. The dilemma is the inability to meet face to face, and you don’t want leads to lose interest while on-site appointments have been put on hold. Offer to meet prospects where they are: Suggest a Q&A session, or provide a look at the community by leveraging technology like Facebook Live, FaceTime, or Zoom. Have them visit your website from their home computer and walk them through key sections, with the site as a presentation tool.

2. Leverage the Power of Personal Calls for Human Connection

The COVID-19 outbreak has been a concern for everyone. Use this time to pick up the phone and ask about the emotional health of prospects, as well as their families. Share changes that have been made at your community to ensure the safety of current residents and provide updates regarding preparedness. This is a great opportunity to build relationships.

3. Make it More Personal with a Handwritten Letter

Send a letter to your best leads. Share the new standards and precautions in place for new move-ins. Consider including a list of online resources they can reference during this time period.

If you have opted to hold off on any new move-ins, explore sending small gifts to prospects such as playing cards, adult coloring books, or app store gift cards for mind-challenging mobile apps or other games they can use to entertain themselves while social distancing at home.

4. Make it About Nurturing Relationships

It should go without saying that now is not the time for a hard sell. Brands and companies that are doing it come off as “tone deaf” in this challenging time. It’s a time for nurturing your prospects and leads who have already expressed interest in your community. It’s a time for maintaining relationships with depositors who don’t know in what ways they will be impacted by the current situation — economically and with health.

As an industry, we are working through a veil of uncertainty. It’s also a window of opportunity for compassion and for moments of humanity. Use this period of time to remember why we do what we do in this business. There will be an end to this. And when that time comes, we will be prepared with our intent to connect seniors with the right communities for them and to elevate their quality of life.