It
seems as though a week doesn’t go by without someone offering you a seminar, a
webinar, or consulting; all at hefty fees no doubt, that is going to increase
your business, put you competitors out of business or help you shed a couple of
those extra pounds you got sitting around waiting for the phone to ring because
business is down.
I
am not looking to burden you with cost of living index statics, but you know
how much money you put in your pocket on the way out of the bank on Friday
afternoon and you know how much you have on Monday morning. That being said, if
you are feeling the economy pinch you can bet the families you serve are also.
Everyone
wants to save you money. Check out the grocery store coupons that are only good
for stuff that no one in your house eats or the middle of the night deals where
you buy one and get the second one free, (just pay the additional processing
and postage). Just think, you can go bird watching with your buddy and you can
both be wearing binoculars that sit on your nose so you don’t get a stiff neck
or back pain from lugging around those binoculars that you bought last year
from the same TV pitchman that convinced you that bird watching was good
exercise.
The
point of this silly story is we are rapidly losing our middle class (we’re the
ones that support the poor and help the rich get richer) and everywhere we turn
there is someone promising us the moon. (And it’s only going to cost you three
easy payments of $19.95 to buy something that only 10 minutes earlier you
didn’t even know you needed). Worse yet. There are dummies that keep getting
suckered in.
But,
hey! I’m not supposed to be writing about widget sales. I’m supposed to be
writing about funeral service and more importantly; how you can improve your
business, help the families you serve, meet your bottom line, and still sleep
well at night because you managed to do just that.
Yeah!
I know it’s easier said than done, but rather than looking for new ideas and
products that will be some miracle cure because calls may be down and sales are
down. Try looking inside yourself because the truth be known that’s where the
answers are. Don’t look to the TV pitchman, in funeral clothes, to save the
day. The only day he’s looking to save is his own.
Sometimes
it seems like Deja-vu, I’m saying it again. You don’t need to build a better
mouse trap for the world to beat a path to your door, just dust the old one off.
There
was a time when the philosophy among funeral directors was; “good embalming
means repeat business" and calling hours were pretty much set by the family and
there was never a concern for cost. Families got what they wanted, your job was
to care and to serve, and the best part was, the more you cared the more you
served.
Don’t
tell me and kid yourself into believing the families you serve would not be
interested in longer visitation. Offer it without a price tag!
People
have pride! Not many people are walking in your door and saying, “I’m poor!
They are also not saying “what’s the cheapest you got” because that can denote
lack of feeling or love on their part. And the truth is they did love Grandma.
You
can look out the door to check out the car they arrived in and
decide what they could afford. Naturally this would require a working knowledge
of car makes and models on your part. But, that’s tacky! Why not just give them
the benefit of the doubt and assume they are struggling to pay their bills,
just like you.
Be
the care giver everyone says funeral directors are, and let the business
(money) worry about itself. In the end you might just be surprised.
And you just saved yourself a huge consulting fee!