Pre-Need Sellers, growing or dying?

This is a question I get asked a lot.  Does the economy impact pre-need sales?  Before I answer (which is totally my opinion based on a few sets of facts and principles) if you’re in a good niche market the simple answer is NO.

When I first started in the business the stock market was going up.  I ran into quite a few folks who told me they could beat funeral home/cemetery inflation through various investments.  Eventually we had the DOT COM bust.

Now, money won’t make the decisions and it forced me to really focus on the decisions not the money end of the equation.

Obviously, these are interesting economic times.

But, I still meet people who never even bring up the economy or jobs or the news.  These folks pre-plan cemetery/funeral arrangements.  By the way, people tend to focus on there personal circumstances more than what’s going on in the Nation.

These folks tend to focus on the problem and take care of pre-planning and finance or write a check depending on the particular financial circumstances. 

What’s interesting about today as opposed to previous downturns in the economy are general attitudes.  I think a lot of people are holding back spending or reducing spending because of uncertainty more than anything else.

We just don’t know what’s going on and the folks in Washington don’t seem to know what’s going on either.

But, for all the bad news out there I haven’t noticed much difference in people pre-planning one way or the other.  If a family I present does not have the money to plan ahead they probably didn’t have the money months ago and maybe not even years from now.

Some of the leads you’ll get in front of will have money problems no matter the economy.

I had an email from an individual who was a subscriber and she just un-subscribed to the website and left me a comment.  By the way, most people un-subscribing will leave the same response.  “I’m no longer in the business of pre-planning”.

In her case she mentioned the market she was after.  She said she had been approaching churches and they “all want to wait” on making the decisions.

I’d argue, though I can’t confirm it, that she may have had one, two, three comments from individuals who did not pre-plan with her because they wanted to “wait”, because of the ____________.  Fill in the blank with any excuse including what her excuse was….The Economy.

She went on to tell me she had been laid off from the company.

She further said that the jobs situation was bad and the unemployment high.

Let me share a secret with you and I’ll use a grocery store as an example.

People still go to the grocery store when they are unemployed.  People still go to the grocery store when they are working.  People go to the grocery store when they are hungry.  In other words, people continue to purchase gasoline, buy groceries, go to the Doctor, and live life.

If unemployment is 10% than 90% of the population is working.

That’s a large portion of the population.

Further, if you niche the group of people you prospect towards you can narrow the focus to people who fall into certain categories.  Those categories of people will have certain likes and dislikes and prefer to pre-plan or not to pre-plan.

In other words, if your market is “Dead” to use a pun.  If your niche market isn’t working you need to change to a different market.  If you are prospecting in churches and no one wants to pre-plan than move to a group who do want to pre-plan.

It’s really that simple.

The easiest place to start prospecting is your own natural market.  You know your spheres of influence better than anybody because you are your natural market.  You’re one of them.  We tend to hang out with like-minded people.  That’s what we do.

I started talking about growing and dying.  If your sales aren’t growing they are dying.  If you’re sales are dying YOU must do something to ‘jump-start’ those sales.  It begins and ends with YOU.  You’ve got to dig down deep inside your inner-self and do the things that bring you closer to a sale.

I’ve got numerous posts on various subjects from “success” to “selling” to help educate you, motivate you, and occasionally kick you in the butt!

Remember, NO ONE will invest in YOU.  You have the abilities to succeed.  Those abilities already exist deep within you.  Your job is to tap into those abilities.  The way you tap into your abilities is to invest in your SELF through education and experience.  As you gain knowledge you begin to experience through the exercise of that knowledge.

No one can take your education and experience.  NO ONE!

So, for Pete’s sake, quit watching the news and listening to those stories about the world coming to an end and get out there and tap into a niche market and help families pre-plan cemetery/funeral arrangements.

You can do it!

Speaking of doing it, get over to the catalog page and look up the “Starter Package”.  This package is designed to help you tap into your own “natural market”.  Your spheres of influence in a different way that keeps your friends……friends!

Also, as you gain more experience and move into the next level the “sales letter package” helps you to expand using letters, postcards, newsletters, and more.  In the manual I go through the rules of writing letters and give you real world examples.  Also, I’ve recorded an audio mp3 files (about two hours in length) where I go through the manual and give you tips and the results of many of my mailings. 

Here’s a tip.  If you have not invested in your SELF (i.e. you aren’t a member already or purchased the sales letter package) with me I’ve got a special offer for subscribers only.  Remember subscribing has priveleges including a series of emails I’ll send you to equip you with strategies, techniques, encouragement, and prodding to get out there and do it.

You can do it!

You can sell more in the next six months than you did in the last 12 months. 

I’ve got a special ONE TIME OFFER on the sales letter package if you are a subscriber.  This offer is good for a few more days but you’ve got to be a subscriber.  All you’ve got to do is subscribe by putting in your name and email at the top right hand side of this page, click the “confirm” link I email to you to make sure you’re you, and you’ll receive the special one time offer link for the sales letter package.

Hurry, the offer ends on Monday.  No exceptions!

Now go to it and Happy Selling!

David…

P.S.  Click here to see the catalog page and the “starter package”.  The starter package is designed to help you tap into your spheres of influence to gain referrals and pre-need sales.

P.P.S.  If you’ve already subscribed than check your email for the one time offer or subscribe today and I’ll email you the offer.  Subscribe by filling in the info on top right hand side of the page.  Once you click the confirm button you’ll be sent the one time offer.

….