By Steve Moran

I have been chatting with Russell Rush, the founder of R3R1 and a new Senior Living Foresight Partner for several months about his success in filling senior living communities and it is frankly astounding. I am rather nervous about telling this story because it will seem unbelievable, except that it is true. 

The first thing you need to know about him is that in the last 12 months he has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars selling senior living at a single community . . .

Rock Star Status!

Here is what it looks like:

  • He is selling in a highly competitive market with lots of new product and aggressive discounting
  • 8 out of 10 first-time prospects say yes to moving in (though not all of them do)
  • Nearly 50% of these prospects do move-in
  • He almost always closes the sale on the first visit

At first blush it might seem like paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to a salesperson is nuts. But when you look at the carrying cost of filling a new community it can be the best bargain in the world. All day long owners and operators would pay four to six hundred thousand dollars to fill a 100 unit community in less than 12 months. The bottom line numbers are crazy.

I Want To Hire This Guy

Your first thought might be I want to hire this guy. But he has a better proposition than that, that will cost you a lot less money. He can teach your salespeople how to do what he does. Imagine what it would be like to have your salespeople double their close rate.

What’s The Deal?

Russell has dedicated his life to understanding human behavior and uses the science of human behavior to close more sales. The core problem that every senior living salesperson faces is the “Prior Commitment Effect”, which is something we all have in many different areas of our lives. In the case of senior living, the big Prior Commitment is the idea that living at home is better than living in a senior community. If you can help a prospect understand their commitment to this idea is wrong, you are most of the way to closing your sale. 

I need to add this is not about talking them into doing something that is against their self interest because we know, that for most older people, the biggest threat to their longevity and wellbeing is isolation and loneliness. And that senior living is the best antidote to that problem.

Intrigued?

There are two ways you can engage with Russell and R3R1. The first is that you can hire Russell to come to your organization and teach his method to your team. This is probably the most profitable thing you can do. The second thing is that in the next few weeks, he will be announcing the date of the next open class.

What Excites Me the Most . . .

I remain convinced there are today enough older people to occupy every single senior living apartment out there and that the problem is how we tell our story and how we sell what we offer. I find myself dreaming about how big bunches of senior living organizations can use Russell’s methods to help older people find their best life in senior living.   

It would change the economics of the sector, it would change the lives of seniors, and it would make it easier to pay our hard-working team members more. 

Here are a couple of things you can do:

  1. You can check out the R3R1 website HERE. You might even want to take his master salesperson quiz.
  2. You can reach out to Russell directly at: [email protected]