By Susan Saldibar
Oh, the things we do to increase occupancy.
Reminds me of back in my software sales days when, to drive sales volume, we’d discount the heck out of our service contracts. It felt good because, unlike the software itself, they didn’t impact our commissions.
Stupidest move ever.
Because those service agreements were what brought monthly revenue in the door and kept us afloat! The number of sales went up, but at what cost? (It didn’t end well, to say the least.)
Killing Your Bottom Line
Are the moves you’re making to drive up occupancy killing your bottom line?
They might be.
I spoke recently with Michael Moye, account executive at WelcomeHome (a Foresight partner). He has worked on the sales side and the operations side of senior living. And, he’s been successful on both.
Michael has learned how to drive up occupancy in ways that don’t compromise reputation, quality, and the bottom line. And he’s working within WelcomeHome to share this intelligence with folks like you.
Make Sense of Your Data
What’s your north star metric? Know it and use it!
Today you are able to produce a ton of different metrics. They all point to different things and give you different takeaways. Here’s how to put the puzzle pieces together:
- Look at your ratios. For instance, maybe your community has a high tour ratio but a low move-in ratio. So, you might want to analyze the strategies you’re using to improve your tours.
- Consider industry benchmarks. Are you underperforming or overperforming? You might be surprised. (Get a sneak peek at the WelcomeHome benchmarks report here.)
- Align on your north star metric. That’s the needle you want to move. If it’s simply move-ins, look at how that could impact behavior downstream.
- Don’t forget the lifetime value. Take a step further out and look at your overall revenue against the lifetime value of the residents you bring in.
Make Use of Your Data
Now that you’ve done all this work, share it!
A huge mistake management makes is to keep everyone in silos. You have all this great information, but everyone’s looking at just their piece! So you’re back to square one.
Once you take a deep dive into these metrics for your community, your next move is to share them at all levels across your community and integrate them with sales goals.
As Michael points out, it’s not just about metrics, it’s what you do with them.
Such as asking some great questions, like:
- What is offering lots of “specials” and “discounts” doing to our profit margins?
- What do prospects think? Do they wonder how discounts impact quality of care?
- Where are our best leads coming from?
- Could sales make fewer calls and get better results?
- What am I doing to get my sales team out of their shells and into the community so they can see the big picture for themselves?
- How would better collaboration build trust? Would it lead to higher-quality move-ins?
The 100 Club
Want answers? Tune in to the 100 Club Podcast.
Michael codeveloped the podcast partially because challenging times like these call for better collaboration between leaders in this industry.
His 100 Club Podcast brings people to the table who have answered all these questions and more. Yes, they’re crushing their occupancy numbers, but they’re doing it the right way. Tuning in to this podcast can get you on track to understand these metrics and use them to turn your community around. Where to start?
I asked Michael, how do you go about changing the mindset of those who continue to cry, “Sell, sell, sell!”? He tells me what he tells everyone else: “This is a unique industry. You have to learn to work well with each respective department. If you don’t collaborate and communicate effectively cross-functionally, your communities will already be off on the wrong foot.”
Here are two easy steps to get on the right foot:
- Get a sneak peek of WelcomeHome’s industry benchmark report.
- Tune into the 100 Club Podcast.
The rest is up to you.
