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JANUARY 2015
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on A
Boxes come flat. The pillow and the throw are not included.
Call for more information to inquire about the shipping costs.
(270) 683-5377
3009 Frederica St., Owensboro, KY 43201
$195
.00
per package of five
Cremation Containers
By Christopher Kuhnen
There’s More
To It...
Advance
Funeral
Planning
Be a Better Telephone
Communicator
As a pre-need sales representative, what time did you
make your first sales call today? How about yesterday?
Remember, your sales day begins with the first call you
make to a prospect. Preparation activity, paperwork,
and water cooler talk don’t kick off a productive sales
day.
Consider a telephone calling schedule that commits
you to making contact with prospects at the first pos-
sible moment of the day and carries until your first ap-
pointment or a full calendar of future appointments.
Here are some tips to make you a better, more effec-
tive telephone communicator:
1. Smile and relax. If you’re uptight, nervous or hav-
ing a bad day it comes through in your tone of
voice. Get and keep yourself in a positive, relaxed,
casual frame of mind before placing all telephone
calls.
2. Call at optimum times. Don’t make calls before
8:30am. Don’t make calls after 8:00pm unless
there is absolutely no other way. Saturday morn-
ings are good calling time between the hours of
8:00am and 1:00pm. Sunday afternoon from
1:00pm to 5:00pm can also be a good time to
catch people at home.
3. Have a good reason for calling. Only call on pros-
pects when you are confident of the line of ques-
tioning. The aged line of telling a prospect you’re
7. If the prospect says, “Thank you, I’m not inter-
ested,” find out why. This is often a conditioned,
knee jerk reaction. Ask them if they have ever
inquired about funeral pre-planning before. Do
they already have a prearrangement plan on file
elsewhere? If Yes, with whom and when was the
plan made? Have they experienced a recent death
in the family and just can’t discuss pre-planning
at this time? Do they think their children will
take care of everything? Are they afraid to dis-
cuss the subject of their own mortality? Express
a genuine interest in learning the prospects real
reason(s) for not wanting to receive the informa-
tion you can provide to them.
8. Listen carefully. As long as the prospect is talk-
ing they will give you insights into what it is they
“really” desire to know. Pick up on these subtle
clues. Repeatedly remind them that through a
face-to-face appointment they can obtain the in-
formation they desire. Stress the fact that you are
simply sharing information.
going to be in their neighborhood later today, vis-
iting someone else that wanted pre-need informa-
tion, and wanted to drop by is often overused. No-
body “just drops by” these days.
Stay away from using the outdated script about
how you have immediate vital information they
need to receive right away. If the information were
“that vital” the owner of the funeral home would
have already called long before now. In the minds
of consumers, unless there was an immediate death
in their family, there is no information about fu-
nerals that is all that important. They additionally
know this: what is a “great deal” or “price offer to-
day” will still be available next week or next month.
Savvy consumers know and are on the lookout for
anything that sounds like its insincere and disin-
genuous.
4. Engage the prospect in a warm-up and directed di-
alogue. Do a little probing by asking open ended
questions that require more than a simple “yes” or
“no” answer. The majority of those making phone
calls typically don’t do a warm-up and they fail mis-
erably.
5. If the person you wanted to reach does not answer
the telephone, speak with the person who did an-
swer. Everyone is a prospect. Warm-up with them
a little before asking to speak with the person you
initially attempted to reach.
6. Keep it simple. After saying “Hello”, plainly state
your name and who you represent. Let them know
up front there is no emergency (no one has died)
and that you want to speak with them for just a
few short minutes. Begin your thoughtful line of
questioning. Ask them up front, if now is a good
time for them to talk. If not, tell them you will call
them back later. They will expect you to go away
and never call again. If you told them you would
call them back, be true to your word. Use short sen-
tences. You don’t need to be longwinded and give
the prospect everything they ever wanted to know
about pre-need during your conversation. Give
them enough to justify them setting an appoint-
ment with you.
Christopher Kuhnen of Edgewood, Kentucky is a 29 year vet-
eran of funeral service. He is perhaps best known as an industry
go-getter and progressive leader. As an insider into excellence,
he is a trustworthy advisor to many funeral home and industry
professionals.
Kuhnen spent a good portion of his career working for a family
owned and operated funeral home and national pre-need sales
and marketing organization. He additionally was the architect and
founder of Funeral Profit Protectors, LLC. Currently he serves as
Vice President of Pre-Need Marketing for the Unity Financial Life
Insurance Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Chris is a Kentucky Licensed Funeral Director, Life Insurance
Agent, Certified Pre-Planning Consultant (CPC), Insight Institute
Certified Funeral Celebrant and Certified Marketing Specialist, as
bestowed by the former American Marketing Academy.
Chris can be reached at (859) 307-7223 or cpkuhnen@gmail.com.
American War, World
War I and II, Korean
War, VietnamWar and
War on Terror. Carved
into each stone is a
historical summary in-
cluding insightful de-
tails which humanize
each conflict.
“It is heartening
Ferncliff Cemetery Celebrates Sesquicentennial with
the Dedication of a War Memorial
C I NC I NNAT I , OH—
Across its magnificent
240 acres,
Ferncliff
Cemetery,
Arbore-
tum and Crematory
is
the final resting place
of nearly 5,000 veter-
ans who served in the
military. Soldiers are
buried in four dedicated
war mounds – the Civil
War, WWI, WWII and
the Vietnam War – and
the graves of other vet-
erans are throughout the
cemetery. It is in honor
of these men and wom-
en that Ferncliff chose to
commemorate its 150th
anniversary with the es-
tablishment of a War Me-
morial.
On a crisp day in late
fall, military groups and
local dignitaries gathered
to unveil and dedicate
the Ferncliff Cemetery
War Memorial. Included
in the gathering was Ski
Schanher who was an in-
fluential force in bring-
ing this project to frui-
tion.
Nine stone monuments
of equal size stand in a
semi-circle to form the
memorial. Each repre-
sents a significant United
States military conflict:
American
Revolution,
War of 1812, Ameri-
can Civil War, Spanish-
to see how pleased and
overwhelmed
families
of military veterans are
when they visit the new
War Memorial,” com-
mented
Stan Spitler,
Su-
perintendent of Fern-
cliff. “This is a memorial
to all of them and their
loved ones.”
Ferncliff’s veteran pop-
ulation continues to in-
crease, strengthened by
its relationship with the
Clark County Veterans of-
fice. Through the partner-
ship, veterans who quali-
fy may be buried in one of
Ferncliff’s war mounds, in
land purchased by the vet-
eran’s office.
Ferncliff Cemetery in-
vites people to visit the
War Memorial and tour
the celebrated grounds.
A map to the War Me-
morial, war mounds and
other points of interest is
available daily at the main
office. On weekends,
there is someone on the
grounds to assist with di-
rections and information.