March 2018

Page A6 MARCH 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Bay Memorials 321 S. 15 th St. • Escanaba, MI 49829 • (906) 786-2609 • Fax (906) 786-2692 Zerbel’s www.baymemorialsbabycaskets.com PROPORTIONALLY SIZED FOR MISCARRIED, STILLBORN & NEWBORN BABIES Burial Cradle caskets SM Available in 10”, 20”, 30” allowing you to tastefully care for even the smallest baby with all the compassion every parent desires for as low as $42.00 Up to 50% OFF Grief Booklets Save on these thoughtful, portable booklets and more! At www.griefresourcescatalog.com the only place to get “It’s Okay!” By Christopher Kuhnen There’s More To It... Advance Funeral Planning needs at the low, low price they expect to pay, and the pressure from yourself to succeed. All while your com- petitors are trying to write your families before you do and your funeral home owner wants to know why you don’t sell a million dollars a year in pre-funded funerals. Everyone wants instant results and they want them now. Strong pre-need sellers will succeed despite, or some- times because of, this intense pressure. 6. You’re not motivated by money. The payoff is a big reason that great pre-need sales agents can push themselves to do so well. Let’s face it, people go into pre-need sales because they can poten- tially make more money than in an at-need career. Of course, sincerely helping people is part of pre-need sales, but that alone usually isn’t enough to drive someone to keep pushing when the going gets tough. If making good money itself doesn’t interest you, then stick with at-need funeral directing. If you possess just the right kind of attitude, temper- ament, stick-to-itiveness and service oriented mindset, then you could enjoy a highly rewarding and financially lucrative career in pre-need sales. If you think you have what it takes to be successful, then I’d like to speak with you and further answer your questions about what an ex- citing career in this field can encompass. Contact me at cpkuhnen@gmail.com . tomorrow, or the next day. They can put you off if they desire. If you don’t know how to change their mind and make them want to talk with you today, you’re dead in the water. 2. Rejection of any kind slows you down and takes the wind out of your sails. If you don’t dwell on rejection and other countless obstacles, then you have a pretty good shot at making it in pre-need sales. Pre-need sales agents are essentially paid to handle all the “no’s” they encounter and push through to get to a “yes.” Only those who can learn to let negativity roll off their backs, will last long in pre-need sales. There are situations where you might be working on a fu- neral pre-planning arrangement with a family for several days, weeks, or months, only to have it fall apart at the last minute because one of the children thinks it’s a bad idea. It takes a certain kind of person to brush off that kind of disap- pointment and keep plugging away. This sounds like insanity to some, but it’s part of the challenge to those who can make this job work for them. 3. You can’t put yourself in your prospects shoes. Pre-need sales requires being caring, polite, and profession- al. However, the most successful pre-need sales agents can see things from their family’s point of view. Like most human beings, the family will want to spend as little as they can and receive as much as they can. They have a multitude of “other ways” they wish to handle paying for their final wishes. Most of those “other ways” don’t involve using your pre-need in- surance or funeral trust product, whereby you would make a commission. As great pre-need agents know, creating value for the family is the only way to get them to prearrange and commit to a pre-paid agreement with you. 4. You tend to be a pessimist. Excellent pre-need sales agents don’t view the glass as half- empty. Irrational optimism is the only way to overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds you’ll be faced with, and pessimists won’t make it a few months before their character trips them up. Pre-needs sales is only for those who can pick themselves up after they fall, however many times it takes. Of course, people can change, and pessimists can become opti- mists, but they had better do it quickly, since pre-need sales is sink or swim. 5. You don’t function well under high pressure. Pre-need sales pressure is intense and only those who can meet the pressure and succeed will last. There’s the pressure to hit your sales goal, the pressure from families to solve their At-Need to Pre-Need: Simple Career Switch… Right? Over the course of my career, I have had numerous li- censed funeral directors share with me that they firmly be- lieve that a switch from working on the at-need side of the funeral profession to the pre-need side of the funeral profession would be a “piece of cake” for them. Better in- come, shorter hours, no more “being on-call”, less worry, hassle, tension, time constraints, grieving families, or head- aches. Who among us doesn’t want all these things? The stark truth is that only a certain kind of person can survive in the high-pressure world of pre-need sales. The relentless prospecting, the frequent rejection, the frantically shoveling some fast food into your mouth as you dial your prospect’s telephone number in the few min- utes of “lunch” you’re able to squeeze into your day – pre- need sales isn’t for everyone. If the following six statements don’t sound like you, then you might be able to enjoy and succeed in a full-time career in pre-need sales. 1. You hate being out of your comfort zone. Only someone who likes change, or constantly having to adapt to shifting circumstances, would be a good fit for pre-need sales. In pre-need sales, you’re constantly attempt- ing to get people to open up and talk with you about their own (or another loved one’s) eventual mortality. I know it’s difficult to believe, however, this isn’t a topic most people like to discuss. They avoid it at all costs and they will do ev- erything they can to avoid speaking and/or meeting with you. Unlike at-need situations, where time and planning are of the essence and they must meet with you now; pre- need is another matter. They don’t need to see you today, or www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. B logs Christopher Kuhnen has been actively engaged in funeral service for over 32 years. He is best known as an industry go-getter, a cap- tivating professional and progressive leader. As an insider into excel- lence, he is a trusty advisor to numerous funeral home and industry professionals. Kuhnen provides regular comprehensive consultation and support and additionally trains and bolsters leading death care professionals concerning profitability, management, pre-need sales and marketing, family service follow-up, and much more. Over the course of his celebrated career, he has directly con- tributed to the success of many award-winning funeral homes, pre-need sales and marketing organizations, as well as an ac- claimed pre-need insurance company. Kuhnen is a Kentucky Licensed Funeral Director, Life Insurance Agent, and member in good standing with the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky. Additionally, he is a Certified Marketing Specialist, as bestowed by the National Marketing Academy and a Certified Funeral Celebrant as bestowed by the distinguished Insight Institute. Chris can be reached at (859) 307-7223 or cpkuhnen@gmail.com. of a close friend revealed his true ministry, when he assisted the funeral director and comforted his friend’s family. Soon after, John Dames established the Dames Fine Furniture and Undertaking Establishment on North Bluff Street in Joliet, which would become Dames Funeral Home . John’s son Joseph Dames continued the tradition, as Dames Brothers Funeral Home until his son, Fred C. Dames , entered the ministry. He created an environment that was unlike the other funeral homes of that era, which were operated in modified residential homes. In 1938 Fred C. Dames built the first modern funeral home, with all ground level construction and large chapel areas for families to gather. A pioneer, he was also the first funeral home to design and install a “block ice” cooling system well before air conditioning was available, adding to the comfort for his families during the summer months. Gathering Place at the Joliet Location Gathering Place at the Morris Location Refreshment Room at the Joliet Location Entrance at the Joliet Location Fred C. Dames Funeral Home and Crematory founded in 1854 Continued from Front Page Fred’s son, Mark L. Dames , operated this facili- ty, expanding its square foot- age and adding modern ad- vancements up until 1996, when it was sold to the Se- nior Services Center of Will County to benefit the growing number of seniors in the community. In 1991 Mark L. Dames and his three sons, Jeffrey M ., Brian L ., and Fred J. Dames , built and dedicated the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home at Black and Essington Roads in Joliet, where it con- tinues today. The family also opened a sec- ond location in 2003 in Morris, IL. The Dames family has lived and worked in the Joliet community for over 150 years and have found the best of humanity and Continued on Page A24 Send Us Your News! PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 Email info@nomispublications.com FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS We welcome news of the industry. Send us information on your firm today!