April 2017

A6 A1-A40 B1-B28

Page A6 APRI L 2017 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
By Christopher Kuhnen
There’s More
To It...
Advance
Funeral
Planning
Advice for Networking
at Local Events
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
One of the very best ways for pre-need sales pro-
fessionals to obtain workable sales leads is through
networking events. Networking groups and events
within your community should play a critical role
in your overall marketing strategy. Examples of net-
working groups would include: BNI (Business Net-
working International), Merchants’ Associations,
Chambers of Commerce-After Hours Events, and
Business Associations. There are also groups de-
signed to serve the needs and interests of specific
segments of business owners such as women, Afri-
can Americans, and Hispanics.
Many sales representatives always seem to pre-
fer to attend the largest networking events in their
area. No large crowd, no gain is their motto. This
isn’t always the case. Keep in mind the number at-
prize to the event. This can be anything with a
value of $10-$20. Chambers have networking
groups that are especially interested in keeping
the atmosphere fun and involved for the partici-
pants. If you offer a door prize, you receive twice
the recognition because you or your funeral home
will be announced as they give it away.
tending is inversely proportionate to the amount of
time one has to explain who they are to the group.
Each organization has its own method for increasing
attendee’s awareness of the participants business. Any
size event can be a good and productive event, if you
make it so.
When attending networking events, not only have
your “elevator speech” rehearsed and spot on, but
also don’t forget your business cards. Every market-
ing group will ask you for at least one business card.
Some will make copies of all business cards and pass
it out to the general audience of attendees. When
people hear your elevator pitch, they will often refer
to this list of business cards to find out more about
you, write down your number, etc.
Show up early and work the room. A lot of net-
working occurs prior to the event start time. People
do business with (and refer business to) those who
make them feel comfortable. Don’t put yourself in
“sales mode”, just be yourself and genuine. Regard-
less if you’re normally an introvert, during this time
you must force yourself to be eager to “grip and grin.”
It may feel awkward at first, but you must force your-
self to stand next to two people talking, if only to in-
troduce yourself to them.
Most local networking groups gratefully accept pro-
motional items because it adds to the goodwill feel of
the environment. Some will even provide a table for
these promo items. Contribute a “giveaway” or door
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In 1986, Spry Funeral
Home of Huntsville built
and operated the first cre-
matory in Huntsville. In
1989, Spry Funeral Home
& Crematory had grown
and saw the need to ex-
Spry Funeral Home: Four Generations
of service to Madison County
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pand. Spry was remodeled
and had additional facili-
ties added to service the
community. In 1996, a
second crematory was add-
ed to the facilities to aid in
a growing need for crema-
tion.
Spry Funeral Homes &
Crematory continues to
modernize and update to
give families a comfortable
and modern setting to cele-
brate the lives of loved ones.
Spry Funeral Home is the
oldest family owned service
in Madison County, with
four generations serving the
Huntsville and North Ala-
bama communities.