July 2019

Page A6 JULY 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Triple H Company ESTABLISHED 1950 www.triplehcompany.com triplehcompany@att.net 1-800-252-3444 Fax 805-650-6444 FAM I LY OWNED American Made u Tongue and groove lid-to-base connection for maximum strength. u Green Velour Lining in Gold and White PYRAMIDS We are a cemetery, crematory and mausoleum product supplier. ® ® Authentic feature the exclusive green and gold Triple H Company logo ® Cremation Urn Vaults. Proven in use. ® u Two sizes – Original 9”x9”x14 ½” Over 900 cubic inches Accommodates most urns, three per carton. Oversized – 9”x13”x14 ½” Double urn burials and larger urns, over 1300 cubic inches, one per carton u Oversized lid manufactured with top connected to 4” extension. Gives operator one solid one piece sealed connection. u Excellent for Committal Services. u Solid Gray Granite Texture Inside and Outside for Consistent Appearance. u Three colors – Gray Granite, Antique Metallic Gold or Permanent Peace White. u Lightweight, high-impact polystyrene. u Lids interchangeable with common vault base bottom. u Sealer included with each vault. ® ® Woodmiller Fine Woodworking Style and Quality WoodmillerUrns.com 410-354-0575 Call for Wholesale Price List By Christopher Kuhnen There’s More To It... Advance Funeral Planning DIRECT MAIL: Agent’s Guide to Re-Working Old or Stale Reply Cards I have been attending various state funeral director as- sociation conventions this year. From Ohio to Texas, agents have asked if I would reprise my column con- cerning how to re-work old or stale direct mail leads. It would seem agents have such leads that proved less than fruitful than when originally obtained. I am repeated- ly asked, “Are they still worth anything?” The answer is yes; unless the individual has died or prearranged and prefunded with someone else. Here’s the column I wrote about this subject some time ago. Do you have any old and/or outdated direct mail sales leads that you never had a chance to effective- ly follow up on? Did they become stale or outdat- ed? You probably don’t know or can’t remember. The only thing you know is this…one time they were fresh, hot viable leads and today they are cold as ice. Take heart, you are not alone. The Yankee Group es- timates that up to 80% of direct mail solicited sales leads go stale, are lost, or are simply never followed up on. How very sad! What are direct mail sales leads? Direct mail sales leads are simply contact information from people that are interested in your funeral home and/or what you have to offer. Primarily funeral pre- arrangement planning. There are fresh leads and stale leads. Fresh leads are people who have very recently (within the past 90 days) expressed an interest in what you have to offer. Stale leads are people that have ex- pressed interest, however it was some time ago. Af- ter about six months the consumer forgets they even mailed back the reply card and they move on. www.nomispublications.com Funeral Home & Cemetery News Contributors share insights and exchange ideas. Blogs Christopher Kuhnen has been actively engaged in funeral service for over 32 years. He is best known as an industry go-getter, a captivating professional and progres- sive leader. As an insider into excellence, he is a trusty advisor to numerous funeral home and industry professionals. Kuhnen provides regular comprehensive consulta- tion 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 contributed to the suc- cess of many award-winning funeral homes, pre-need sales and marketing or- ganizations, as well as an acclaimed 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. viously served within the last 18 months. Therefore, to recontact those who have sent in a direct mail response from an old direct mail campaign, I suggest a simple follow-up letter and then a subsequent follow-up of that letter. For added value please be sure and attach with your letter, not only your business card, but also a testimonial sheet from sat- isfied clients you’ve served. There is an old adage in marketing that says: Facts TELL but testimonials SELL! Print a small flyer on colored paper with the headline “We Would Love You to Join Satisfied Fami- lies like These…” Give a copy to every sales prospect you communicate with. Let me help you refresh those stale leads. When handled effec- tively those leads can produce ex- traordinary results. The average fu- neral home direct mail campaign (less than 3,000 pieces mailed) should generate a minimum of 15 sales leads. If you sold 6 of these when they were initially returned, that means that 60% of your po- tential prospects have yet to buy from you. That’s nine potential contracts. If only 22% of those buy when re-contacted, you will sell an additional two contracts. At an average full-service funeral contract price of $7,000, you sell an additional $14,000. These as- sumptions are on the low side. I bet you will sell four or five of the remaining nine direct mail leads. Five sales at $7,000 average per sale is $35,000 worth of sales in one month. Not too shabby! How do you re-engage these prospects? Do you mail them something? Do you do an unan- nounced visit to their front door? Do you call them on the tele- phone? Through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Do Not Call legislation regulates a funeral home cannot call a family it has not pre- Mr. & Mrs. John Doe 1234 Make Believe Rd. Any Town, USA 56789 Dear Mr. & Mrs. John Doe, It has been some time since you initially responded to a community- wide direct mail campaign we conducted offering free information about our funeral pre-planning program. We have not been in recent contact and were inquiring to see if all your questions about our program had been answered. Over and over we hear the relief and comfort funeral pre-planning brings to families where there is a loss. If you have already taken care of making your funeral prearrangement plans may we offer you our congratulations! You have saved your loved ones a tremendous amount of unnecessary worry, anxiety, and grief through your caring actions. If you have not yet made your plans, what are you waiting for? There are many misconceptions regarding planning ahead. Sometimes people mistakenly think planning ahead is something only “old” or “sick” people should do. The truth is every adult should have a plan in place – just in case. All families benefit when they have clear guidelines to follow. Sometimes people think they can only develop a plan if they are going to pre-fund it. While there are many sound financial reasons to prefund your wishes, it is certainly not a mandatory requirement. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to provide your family welcome guidance at a time when they need it the most. Call me personally and allow me to share our program with you! Sincerely yours, Sample Letter: companies collaborated on the heavenly scent, which is a light vanilla. Stark Memorial burns a new candle during calling hours and then gives the family that candle to take home. If the family would like additional candles, the funeral home directs them to the store located at 8330 County Home Road in Lisbon. Store hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Heaven Sent can- dle label reads: This candle burns in memory of (write name of deceased) who is always in our hearts. “A lit candle is very sym- bolic when it burns in mem- ory of someone,” says Dan Madden, president of Stark Memorial. “It pays tribute to a life well lived and gives those who grieve a chance to remember that a spirit and memory live on forever.” Beaver Creek Candle Company candles are hand- crafted by those with devel- opmentally disabilities. Susan Hertel, manag- er of Beaver Creek Candle Company, says candles are very powerful: “They in- voke a lot of emotions for people. You can use them in memory of someone, to celebrate a birthday or a milestone, as a centerpiece during a family dinner or as a way to relax. We were happy to work with Stark Memorial and create a can- dle that gives grieving fam- ilies such a nice memory.” Stark Memorial and Beaver Creek Candle Company Collaborate on Heaven Sent SALEM,OH— Stark Me- morial Funeral Home and Cremation Services and Beaver CreekCandle Com- pany teamed up to work on a joint candle fragrance called “Heaven Sent.” Both

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzg4MQ==