What do families really want to know when they call in asking about a community? Our Contact Center is asked thousands of questions every week, but which question stands out amongst the rest. Drumroll please… our top question is…
How much does it cost?
Are you shocked? Probably not.
This question can feel like the elephant in the room, but there’s an art to discussing cost and avoiding sticker shock. This is the number one question we get asked at our call center, so it’s important to not beat around the bush and handle the cost question open and honestly.
Here are our top tips on discussing cost with families looking at your community.
- Know when it’s time to talk about cost
According to HubSpot, pricing content is critical to helping a lead make a purchasing decision and should be done at the beginning as well as the end of the sales cycle. When families talk to our agents, they are at the beginning of the sales cycle, and cost is the number one thing on their mind.
However, many sales executives try to push this number one question down the road as much as possible.
Ethan Zoubek, Chief Revenue Officer at Atari said in a recent LinkedIn article, “No one really teaches sales professionals how to handle the question. What we’re taught is how to dodge the question by well-meaning sales leaders who tell us that we should defer the question until later in the sales cycle…that we’re not supposed to show our cards too early.”
Zoubek argues that it’s the sales team’s responsibility to give a clear and direct answer. Think about it – talking about price early on is a way to serve the family, and not waste your sales team’s precious time. Why wait until the end of a tour to hear, “that’s really not in our price range.”
One way to be clear and concise is by giving them a framework to help them determine the value they would get for the price point. Serviam Advocate Katie Pautler said, “Instead of just giving them the price and listing all the amenities, I prefer to ask open ended questions about their current living situation so I can demonstrate the value of the community in a way that feels very personal to them.”
- Bring Up Their Budget
If your community has pricing levels, consider talking to them first about their budget when pricing is brought up in conversation.
“Sometimes people will want to know something specific like how much it costs for a unit in assisted living, and I’ll start out by only giving them the starting price for the smallest unit. But I always prefer to start by asking them either “what does your budget look like?” or “what budget do you need to stay within?” Asking what their budget is for their current living situation can also be helpful because when I tell them where our pricing starts, they can determine if it will work for them,” Serviam Advocate Lachelle Simpson said.
- Give Context and Value When Talking about Price
If you want to make the conversation more comfortable, think about the value and the context around pricing. Instead of listing a number, talk to them about their specific situation and how pricing can help them decide what’s best for them.
Advocare Julie Childers said, “I like to put people at ease by saying something like ‘All of mom’s meals are included, as well as laundry and housekeeping service’ and then give them what information I have available about the different floor plans so that they know there are options. I try and give them some pertinent information before I ask them about their budget.”
A prospect might have sticker shock for a CCRC community, but it’s helpful to give context to all that’s included, and the options offered customized to their needs.
Price conversations can be difficult, but it is what people want to know the most when searching for a community. You deserve help with the legwork. Our Advocates work all day, every day to manage the top of your funnel — so you can focus on building real relationships with real people.
And just for fun, here’s a list of the top 10 questions we get asked from families at our contact center.
- What’s the cost?
- What’s the current availability?
- How full is your community?
- How big are the rooms?
- Is it possible for me to come by and see the community?
- Are there doctors and nurses on staff?
- Are residents allowed to come and go at will?
- How many levels of support are offered in assisted living?
- What is the staff-to-resident ratio?
- Are there activities programmed for residents who are physically or cognitively impaired?