Easily communicate with your Funeral Association team and Board by using Skype. Watch this 4:41 minute video to see how easy it is to use.

Thanks for watching!

Please leave your comments or questions below.

…Hepp

Does it tick you off that newspapers charge your client families so much for obituary notices?

Would you like to know how to save money for your families while adding to your own bottom line?

On Thursday, March 4th, I presented an online seminar, titled:

How to Charge for Online Obits
(And Have Families Thank You)

Replay Now Available

In this seminar, you will…

• • Find out how to save your clients families up to 25% (or more) off of their newspaper obituary expenses
  • Learn 3 Presentation Strategies for charging for online obits and choose the best one for your firm
  • Find out what to say to families for each of the Presentation Strategies
  • Get word-for-word scripts that you can use during your arrangement conference
  • Receive my Step by Step system for getting more people to your website to leave condolences than the newspaper’s website

By applying these Presentation Strategies and my Online Obituary Promotion System, you will…

• • Save your client families money and they will thank you for it
  • Increase revenues (and adding to your bottom line) by charging for online obits
  • Get more website visitors per funeral by having your client families promote your website
  • Build additional loyalty with your families by providing a higher level of service than your competitors

Here is the resource list from the seminar, 6 Free Productivity Tools & Tips for Funeral Associations:

• Communications
  • Skype
  • JingProject
• Internet Browsing / Surfing
  • FireFox
• Free Image and Video Software
  • Format Factory
  • Gimp Image Editor
• Information Gathering & Research
  • Google Alerts
  • iGoogle Dashboard
  • Google Reader
• Collaboration
  • Google Docs
• Online File Resources
  • YouConvertIt
  • YouSendIt
• Scheduling
  • WhenIsGood
  • Google Calendar

If you are interested about receiving free articles for your newsletters, please email articles@funeralfuturist.com

If you are interested to co-hosting Online CEU Event, please email onlineceus@funeralfuturist.com

If so, you may become a HIRED GUN that many businesses will need in the future, especially as we transition into the “Knowledge Worker” era.  Operations and systems allow entrepreneurs to focus on (and leverage) their expertise and passions – and not worry about the running of their repeatable business tasks – although those systems are the key to long term success.

Michael Gerber, the author of ‘The E-Myth’ – a bestselling book that focuses on the importance of business systemization: “Most businesses fail to fully achieve their potential. That’s because the person who owns the business doesn’t truly know how to build a company that works without him or her – which is the key.”

Living by LISTS:

• Do you make lists?
• Everyday?
• If you do something not on the list, do you go back and add it on the list and then check it off.

Attention to DETAIL:

• Are you detail oriented?
• Are you the one who makes sure a task is COMPLETE?
• Do you dot the I’s and cross the T’s?
• And then PROOF read everything, one last time?
• (Although this won’t be your role) Have you had experience in accounting, legal, or planning (or even being the main organizer of your high school reunion)?

So what’s in it for you?  OSMOSIS!
I was where you were just 4 years ago, and I have become the industry expert in just those four years, and to take my business to the next level I need help getting processes in place – so I need you.  Here’s what I will give you:

• My BLUEPRINT so that you can achieve the same stature in your field
• My KNOWLEDGE from over $50,000 of marketing, strategy, and Internet marketing teaching and resources (all purchased after university).
• My SHORTCUTS to catapult your EXPERTISE (and reputation) on the Internet
• Your EXPERIENCE in working with a high-performing VIRTUAL team (the next big skill!)
• The DEAL: $20 / hour for 20 hours per week for 6 to 8 weeks (maybe longer if mutually agreed upon)

If you are STILL interested, you can apply if…

• You are not a whiner, complainer, or someone who needs to have their hand held
• You want to have your OWN business in the next year or two & you just want to be immersed in another business before you start your own.
• You are ready for a WILD ride as I explode my business to a hyper-level in my industry in the next year

Please  send me an email and answer the questions above + send your resume to robin@funeralfuturist.com.  Plus send me links to any positive references about you on the Internet.

Thanks for taking the time to read this – if you are INSPIRED please APPLY, if you aren’t – well maybe you would like to hire us – see the service offerings and trainings on the right of this page.

Here is a 9:35 minute video about how you can use Facebook Ads to “Narrow-Cast” – opposite of Broadcast – to connect with specific markets.  Just to let you know, if you are interested getting more training about Facebook Ads at the end of the video I recommend that you register for Ryan Deiss’ Facebook Ad Power program.  Even if you don’t register for his program, you will get some great gems from both my video and his.

www.FuneralFuturist.com/Facebook-Ad-Power

Disclosure: If you register for Ryan’s program through the link above, I will receive a referral fee – but also you will receive free admission to my Funeral Facebook Ads Workshop in March.

Still have questions about Facebook Ads?

Let me know if you have any questions about Facebook Ads, please email them to me at robin@funeralfuturist.com OR leave a comment below…

Thanks.

…Hepp

See how you can easily survey your membership by creating an online survey with Google Docs.

How To Quickly Survey Your Membership

1. Login / Create iGoogle or Gmail Account

2. Go to: Documents > Create New > Form

3. Add Title, Description, & Questions

4. Edit Confirmation

5. Send Link to Membership

6. Optional: Embed form in Webpage

7. Check Results

On Friday, one of the funeral home website provider’s servers went down and clients were stuck without their website being live, but more importantly their email had stopped – and going into the weekend without email was not a great way to end your Friday.  Anyway, we were able to get both clients set up using Google Applications where you can use your domain name email accounts like “info@yourfuneralchapel.com” and operate them through the power of GMail.

Here is a short video on why I like and recommend Gmail over any other email solution.

Sign up for your Free Gmail Account

Sign up for your Google Apps (Standard)

(as usual, make sure that you are comfortable with the Terms of Service – I use both of these services)

If you need help to set up all of the Google Applications for your domains, please send me an email at robin@funeralfuturist.com – you’ll be surprised how reasonable it is to get set up and get running in just a few hours.

Questions about GMail, Google Apps, or email? Please leave them below.

…Hepp

JUST RELEASED! John Callaghan’s 2010 Edition of his Strategic Marketing Plan

You’ve heard of John Callaghan, haven’t you?

To refresh your memory, he’s one of the industry’s top speakers on funeral home marketing.

In his book, “Strategic Marketing Plan for Funeral Service Professionals” he reveals how funeral homes should market in during tough economic times.

Why am I telling you this?

Recently I convinced John to allow me to grill him during a LIVE 120-minute teleseminar!

It actually went for 2 1/2 hours.

We talked for just over an hour about his book and then we tackled dozens of questions that the attendees submitted.

You can read a partial list of questions below.

Now you can get the Book, Transcripts of the Interview, and the Recordings INSTANTLY – in download format!

89 Pages of Funeral-Specific Marketing Advice

and over 2.5 hours of recordings

(delivered immediately after you purchase below)

$147.00 Now Only $97

Save $50.00

Still Undecided? Have a Free Sample…

Here is the First Chapter of the Book

Click Here for the PDF Sample

Here is a sample of the Interview

$147.00 Now Only $97

Save $50.00

• Partial List of Questions that are answered on the Recordings

  • Could you discuss the use of tasteful humor in funeral home marketing?
  • Telephones, yellow page ads – How do you set yourself apart?
  • How do I market my firm against the “low price firm” in the market place?
  • What are your thoughts on marketing during tough economic times? Is it actually a time when you can get more bang for your buck, attract a wider audience etc?
  • How do we use permission marketing in funeral service, especially with the increasing use of online guest books and internet communications with our customers?
  • With a downtown location and smaller parking area, how do you compete with funeral home not downtown and more parking area?
  • What is the most effective advertising in a small rural community? Should we sponsoring and attending community events, sponsor information seminars, weekly newspaper ads, local magazines etc?
  • Are there new words in the death care language that are more acceptable to the public?
  • What kind of ad and or marketing should a funeral home do in response to a cremation society’s direct mailing piece that they continue to do in our community?
  • When asked why our funeral home was chosen, my family follow up surveys reflect that I receive 0 calls from advertising. How should I interpret this?
  • How do you get the message out to Hospice that there are many more options for a family other than direct cremation?
  • What would the best way to market a second location in the next city with two corporate competitors presently operate there?
  • How do you determine what are the most effective strategies?
  • When conducting market research in my area, what are some good sources for Secondary data or information regarding the opinions and buying preferences of ANY of my target markets?
  • I’m in a small market. How do I attract more calls, when it appears, my competitor has more money for unlimited advertising?
  • How can I get people out of the mindset that cremation means no viewing?
  • I’m losing market share to a new funeral home, How can I combat an upstate with a better location?
  • If we have a web site, what are the best strategies to make certain that someone using a search engine, such as Google, will see our listing at the top of the results list? Are there other techniques that can be used in addition to the “keywords” that are embedded into the pages of the site?
  • What is the best way to counteract, “I want the cheapest funeral?
  • I am an independent operated firm in my town with two other firms who are corporate run, what can I do in ads to beat them as competitors?
  • What medium is the best advertising in a conservative area?

My two main predictions can also be taken as warnings. They are strategies being played out on the internet right now and will only become more of a factor in 2010 – not that they will harm your business dramatically in 2010 but they will start to slowly erode it (if you let them).

1. Virtual Funeral Homes. These are not completely virtual businesses but are physical funeral homes that are creating a virtual presence covering a larger geographically area or even “testing the waters” in a larger or new trade area. We have seen Cremation Societies reach beyond their traditional trade area and you will other websites catering to a larger area, but being headquartered in their established bricks and mortar funeral home. Some may see this as a warning while other may see it as an opportunity.

2. Online Call Poachers. You probably haven’t heard of this term, but I couldn’t come up with a better way to name this “new player” into funeral service. These are information and resource websites about funeral service. They provide helpful information to consumers, answering questions, and maybe even providing a directory of funeral homes. These were once thought of as helpful directory sites but as they continue to add more information to their websites, they will become “funeral information juggernauts” that will rank at the top of Google and the other search engines for funeral related terms – even local terms.

Some of these sites may charge for featured listings in there directories, but what will be inevitable is that they will start receiving first calls (as people hit the Internet for information upon learning of the death of their loved one). At that point, they hold in their hand a Call that could get passed on to whoever they want to give it to – in some cases the highest bidder. They will become the online equivalent of the minister or hospice worker who can steer a family to one funeral home over another.

I am not saying that all directories and resource websites will do this but some will. This form of Lead Capture – or what I call in our industry “Call Poachers” – is actually an Internet Marketing Strategy that I have seen be taught and used in other industries where these marketers become conduit for leads and then direct them to the highest bidder. For some funeral homes, they be happy paying the “finders fee” to these companies, while others may want to control the “virtual real estate” in their market by being the go-to source for funeral information in their area.

I hate to have a negative tone while looking into a bright future, but I just want to make you aware of what is happen in the “virtual” world around you.

What are your thoughts? Please share your comments below…

You may have received an email from Mike Kubasak today his Price Shopper program. In the holiday spirit, I thought that I should share with you a SECRET TIP that you can use the next time you get a Price Shopper that will INSTANTLY build RAPPORT and CREDIBILITY with the caller – even if they want to *Think About It* – because the more COMFORTABLE they feel with you the more likely they will choose your funeral home over your competitor.

This STRATEGY can be done at the beginning or the end of the call – make sure you read both scenarios…

At the Beginning of the Phone Call as you introduce yourself…

“Hello, my name is Robin. I understand you want information about funeral costs. I will be happy to provide that information for you.  Do you have a pen and some paper handy? Ok, first just jot down this number: 250-686-4576.  It is my cell phone number and I wanted you to have it just in case we get cut off or if you need to contact me later for more information you can reach me directly, once again it’s 250-686-4576.”

At the End of the Phone Call if they are not making a decision right now…

Robin says: “I understand that you are just gathering information right now and I just want to let you know that if you have any other questions, you may call me at anytime. Here is my cell phone number – 250-686-4576 – if questions come up when you are discussing things with the rest of the family. Once again it’s 250-686-4576.”

So the SECRET TIP is giving the caller your CELL PHONE NUMBER.

What does giving your cell phone number accomplish?

It helps BUILD RAPPORT and TRUST (Mike has a complete section on rapport building in his Price Shopper Secrets program).

You see, you can’t just say “TRUST ME” you have to “EARN TRUST” and by offering to give the caller your cell phone number – something that most people only give to their closest friends – you are DEMONSTRATING TRUST!

Now you might be thinking, I really don’t feel comfortable giving my cell phone to a stranger? But I am guessing that over the last couple of years there has been an occasion or two where you have given your cell number to a client family and maybe you give it to them on a regular basis.  So why not treat the price caller like a client family – isn’t that the GOAL anyway – to have them as a CLIENT FAMILY?

Let me know your successes with the Price Shopper Cell Phone Tip.  It’s free to try and if it doesn’t work then stop offering it but you will be amazed how the tone of the conservation will change after applying this Trust Building Strategy.

If you want more Price Shopper Secrets take Mike up on his CRAZY OFFER below. I helped Mike put the course together and it is packed with tips and strategies that you can share with your entire staff and also use for FUTURE TRAINING and STAFF MEETINGS.

Plus, he has a 100% Results-Based GUARANTEE- so if you don’t win more pricing calls, you don’t pay!

You can order it here: http://www.priceshoppersecrets.com/cell/

I wish you all the best for 2010 – especially more calls!

…Hepp