December 12, 2024 • 34 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Microphone (Yeti Stereo Mic (00:00):
Hi, I'm Erin Thompson.
(00:01):
Today, we're going to explorewhat it means to build
meaningful and lasting career insenior living sales.
And so my presentation to youtoday is the path to
significant.
leadership and sales insideSenior Living.
I'm your speaker, Erin Thompson.
I am the founder of the Aspirefor More with Erin leadership
(00:22):
and development company, as wellas the co founder of the
mentoring company.
My history inside Senior Livingbegan as a volunteer looking for
a loved one, my grandfather, arespite stay, walked into a
community and heard the angelssing and realized this is for
me.
(00:42):
So my experience from avolunteer to a concierge, to a
sales and marketing director, toan executive director, was one
of the most pivotal andmeaningful experiences in my
life.
I got to work and then lead acommunity where my grandmother
and my grandmother in law lived,inside this community.
(01:03):
As a sales director, I grew twodifferent communities.
My first community from 75percent to a hundred percent in
four months.
My second community, which wasactually the community that I
started out as a concierge in,we grew from around 67 percent
to around 90 percent Salesdirector, and then I was
(01:24):
promoted to executive directorand we eventually reached
somewhere close to a hundredpercent, although I'm not sure
if it was quite a hundredpercent, but at another
community that I worked at intwo different, parts with two
different owners, I was able tolead a team from 55 percent to a
hundred percent in 18 months orless with a very bad state
(01:47):
survey score of 55 on the walland from COVID.
We dipped from 100 percent to 67percent and from 2021 to 2022,
we were able to go from 67percent back to 100 percent in
one year and one month.
So I know what I'm talking aboutand how to create meaningful
(02:08):
connections and growing youroccupancy to high performing
occupancy percentages And I wantto give you all the tricks and
tips that I have on how to dothat to earn significance for
you in a meaningful way.
currently, my goal is I want toteach future senior living
(02:30):
leaders and sales directors likeyou on how to learn and grow so
they can make great Places tolive and work, I am currently
creating courses for executivedirector leadership.
I also coach one on one andwe'll have leadership intensives
in 2025.
(02:51):
So I want to start with askingyou this one question.
Do you want your career to besuccessful?
Or do you want it to besignificant?
So if you just take a minute andthink about that.
Do you want it to be successfulor significant?
Success is great! It's abouthitting goals and achieving
(03:13):
personal wins and adding valueto yourself.
putting the proverbial point inthe win column, right?
Success feels good.
It's short term dopamine hits.
It's where you know you did goodand you can say, look what I
did.
And honestly that's the way thatsales works inside senior
(03:34):
living.
It is The successful month thatyou have, and then it has to
happen the next month and thenext month.
And so success is something thatis wanted and expected very
quickly whenever you enter workinside of a senior living
community.
But significance, it'sdifferent.
(03:54):
It's where you truly make adifference.
It's about creating lastingimpact for your residents, for
their families, for the tours.
And the teams that you serve.
It's about adding value toothers, giving away value,
right?
So success can be quick withinitiative and tensions and
(04:17):
strategy, but significance takesa little bit more time of
consistent actions towardsserving others.
You can have success withoutsignificance, but you cannot
have significance withoutsuccess.
So success is obviously veryimportant.
Seeking significance will forceyou out of your comfort zone,
(04:39):
completely force you out ofwhere you feel comfortable, and
give For no other reason than togive, right?
To help solve problems, tocompliment people just because,
to teach people how to besuccessful or overcome problems
that you once struggled with.
Think about your life and thinkabout the mentors or the
significant people in your life.
(05:01):
Why were they significant toyou?
If I had to guess, they pouredresources into you.
Time, money, attention.
They mentored you.
They stuck by you when timeswere hard.
They celebrated with you whenyou moments of celebration were
required, Earned.
(05:22):
They called you, text you,emailed you, connected with you.
They motivated you andinfluenced you.
In simpler terms, they addedvalue and impact to your life.
One way that you can startcreating significance in your
career and in your community,even as a new sales director.
(05:43):
is to realize this one thing.
Sales is a team sport.
It is not about what you did.
It's about what they did.
It's about what we did, Insenior living, sales is the
oxygen of our business.
Without sales, there is nogrowth, no sustainability, but
(06:08):
sales is far more than justnumbers.
It's about connection.
When families walk into yourcommunity, they're often facing
one of the hardest decisions oftheir lives, and one of the most
emotionally charged time oftheir lives.
The sales role is to guide,counsel, and reassure them.
(06:29):
And here's the catch.
You can't do it alone.
Significance in this role meansleaning on your team and
ensuring every department, fromactivities, to dining, to
nursing, Works together andmaintenance to create a seamless
experience for residents andtheir families.
Sales can't do it alone.
(06:52):
And one way to make a tour moreimpactful inside your community
is to introduce Every familymember or prospect to a member
of your team walking down thehall.
And not only introduce them byname.
(07:13):
This is Debbie.
She's our activities assistant.
And she, let me tell you, shegoes all in character.
She steps on that stage and hergoal is to make people laugh,
happy, and engage in theactivities.
To bring them out.
To let their personality shine.
And she goes all out.
It's amazing to watch.
(07:33):
We are so blessed to have her inour community.
See what I did there?
What I did was gain trust onboth sides.
Create an impact on both sides.
As the sales director, I know myteam.
I'm communicating to the tour.
I know my team.
And as the sales director, I'mpouring into the other person.
(07:55):
And I'm telling them indirectly.
In front of somebody, howvaluable they are to my
community.
I'm working as a team andinfluencing the team at the same
time.
I'm adding value to someone.
I didn't have to say that.
Deposits in the emotional bankaccount.
The more they feel valued, themore value they will give.
(08:16):
And when you do thisconsistently, you build
significance.
And that's why even if you're anew sales director going into a
new community, you can startcreating significance
immediately just by doing that.
And realizing that sales is ateam sport.
You cannot do it alone.
You will get the glory foreverything that we accomplished.
(08:41):
But, it's not about you, it'sabout we, right?
working as a team and influencea team that is always on 365
days a year requires you tofocus on three main influential
factors.
And those are, in my opinion,three important objectives your
(09:05):
mindset, your boundaries, andyour energy.
Your mindset is the way you see,understand, and interpret the
world.
It is your mental map, yourgreatest influence.
As a leader and honestly, inyour life, the story that you
tell yourself over and overagain, as to why this happened,
the meaning that you place onevery experience that you have
(09:28):
overcome and survived is veryimportant.
Make sure it serves you and itdoesn't hurt you.
We'll dive into that moreboundaries.
Boundaries are how you protectwhat is important to you.
You cannot work and sacrifice365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
It's not possible.
So in order to create freedomand more peace in your life, you
(09:51):
have to let go of control.
You have to learn how tocollaborate and create
boundaries and respect otherpeople's boundaries as well.
Energy.
You have to be the energy in theroom.
Energy.
It's what you think, yourmindset, how you think, the
meaning that we place on things.
(10:12):
That creates your energy.
Living in the possibilities orliving within the limitations,
right?
Your energy will attract thesame type of energy.
And this is important because ifyou want more positive energy,
you have to give more positiveenergy.
And if you want to protectyourself from negative energy,
you have to Put boundaries up,to where you can observe the
(10:37):
negative energy and not absorbthe negative energy.
I haven't always been a fan ofcheerleading, right?
I was an athlete myself.
But what cheerleaders bring tothe table is encouragement.
energy and excitement, right?
Without cheerleaders, the DallasCowboys cheerleaders, the
(10:59):
cheerleaders fans inside of astadium, if they're playing
hockey or any other kind ofsport, there would be no energy.
For these athletes to play,right?
So it's very important that weprotect our energy, we create
good energy, and that we usethat energy to serve us.
(11:22):
So let's start with our mindset.
Why should I be more positive orwork towards a more positive
energy?
it is certainly more of apositive experience to live with
a lens of what is working ratherthan what is not working.
And being positive is not livingwith rose colored glasses, or
not in reality.
(11:43):
It is strategically focusing onwhat is working in order to
connect the dots on how to fixWhat is not.
What's wrong is alwaysavailable.
And the easiest thought to grabahold to is what's wrong.
I know what's wrong, right?
But what's right is alsoavailable.
(12:04):
And so if we can focus on what'sright, we can then look at
what's wrong and try to connectthe dots.
I have lived a lifestyle offocusing on the negative, and
only noticing my limitations.
And now, that I live in thepossibilities of the belief that
I can create the future that Iwant, My life has opened up
(12:26):
exponentially.
And here's the thing.
I still fail, I still lose, andI still get things wrong.
I just know how to use thoseexperiences to my advantage.
Rather than as an excuse.
And so here's what I believe.
are the advantages of positivethinkers.
Positive thinkers are betterproblem solvers.
(12:49):
Sales is problem solving.
It's helping people understand.
How to solve their problems,moving into our community can
solve the isolation problem,moving into our community can
solve the general oversightproblem, moving into our
community can help solve the themedication management problems,
Positive mindset helps.
(13:10):
Have a better capacity toembrace new information.
You can't solve all the problemsin the world if you're too
stressed out to take one stepforward, So a positive mindset
can weed out what gets in theway and focuses on what's
working and figuring out how tomove that process over to what's
not.
Positive thinkers attract morepositive outcomes.
(13:34):
A sales director who greetspeople the same way at 9am and
at 5pm will have betteroutcomes.
More leads, more referrals, morejoy, more consistency in
approach and people coming toyou and saying, I think you need
to speak to so and so becausethey helped me solve my problem
and I'm sure they'll help yousolve yours.
(13:55):
Positive thinkers are alwayslooking for ways to make a
difference.
And positive people are moreresilient.
Positivity and confidence leadsto more motivation.
And a strong positive mindsetallows us to learn through what
we go through.
To learn and grow.
Honestly, it just makes life somuch easier.
(14:17):
And inside of a community,you're going to be a community.
given lots of opportunities tofocus on what's wrong.
And I want to challenge you tomake a strategic effort to look
at what's going right becausethat's how you create the energy
and the mindset lens that willhelp Push you forward towards
(14:39):
more significance and moresuccess.
if I can steal some of TonyRobbins famous quotes that
really helped me navigatebecoming a positive thinker.
The quality of your life is thequality of your emotions, and
your emotional state shapes yourdecisions and your life.
If your emotional home is filledwith anger, frustration, or
(14:59):
sadness, you will react to lifenegatively.
But if your emotional home is ofthat of, Resiliency,
perseverance about getting itright instead of being right and
knowing that I can overcomeanything, then you're going to
react to things in a moreresilient way.
The meaning that we place oneverything, the meaning you give
(15:25):
to things, Controls the emotionyou feel, which in turn makes
you make different decisions.
So this means that the qualityof your life is directly
dependent on the emotional stateof your life.
The meaning that you giveanything is very important.
(15:46):
like when our hand itches, doesthat mean that we're getting
money?
I don't know if that means thesame way in Canada as it does in
the States, but my grandmotherhad a meaning for everything.
everything.
if you find the penny on theheads up, that means you're
going to have good luck.
The truth is that you cannotcontrol the outside world, but
you can influence it.
(16:07):
And the one thing that you cancontrol is how you use your mind
and your emotions to youradvantage.
if you know that every thoughtDirectly affects your emotions,
and then every emotion directlyaffects your actions, and we
know that actions directlyaffect your results and your
(16:28):
outcomes, then it all boils downto mindset.
so now that we've talked aboutmindset, can anyone think or
even share a time when yourmindset, both positive or
negative, affected your abilityto lead or communicate?
Did you talk yourself out ofsomething?
(16:48):
that you earned because you feltlike maybe you didn't, or you
were telling yourself a storythat didn't serve you as to why
you didn't reach a goal that youcould have met with a little bit
more effort, or you talkedyourself into something, doing
something that was way out ofyour comfort zone and you hit
(17:08):
the mark, or maybe you didn't,but you learned something along
the way.
Stop and share with the classthat experience, And see how you
can use that experience towardsa new experience similar to this
family inside of senior living.
Here's a lesson, honestly, thatI wish I would have learned
(17:29):
earlier in my career.
Boundaries are not walls, theyare bridges.
And that's just so true.
As sales leaders, it's easy tofall into the trap of always
being available.
But here's the thing.
Without boundaries, you burnout.
And when you burn out, you can'tserve anyone.
(17:51):
Not your team, not yourresidents, and not yourself.
Boundaries protect your energy,and they create clarity for your
team about what's expected andwhen you're available.
This doesn't mean you're lessdedicated.
It makes you a better leader.
When you understand your ownboundaries, your own limitations
(18:13):
of when you need to rest andwhen you need to give, then you
create a positive energy.
I want to talk about therelationship between a sales
director and a nursing directorhere, because it's really
important.
Both of y'all are on 24 hours aday, seven days a week.
The nurse, from an operationalstandpoint, calls, calling out,
residents going to the hospital,family members wanting
(18:35):
questions, and the salesdirector as an inquiry call, a
tour, other family membersneeding questions in the moment.
Your phones are constantlyringing.
The nurse has 15 jobs going onat the same time.
A counselor, a mom, a nurse.
It's a doctor, having to makeall these decisions, being one
(18:56):
of the most popular people inthe community because everybody
wants to see the nurse when theyget a, when they get a need for
a band aid, right?
And you want them to go and doassessments and make these
decisions and meet the familiesand move people in.
It's important to acknowledgehard work, availability, and
(19:18):
what is needed in the moment.
And honestly, their ownexpertise.
It's really easy for a salesdirector and a nursing director
to clash.
In fact, it's just like ahallmark of what people talk
about inside Senior Living.
But really, when the twopositions work together, it's a
synergy that just oozes into theentire community.
(19:40):
And I believe that you can makethis happen if you understand
boundaries, acknowledge hardwork and what needs to happen in
the moment.
And if you have to havesomething happen immediately and
the nurse is pushing back, bringthe executive director in and
let's let the executive directorfigure out how to make this
(20:02):
happen for everyone.
your nurse, your maintenancedirector, your activities
director, your culinary directorare all people you need to have
on your team.
You need them to be a part ofthe sales process.
So in creating your ownboundaries, figure out what
their boundaries are too andrespect them and help them
enforce them as well.
(20:23):
We all want vacation time.
We all want uninterrupted timeoff.
And the best way to do that It'sto train each other, release
control.
Increase collaboration andrespect and acknowledge people's
boundaries.
So how do you create boundaries?
How do you know what to protect?
(20:44):
Honestly, a significant leader,you need to focus on more than
just the sales metrics, right?
You are going to be judged onyour day to day input, month
over month input.
Are you hitting the tournumbers?
Are you hitting the move innumbers?
Are you hitting all thesethings, right?
You're going to focus on thosekey performance indicators.
(21:06):
And you're going to get judgedon those key performance
indicators.
But you also have your own keyperformance indicators, right?
You have the five pillars ofwhat's most important to you.
Family, friends, spiritualconnections, emotional
connections, and physicalhealth.
These are the five KPIs.
Key performance indicators thatyou need to know what's
(21:29):
important to you so you canprotect them.
Significance comes from buildingrelationships, serving others,
and finding balance in all areasof your life.
So I want you to take a moment.
And write down one goal for eachof these five areas.
(21:49):
Now, if you have multiple goals,you can write those down too.
What does success look like inyour family life?
In your life with your friends?
In your spiritual life, in yourpsychological life, and in your
physical life, right?
What gives you energy?
What do you need in order tofeel balanced?
(22:13):
What do you need in order tofeel rest, to feel successful?
If you have kids, there's anelement in that, going to the
kid functions, being availablefor those, these types of
things.
Knowing in advance what you needto be successful in these areas
will help you protect yourboundaries and enforce them.
(22:34):
For me, I was going to go to allof my kids activities.
I needed to know those things inadvance and plan for them.
And plan to have my absencecovered for that one hour or to
be off for those days.
A lot of people make the mistakeof not taking vacation day
because they feel that they'regoing to be needed.
Let me just say, you are alwaysneeded.
(22:56):
It's never going to stop.
But, you can take a day off.
That's why collaboration overcontrol is very important.
Schedule the trip.
Schedule the days.
But just plan, and have a teamthat will step in for you, just
like you would do for them.
(23:16):
take a moment, what does successlook and feel like to me in
these areas of my life?
And what does it feel like whenit's off?
So you can know where the scaleis tipping.
Energy.
Energy fuels leadership.
In fact, Newton's third law ofmotion applies to sales
(23:37):
leadership as much as it does tophysics.
For every action, there is anequal and opposite reaction.
The energy you bring into aroom, whether it's with a tour
with a family, a meeting withthe team, or a one on one
conversation, sets the tone.
Your energy sets the tone.
(23:58):
If you are being burdened, theywill feel like a burden.
If you are excited to see them,They will be excited to see you.
If you bring in positive,intentional energy, you inspire
confidence and connection.
But, if you bring frustration ordistraction, that's what people
(24:18):
will feel too.
Have you ever been in a meetingwhere someone walked in, And the
energy of the room just wassucked out and replaced with a
negative air and it almost feltlike coughing.
let me tell you, I have been ina meeting and that happened.
And honestly, I have been thereason that happened in a
(24:40):
meeting, which I'm not proud of.
What was it that caused theemotion to come out of the room?
It was the heavy baggage.
It was the anger.
It was the.
emotional reactiveness that washappening for the day.
It was not being able toseparate what happened 30
(25:01):
minutes ago to being present ofwhere I am today.
And then not even talking aboutit or acknowledging it.
I think it's important as aleader, as a salesperson, you
can walk into a standup, a oneon one, or a morning huddle or a
manager meeting, and you cansay, y'all, I'm sorry.
I am struggling today.
(25:22):
This just happened, and Ihaven't gotten my bearings back.
Acknowledged.
We got it.
We understand.
And now that you've acknowledgedthat feeling and that emotion,
it just lightens the mood.
But when you walk into ameeting, and you don't even
acknowledge The energy thatyou're bringing in that you
could be taking away from otherpeople, it becomes challenging.
(25:45):
it's important to understandwhat takes your energy and what
gives you energy.
This is how you'll be able tokeep going during the times of
high demand and how you canrecover fully during the times
of rest and recovery.
If pro athletes and collegeathletes can understand this
concept, dang it, senior livingleaders can too.
(26:07):
Our jobs are more importantbecause we're dealing with
people, at very vulnerable timesin their lives.
Your mindset plays a huge rolein creating your energy.
Thoughts, you think the emotionsthat come from those thoughts
will create the negative orpositive energy that you bring
(26:27):
to each day.
encounter that you have.
The same is true for the energywe give and receive in life.
When we act with transformativeintention, without transactional
expectations, we set powerfulreactions into motion, even if
we don't see them immediately.
So if you want to createpositive energy in your life and
(26:50):
you want to receive positiveenergy from what you're giving,
here's some advice.
Give freely.
Expect the blessings to comeback in their own time and form.
Communicate clearly.
Resentments are often unspokenexpectations.
Don't let them poison yourrelationships, your career, or
(27:12):
your life.
Or even more importantly, yoursoul.
Be intentional.
Know what you want, right?
You know what success is to you.
Take steps towards it, act onit, and let go of expecting
others to deliver it for you andyou go make it happen for you.
When you release expectations,you create space for peace and
(27:37):
positive energy to take root inyour life.
for those times when life isbumpy and it's going to be very
easy to latch on to the negativeemotions and the negative
thoughts, here are some phrasesthat I keep on hand to help me
stay positive through the chaos,right?
You're going to have lots ofchaos inside senior living.
(28:00):
It's not about me.
Their expectations, theirreactions to this extreme are
not about me.
It's about them and their ownexperiences.
I have done all that I can do,and I am at peace with the
outcome that I cannot control.
Now, you do have to go back andassess that you did all the
right things, and that you didcontrol all the controllables.
(28:23):
And, if you did that, then it'snot about you.
There are some things that wejust cannot avoid or plan for, I
will be at the right place atthe right time and what is meant
for me will always find me.
At the most perfect time for me,right?
(28:43):
That helps me latch on to, I'mgoing to keep going because it
doesn't matter what I do.
It's teaching me, it's guidingme, it's taking me to where I
want to go, right?
I'm not going to lose what ismine.
I'm not going to do that.
I'm going to keep beingconsistent.
My strength is being consistent.
I will continue to show up anddo the work because I know that
(29:06):
momentum is created from effortand it takes a lot of effort to
be as successful and significantas I want to be.
Sales.
The more calls I make, the moredata in the CRM, the more
prepared I will be in the longrun.
This work today is laying thefoundation of greatness for
(29:29):
later.
And always look for the smallwins because they will keep you
going.
I did want to add one othertopic.
Mindset, boundaries, and energyare the three most influential
factors in a leadership's lifeinside of a community.
But there's something else, it'sknowing your community story.
(29:51):
when you know why your communitychanges the lives of your
residents, it's easy to tell thestory.
When you know the value of whatyou and your team bring to the
community, it is easy to talkabout.
And when you can explain all ofthis with passion and
confidence, it's inspiring.
(30:11):
Knowing your story and the valuethat you give your residents
will allow you to sell in avalue driven way versus a
commoditized or price drivenway.
Commodity is a product that isavailable from many different
places, as if there is acommunity at every street
corner.
(30:32):
When you are competing with acommunity that is price driven,
and amenities focused, and youare value driven outcome
focused, you will seem as if youoffer a different product, a
different community altogether.
There will be people who want tonegotiate, and there are times
when negotiating is needed.
(30:53):
But, when you sell the valueover the price.
You will attract the people whoneed your community, your
perfect resident.
And so here are three things foryou to focus on when creating
your community story.
What is special about yourcommunity?
Most commonly used areas in yourcommunity and why?
(31:16):
Know the stories as to why theresidents love this room.
And on your tour path, tellthose stories.
Know the stories of the impactyour team has had on your
residents.
Tell that story as to why it'sdifferent here than down the
road.
Know the value that you bring toyour team.
(31:37):
Know the value that other teammembers bring to your team and
tell it over and over again.
All communities offer the same.
We have an apartment, we haveclosets, we have bathrooms, we
have activities, we have food.
there may not be a pool at thisone, there may be a pool at that
one, there may be fancierchandeliers.
That matters to some, but itdoesn't matter to them all.
(31:59):
You and your teen make thedifference.
Know your story.
Tell your story.
And be specific.
Real specific.
Ask the residents why they loveyour community.
Listen for the stories everychance you can get.
Not just when you ask them, butwhen they tell them freely.
Write those down and use them onyour tours.
(32:22):
Listen to what family memberssay about how they felt when
they first started and when theanxiety started to lessen and
they started realizing this wasa really good decision.
Know what the problem wasbefore.
Know what the opportunity is,which is the value that you
give.
Know what the steps were thatwere hard that they almost
(32:43):
couldn't overcome.
And then know what the outcomeis of what made them so happy
now.
These points.
Are very, very important indifferentiating your community
from the community down thestreet and why people will pay
the rate that you tell them forthe outcome that you show them
(33:05):
in conclusion, sales and seniorliving is about so much more
than filling rooms.
or apartments.
It's about changing lives.
The decisions you make, theconnections you foster, and the
way you show up each day defineyour community's significance.
(33:26):
Significance is about the impactyour career has on your life and
the lives of others.
In order to remain significant,you must remember to master your
mindset, set clear boundaries,lead with positive energy, Know
your community and your ownstory so that you can create
(33:48):
your future.
Thank you for letting me sharemy journey with you today and
all of my tips and tricks ofwhat made my community so
successful.
I hope that you'll take theselessons and use them to build
not just a successful career.
But a significant one.
My podcasts can be found onApple Podcasts, Spotify,
(34:08):
iHeartRadio, Amazon, and theyare Aspire for More with Erin,
and the I Have Fallen and NeedSome Help podcast.
I appreciate your time.
Hi, I'm Erin Thompson.
(00:01):
Today, we're going to explorewhat it means to build
meaningful and lasting career insenior living sales.
And so my presentation to youtoday is the path to
significant.
leadership and sales insideSenior Living.
I'm your speaker, Erin Thompson.
I am the founder of the Aspirefor More with Erin leadership
(00:22):
and development company, as wellas the co founder of the
mentoring company.
My history inside Senior Livingbegan as a volunteer looking for
a loved one, my grandfather, arespite stay, walked into a
community and heard the angelssing and realized this is for
me.
(00:42):
So my experience from avolunteer to a concierge, to a
sales and marketing director, toan executive director, was one
of the most pivotal andmeaningful experiences in my
life.
I got to work and then lead acommunity where my grandmother
and my grandmother in law lived,inside this community.
(01:03):
As a sales director, I grew twodifferent communities.
My first community from 75percent to a hundred percent in
four months.
My second community, which wasactually the community that I
started out as a concierge in,we grew from around 67 percent
to around 90 percent Salesdirector, and then I was
(01:24):
promoted to executive directorand we eventually reached
somewhere close to a hundredpercent, although I'm not sure
if it was quite a hundredpercent, but at another
community that I worked at intwo different, parts with two
different owners, I was able tolead a team from 55 percent to a
hundred percent in 18 months orless with a very bad state
(01:47):
survey score of 55 on the walland from COVID.
We dipped from 100 percent to 67percent and from 2021 to 2022,
we were able to go from 67percent back to 100 percent in
one year and one month.
So I know what I'm talking aboutand how to create meaningful
(02:08):
connections and growing youroccupancy to high performing
occupancy percentages And I wantto give you all the tricks and
tips that I have on how to dothat to earn significance for
you in a meaningful way.
currently, my goal is I want toteach future senior living
(02:30):
leaders and sales directors likeyou on how to learn and grow so
they can make great Places tolive and work, I am currently
creating courses for executivedirector leadership.
I also coach one on one andwe'll have leadership intensives
in 2025.
(02:51):
So I want to start with askingyou this one question.
Do you want your career to besuccessful?
Or do you want it to besignificant?
So if you just take a minute andthink about that.
Do you want it to be successfulor significant?
Success is great! It's abouthitting goals and achieving
(03:13):
personal wins and adding valueto yourself.
putting the proverbial point inthe win column, right?
Success feels good.
It's short term dopamine hits.
It's where you know you did goodand you can say, look what I
did.
And honestly that's the way thatsales works inside senior
(03:34):
living.
It is The successful month thatyou have, and then it has to
happen the next month and thenext month.
And so success is something thatis wanted and expected very
quickly whenever you enter workinside of a senior living
community.
But significance, it'sdifferent.
(03:54):
It's where you truly make adifference.
It's about creating lastingimpact for your residents, for
their families, for the tours.
And the teams that you serve.
It's about adding value toothers, giving away value,
right?
So success can be quick withinitiative and tensions and
(04:17):
strategy, but significance takesa little bit more time of
consistent actions towardsserving others.
You can have success withoutsignificance, but you cannot
have significance withoutsuccess.
So success is obviously veryimportant.
Seeking significance will forceyou out of your comfort zone,
(04:39):
completely force you out ofwhere you feel comfortable, and
give For no other reason than togive, right?
To help solve problems, tocompliment people just because,
to teach people how to besuccessful or overcome problems
that you once struggled with.
Think about your life and thinkabout the mentors or the
significant people in your life.
(05:01):
Why were they significant toyou?
If I had to guess, they pouredresources into you.
Time, money, attention.
They mentored you.
They stuck by you when timeswere hard.
They celebrated with you whenyou moments of celebration were
required, Earned.
(05:22):
They called you, text you,emailed you, connected with you.
They motivated you andinfluenced you.
In simpler terms, they addedvalue and impact to your life.
One way that you can startcreating significance in your
career and in your community,even as a new sales director.
(05:43):
is to realize this one thing.
Sales is a team sport.
It is not about what you did.
It's about what they did.
It's about what we did, Insenior living, sales is the
oxygen of our business.
Without sales, there is nogrowth, no sustainability, but
(06:08):
sales is far more than justnumbers.
It's about connection.
When families walk into yourcommunity, they're often facing
one of the hardest decisions oftheir lives, and one of the most
emotionally charged time oftheir lives.
The sales role is to guide,counsel, and reassure them.
(06:29):
And here's the catch.
You can't do it alone.
Significance in this role meansleaning on your team and
ensuring every department, fromactivities, to dining, to
nursing, Works together andmaintenance to create a seamless
experience for residents andtheir families.
Sales can't do it alone.
(06:52):
And one way to make a tour moreimpactful inside your community
is to introduce Every familymember or prospect to a member
of your team walking down thehall.
And not only introduce them byname.
(07:13):
This is Debbie.
She's our activities assistant.
And she, let me tell you, shegoes all in character.
She steps on that stage and hergoal is to make people laugh,
happy, and engage in theactivities.
To bring them out.
To let their personality shine.
And she goes all out.
It's amazing to watch.
(07:33):
We are so blessed to have her inour community.
See what I did there?
What I did was gain trust onboth sides.
Create an impact on both sides.
As the sales director, I know myteam.
I'm communicating to the tour.
I know my team.
And as the sales director, I'mpouring into the other person.
(07:55):
And I'm telling them indirectly.
In front of somebody, howvaluable they are to my
community.
I'm working as a team andinfluencing the team at the same
time.
I'm adding value to someone.
I didn't have to say that.
Deposits in the emotional bankaccount.
The more they feel valued, themore value they will give.
(08:16):
And when you do thisconsistently, you build
significance.
And that's why even if you're anew sales director going into a
new community, you can startcreating significance
immediately just by doing that.
And realizing that sales is ateam sport.
You cannot do it alone.
You will get the glory foreverything that we accomplished.
(08:41):
But, it's not about you, it'sabout we, right?
working as a team and influencea team that is always on 365
days a year requires you tofocus on three main influential
factors.
And those are, in my opinion,three important objectives your
(09:05):
mindset, your boundaries, andyour energy.
Your mindset is the way you see,understand, and interpret the
world.
It is your mental map, yourgreatest influence.
As a leader and honestly, inyour life, the story that you
tell yourself over and overagain, as to why this happened,
the meaning that you place onevery experience that you have
(09:28):
overcome and survived is veryimportant.
Make sure it serves you and itdoesn't hurt you.
We'll dive into that moreboundaries.
Boundaries are how you protectwhat is important to you.
You cannot work and sacrifice365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
It's not possible.
So in order to create freedomand more peace in your life, you
(09:51):
have to let go of control.
You have to learn how tocollaborate and create
boundaries and respect otherpeople's boundaries as well.
Energy.
You have to be the energy in theroom.
Energy.
It's what you think, yourmindset, how you think, the
meaning that we place on things.
(10:12):
That creates your energy.
Living in the possibilities orliving within the limitations,
right?
Your energy will attract thesame type of energy.
And this is important because ifyou want more positive energy,
you have to give more positiveenergy.
And if you want to protectyourself from negative energy,
you have to Put boundaries up,to where you can observe the
(10:37):
negative energy and not absorbthe negative energy.
I haven't always been a fan ofcheerleading, right?
I was an athlete myself.
But what cheerleaders bring tothe table is encouragement.
energy and excitement, right?
Without cheerleaders, the DallasCowboys cheerleaders, the
(10:59):
cheerleaders fans inside of astadium, if they're playing
hockey or any other kind ofsport, there would be no energy.
For these athletes to play,right?
So it's very important that weprotect our energy, we create
good energy, and that we usethat energy to serve us.
(11:22):
So let's start with our mindset.
Why should I be more positive orwork towards a more positive
energy?
it is certainly more of apositive experience to live with
a lens of what is working ratherthan what is not working.
And being positive is not livingwith rose colored glasses, or
not in reality.
(11:43):
It is strategically focusing onwhat is working in order to
connect the dots on how to fixWhat is not.
What's wrong is alwaysavailable.
And the easiest thought to grabahold to is what's wrong.
I know what's wrong, right?
But what's right is alsoavailable.
(12:04):
And so if we can focus on what'sright, we can then look at
what's wrong and try to connectthe dots.
I have lived a lifestyle offocusing on the negative, and
only noticing my limitations.
And now, that I live in thepossibilities of the belief that
I can create the future that Iwant, My life has opened up
(12:26):
exponentially.
And here's the thing.
I still fail, I still lose, andI still get things wrong.
I just know how to use thoseexperiences to my advantage.
Rather than as an excuse.
And so here's what I believe.
are the advantages of positivethinkers.
Positive thinkers are betterproblem solvers.
(12:49):
Sales is problem solving.
It's helping people understand.
How to solve their problems,moving into our community can
solve the isolation problem,moving into our community can
solve the general oversightproblem, moving into our
community can help solve the themedication management problems,
Positive mindset helps.
(13:10):
Have a better capacity toembrace new information.
You can't solve all the problemsin the world if you're too
stressed out to take one stepforward, So a positive mindset
can weed out what gets in theway and focuses on what's
working and figuring out how tomove that process over to what's
not.
Positive thinkers attract morepositive outcomes.
(13:34):
A sales director who greetspeople the same way at 9am and
at 5pm will have betteroutcomes.
More leads, more referrals, morejoy, more consistency in
approach and people coming toyou and saying, I think you need
to speak to so and so becausethey helped me solve my problem
and I'm sure they'll help yousolve yours.
(13:55):
Positive thinkers are alwayslooking for ways to make a
difference.
And positive people are moreresilient.
Positivity and confidence leadsto more motivation.
And a strong positive mindsetallows us to learn through what
we go through.
To learn and grow.
Honestly, it just makes life somuch easier.
(14:17):
And inside of a community,you're going to be a community.
given lots of opportunities tofocus on what's wrong.
And I want to challenge you tomake a strategic effort to look
at what's going right becausethat's how you create the energy
and the mindset lens that willhelp Push you forward towards
(14:39):
more significance and moresuccess.
if I can steal some of TonyRobbins famous quotes that
really helped me navigatebecoming a positive thinker.
The quality of your life is thequality of your emotions, and
your emotional state shapes yourdecisions and your life.
If your emotional home is filledwith anger, frustration, or
(14:59):
sadness, you will react to lifenegatively.
But if your emotional home is ofthat of, Resiliency,
perseverance about getting itright instead of being right and
knowing that I can overcomeanything, then you're going to
react to things in a moreresilient way.
The meaning that we place oneverything, the meaning you give
(15:25):
to things, Controls the emotionyou feel, which in turn makes
you make different decisions.
So this means that the qualityof your life is directly
dependent on the emotional stateof your life.
The meaning that you giveanything is very important.
(15:46):
like when our hand itches, doesthat mean that we're getting
money?
I don't know if that means thesame way in Canada as it does in
the States, but my grandmotherhad a meaning for everything.
everything.
if you find the penny on theheads up, that means you're
going to have good luck.
The truth is that you cannotcontrol the outside world, but
you can influence it.
(16:07):
And the one thing that you cancontrol is how you use your mind
and your emotions to youradvantage.
if you know that every thoughtDirectly affects your emotions,
and then every emotion directlyaffects your actions, and we
know that actions directlyaffect your results and your
(16:28):
outcomes, then it all boils downto mindset.
so now that we've talked aboutmindset, can anyone think or
even share a time when yourmindset, both positive or
negative, affected your abilityto lead or communicate?
Did you talk yourself out ofsomething?
(16:48):
that you earned because you feltlike maybe you didn't, or you
were telling yourself a storythat didn't serve you as to why
you didn't reach a goal that youcould have met with a little bit
more effort, or you talkedyourself into something, doing
something that was way out ofyour comfort zone and you hit
(17:08):
the mark, or maybe you didn't,but you learned something along
the way.
Stop and share with the classthat experience, And see how you
can use that experience towardsa new experience similar to this
family inside of senior living.
Here's a lesson, honestly, thatI wish I would have learned
(17:29):
earlier in my career.
Boundaries are not walls, theyare bridges.
And that's just so true.
As sales leaders, it's easy tofall into the trap of always
being available.
But here's the thing.
Without boundaries, you burnout.
And when you burn out, you can'tserve anyone.
(17:51):
Not your team, not yourresidents, and not yourself.
Boundaries protect your energy,and they create clarity for your
team about what's expected andwhen you're available.
This doesn't mean you're lessdedicated.
It makes you a better leader.
When you understand your ownboundaries, your own limitations
(18:13):
of when you need to rest andwhen you need to give, then you
create a positive energy.
I want to talk about therelationship between a sales
director and a nursing directorhere, because it's really
important.
Both of y'all are on 24 hours aday, seven days a week.
The nurse, from an operationalstandpoint, calls, calling out,
residents going to the hospital,family members wanting
(18:35):
questions, and the salesdirector as an inquiry call, a
tour, other family membersneeding questions in the moment.
Your phones are constantlyringing.
The nurse has 15 jobs going onat the same time.
A counselor, a mom, a nurse.
It's a doctor, having to makeall these decisions, being one
(18:56):
of the most popular people inthe community because everybody
wants to see the nurse when theyget a, when they get a need for
a band aid, right?
And you want them to go and doassessments and make these
decisions and meet the familiesand move people in.
It's important to acknowledgehard work, availability, and
(19:18):
what is needed in the moment.
And honestly, their ownexpertise.
It's really easy for a salesdirector and a nursing director
to clash.
In fact, it's just like ahallmark of what people talk
about inside Senior Living.
But really, when the twopositions work together, it's a
synergy that just oozes into theentire community.
(19:40):
And I believe that you can makethis happen if you understand
boundaries, acknowledge hardwork and what needs to happen in
the moment.
And if you have to havesomething happen immediately and
the nurse is pushing back, bringthe executive director in and
let's let the executive directorfigure out how to make this
(20:02):
happen for everyone.
your nurse, your maintenancedirector, your activities
director, your culinary directorare all people you need to have
on your team.
You need them to be a part ofthe sales process.
So in creating your ownboundaries, figure out what
their boundaries are too andrespect them and help them
enforce them as well.
(20:23):
We all want vacation time.
We all want uninterrupted timeoff.
And the best way to do that It'sto train each other, release
control.
Increase collaboration andrespect and acknowledge people's
boundaries.
So how do you create boundaries?
How do you know what to protect?
(20:44):
Honestly, a significant leader,you need to focus on more than
just the sales metrics, right?
You are going to be judged onyour day to day input, month
over month input.
Are you hitting the tournumbers?
Are you hitting the move innumbers?
Are you hitting all thesethings, right?
You're going to focus on thosekey performance indicators.
(21:06):
And you're going to get judgedon those key performance
indicators.
But you also have your own keyperformance indicators, right?
You have the five pillars ofwhat's most important to you.
Family, friends, spiritualconnections, emotional
connections, and physicalhealth.
These are the five KPIs.
Key performance indicators thatyou need to know what's
(21:29):
important to you so you canprotect them.
Significance comes from buildingrelationships, serving others,
and finding balance in all areasof your life.
So I want you to take a moment.
And write down one goal for eachof these five areas.
(21:49):
Now, if you have multiple goals,you can write those down too.
What does success look like inyour family life?
In your life with your friends?
In your spiritual life, in yourpsychological life, and in your
physical life, right?
What gives you energy?
What do you need in order tofeel balanced?
(22:13):
What do you need in order tofeel rest, to feel successful?
If you have kids, there's anelement in that, going to the
kid functions, being availablefor those, these types of
things.
Knowing in advance what you needto be successful in these areas
will help you protect yourboundaries and enforce them.
(22:34):
For me, I was going to go to allof my kids activities.
I needed to know those things inadvance and plan for them.
And plan to have my absencecovered for that one hour or to
be off for those days.
A lot of people make the mistakeof not taking vacation day
because they feel that they'regoing to be needed.
Let me just say, you are alwaysneeded.
(22:56):
It's never going to stop.
But, you can take a day off.
That's why collaboration overcontrol is very important.
Schedule the trip.
Schedule the days.
But just plan, and have a teamthat will step in for you, just
like you would do for them.
(23:16):
take a moment, what does successlook and feel like to me in
these areas of my life?
And what does it feel like whenit's off?
So you can know where the scaleis tipping.
Energy.
Energy fuels leadership.
In fact, Newton's third law ofmotion applies to sales
(23:37):
leadership as much as it does tophysics.
For every action, there is anequal and opposite reaction.
The energy you bring into aroom, whether it's with a tour
with a family, a meeting withthe team, or a one on one
conversation, sets the tone.
Your energy sets the tone.
(23:58):
If you are being burdened, theywill feel like a burden.
If you are excited to see them,They will be excited to see you.
If you bring in positive,intentional energy, you inspire
confidence and connection.
But, if you bring frustration ordistraction, that's what people
(24:18):
will feel too.
Have you ever been in a meetingwhere someone walked in, And the
energy of the room just wassucked out and replaced with a
negative air and it almost feltlike coughing.
let me tell you, I have been ina meeting and that happened.
And honestly, I have been thereason that happened in a
(24:40):
meeting, which I'm not proud of.
What was it that caused theemotion to come out of the room?
It was the heavy baggage.
It was the anger.
It was the.
emotional reactiveness that washappening for the day.
It was not being able toseparate what happened 30
(25:01):
minutes ago to being present ofwhere I am today.
And then not even talking aboutit or acknowledging it.
I think it's important as aleader, as a salesperson, you
can walk into a standup, a oneon one, or a morning huddle or a
manager meeting, and you cansay, y'all, I'm sorry.
I am struggling today.
(25:22):
This just happened, and Ihaven't gotten my bearings back.
Acknowledged.
We got it.
We understand.
And now that you've acknowledgedthat feeling and that emotion,
it just lightens the mood.
But when you walk into ameeting, and you don't even
acknowledge The energy thatyou're bringing in that you
could be taking away from otherpeople, it becomes challenging.
(25:45):
it's important to understandwhat takes your energy and what
gives you energy.
This is how you'll be able tokeep going during the times of
high demand and how you canrecover fully during the times
of rest and recovery.
If pro athletes and collegeathletes can understand this
concept, dang it, senior livingleaders can too.
(26:07):
Our jobs are more importantbecause we're dealing with
people, at very vulnerable timesin their lives.
Your mindset plays a huge rolein creating your energy.
Thoughts, you think the emotionsthat come from those thoughts
will create the negative orpositive energy that you bring
(26:27):
to each day.
encounter that you have.
The same is true for the energywe give and receive in life.
When we act with transformativeintention, without transactional
expectations, we set powerfulreactions into motion, even if
we don't see them immediately.
So if you want to createpositive energy in your life and
(26:50):
you want to receive positiveenergy from what you're giving,
here's some advice.
Give freely.
Expect the blessings to comeback in their own time and form.
Communicate clearly.
Resentments are often unspokenexpectations.
Don't let them poison yourrelationships, your career, or
(27:12):
your life.
Or even more importantly, yoursoul.
Be intentional.
Know what you want, right?
You know what success is to you.
Take steps towards it, act onit, and let go of expecting
others to deliver it for you andyou go make it happen for you.
When you release expectations,you create space for peace and
(27:37):
positive energy to take root inyour life.
for those times when life isbumpy and it's going to be very
easy to latch on to the negativeemotions and the negative
thoughts, here are some phrasesthat I keep on hand to help me
stay positive through the chaos,right?
You're going to have lots ofchaos inside senior living.
(28:00):
It's not about me.
Their expectations, theirreactions to this extreme are
not about me.
It's about them and their ownexperiences.
I have done all that I can do,and I am at peace with the
outcome that I cannot control.
Now, you do have to go back andassess that you did all the
right things, and that you didcontrol all the controllables.
(28:23):
And, if you did that, then it'snot about you.
There are some things that wejust cannot avoid or plan for, I
will be at the right place atthe right time and what is meant
for me will always find me.
At the most perfect time for me,right?
(28:43):
That helps me latch on to, I'mgoing to keep going because it
doesn't matter what I do.
It's teaching me, it's guidingme, it's taking me to where I
want to go, right?
I'm not going to lose what ismine.
I'm not going to do that.
I'm going to keep beingconsistent.
My strength is being consistent.
I will continue to show up anddo the work because I know that
(29:06):
momentum is created from effortand it takes a lot of effort to
be as successful and significantas I want to be.
Sales.
The more calls I make, the moredata in the CRM, the more
prepared I will be in the longrun.
This work today is laying thefoundation of greatness for
(29:29):
later.
And always look for the smallwins because they will keep you
going.
I did want to add one othertopic.
Mindset, boundaries, and energyare the three most influential
factors in a leadership's lifeinside of a community.
But there's something else, it'sknowing your community story.
(29:51):
when you know why your communitychanges the lives of your
residents, it's easy to tell thestory.
When you know the value of whatyou and your team bring to the
community, it is easy to talkabout.
And when you can explain all ofthis with passion and
confidence, it's inspiring.
(30:11):
Knowing your story and the valuethat you give your residents
will allow you to sell in avalue driven way versus a
commoditized or price drivenway.
Commodity is a product that isavailable from many different
places, as if there is acommunity at every street
corner.
(30:32):
When you are competing with acommunity that is price driven,
and amenities focused, and youare value driven outcome
focused, you will seem as if youoffer a different product, a
different community altogether.
There will be people who want tonegotiate, and there are times
when negotiating is needed.
(30:53):
But, when you sell the valueover the price.
You will attract the people whoneed your community, your
perfect resident.
And so here are three things foryou to focus on when creating
your community story.
What is special about yourcommunity?
Most commonly used areas in yourcommunity and why?
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Know the stories as to why theresidents love this room.
And on your tour path, tellthose stories.
Know the stories of the impactyour team has had on your
residents.
Tell that story as to why it'sdifferent here than down the
road.
Know the value that you bring toyour team.
(31:37):
Know the value that other teammembers bring to your team and
tell it over and over again.
All communities offer the same.
We have an apartment, we haveclosets, we have bathrooms, we
have activities, we have food.
there may not be a pool at thisone, there may be a pool at that
one, there may be fancierchandeliers.
That matters to some, but itdoesn't matter to them all.
(31:59):
You and your teen make thedifference.
Know your story.
Tell your story.
And be specific.
Real specific.
Ask the residents why they loveyour community.
Listen for the stories everychance you can get.
Not just when you ask them, butwhen they tell them freely.
Write those down and use them onyour tours.
(32:22):
Listen to what family memberssay about how they felt when
they first started and when theanxiety started to lessen and
they started realizing this wasa really good decision.
Know what the problem wasbefore.
Know what the opportunity is,which is the value that you
give.
Know what the steps were thatwere hard that they almost
(32:43):
couldn't overcome.
And then know what the outcomeis of what made them so happy
now.
These points.
Are very, very important indifferentiating your community
from the community down thestreet and why people will pay
the rate that you tell them forthe outcome that you show them
(33:05):
in conclusion, sales and seniorliving is about so much more
than filling rooms.
or apartments.
It's about changing lives.
The decisions you make, theconnections you foster, and the
way you show up each day defineyour community's significance.
(33:26):
Significance is about the impactyour career has on your life and
the lives of others.
In order to remain significant,you must remember to master your
mindset, set clear boundaries,lead with positive energy, Know
your community and your ownstory so that you can create
(33:48):
your future.
Thank you for letting me sharemy journey with you today and
all of my tips and tricks ofwhat made my community so
successful.
I hope that you'll take theselessons and use them to build
not just a successful career.
But a significant one.
My podcasts can be found onApple Podcasts, Spotify,
(34:08):
iHeartRadio, Amazon, and theyare Aspire for More with Erin,
and the I Have Fallen and NeedSome Help podcast.
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