November 19, 2025 • 37 mins
Summary
In this episode, Jerry Vinci speaks with Alicia Story, a 26-year veteran of senior living sales, about the readiness paradox that plagues the industry. While 89% of residents wish they'd moved in sooner, less than 10% of prospects actually convert. Alicia reveals how sales teams can shift from presenting features to untangling the deep-seated fears and ambivalence that keep families stuck in denial. Through powerful stories—including a mother who couldn't move because her adopted sons didn't know their true origins—this conversation exposes the hidden psychology behind "I'm not ready" and provides a framework for building trust through bite-sized progress and authentic curiosity.
Learn More
Connect with Alicia Story on LinkedIn
Learn more about Covenant Living at covliving.org
Email Alicia at astory@covliving.org
Takeaways
Most prospects start in denial, treating senior living like a diet they'll start "on Monday"
The human brain is wired to avoid loss, making any major life change feel threatening
"I'm not ready" usually means the perceived value doesn't outweigh the fear of loss
Successful sales requires wild curiosity and empathetic listening, not product knowledge
Home visits reveal the real stories behind surface-level objections
People buy from people, not from feature lists or medication management explanations
CRM systems should capture human stories, not just dropdown menu selections
Moving prospects forward requires bite-sized, mutually agreed-upon next steps
Rural and urban markets share the same core fears but require different trust-building approaches
Sales teams need frameworks, not scripts, to address individual readiness stages
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
All of our brains are really wired to avoid loss, right?
Like we're risk adverse and in nature.
And so I think that's what automatically puts that first
barrier up for people. That's how they're seeing it,
right? Because they don't know exactly
how they're going to feel, even when the benefits might seem
really obvious to them. So I always coach teams too.
(00:23):
It's like that. I'm not ready.
Because you know who hasn't heard that before, right?
9 out of 10 prospects say they're not ready to move yet.
Nearly every resident says, I wish I'd done this sooner.
That gap isn't just emotional, it's strategic, and today's
guest explains how sales teams can close it.
(00:44):
Welcome to From Leeds to Leases ACCR Growth podcast that helps
senior living providers transform their complex
challenges into opportunities. Listen in for stories from
industry leaders, innovative strategies and insights, and
with our expertise, learn how toincrease occupancy faster,
Guaranteed. Welcome back to another episode
(01:06):
from Leads to Lease is the podcast that dives deep into the
senior living and senior care industries, bringing you
insights, strategies and storiesfrom the experts at the
forefront of innovation, leadership, and care.
I'm your host, Jerry Vincey, CEOof CCR Growth, full service
marketing and growth agency that's exclusive to the senior
living industry. And through this podcast, I'm
here to guide you through the evolving landscape of senior
(01:28):
care, exploring the innovation strategies and leadership
insights that are shaping the future of the industry.
So whether you're a provider, a caregiver or industry leader,
this show is here to help you make informed decisions and
create meaningful impact. All right, today's guest is
Alicia Story. She spent over 26 years in the
senior living space guiding communities across the full
(01:50):
spectrum from rural West Virginia to metro Orlando.
Today, she leads healthcare sales strategy at Covenant
Living Helping Scale, a divisionthat now spans 19 communities
and multiple care lines. So she's known for her
data-driven approach, which is something that I love, and
relationship based philosophy. Alicia specializes in sales
(02:11):
coaching, onboarding, and navigating complex care
conversations. Her latest focus is what she
calls the Readiness Paradox, which is a big part of what
we're going to talk about today and why most prospective
residents resist moving in and how sales teams can shift that
mindset. So Alicia, welcome to the show.
Thanks so much for coming on my.Pleasure.
(02:32):
Thanks for having me, Jerry. I appreciate it.
Yeah. Anytime, anytime.
This is such a a valuable conversation and I think it's,
it's probably the number one question that I think a lot of
sales, sales teams and just senior living industry has as a
whole when just understanding that readiness gap.
You know, I, we talked last timeabout the, the premature study
(02:53):
that found over 89% of residentswish they had moved in sooner
despite express expressing resistance.
I think it's what less than 10% actually actually end up
converting. Why does that gap persist across
market types? Yeah.
I think if we were just to kind of start from the very
beginning, we need to really look at our own approach.
(03:14):
And I think often times we go into that approach in this like
what I call like a sea of sameness, right?
And although there's truth to that, right?
Because medication management isgoing to look the same at any
place when we're presenting in that way, I think we're
discrediting the fact that it's not a one-size-fits-all
(03:38):
approach, right? Regardless of what your product
looks like. And so if you're going to start
anywhere, it, it's going to haveto be with your, you know, your
sales approach and your mindset and how you approach that.
Because you know, if we think about any of us in the buying
decision, right? Like readiness is deeply
(03:59):
personal, especially when you'remaking a big life changing
decision like this one and moving into senior living.
So I think it really is up to the sales professional to learn
the skills on how they're going to really untangle that person's
ambivalence. And that doesn't happen through,
(04:19):
you know, presenting your product just like anybody else
down the road in terms of how you offer medication management
as an example. Sure.
Do you think there's different levels of readiness too?
I mean, if a salesperson is really just thinking about what
they think the the level of readiness is, but then maybe the
prospect has like 5 different levels and maybe they're at
(04:41):
level 1. Well, absolutely, I do think
there is a systematic approach to to your sales process.
However, I would say that most people are in denial, right?
But if you think about the firststage of the readiness, and
again, that's why you have that gap, right, that exists, that
(05:01):
paradox. And I think probably the the
vast majority of those residentsthat are saying, I wish I had
done it sooner. It's kind of no different than,
you know, think about any of of us as it relates to human
behavior. It's really a shared human
(05:22):
experience, right? Like who hasn't said I'm going
to start that diet on Monday, right?
It's like, I know I need to, butI don't want to sort of mindset.
And so being able to put yourself in the shoes and kind
of maybe relate it back to your own experience of I know I
should, but I don't want to, I think really helps you get into
(05:44):
the mindset of, you know, what Iperceived to be that first stage
of being denial. Is there something in the data
to that correlates being ready and the regret that happens when
people don't make that move? I think it, it brings up an
interesting point just in terms of how, how you can share those
(06:05):
experiences of other people thatmaybe perhaps waited too long to
make the move or be able to findcommon interest in, you know,
the people that you have served in relation to the customer, the
consumer that you're talking to at that time.
Because we know that, you know, with anybody in in a buying
(06:26):
decision, most people are going to support somebody that they
view as a peer of theirs as a very trusted resource, right?
And so I think being able to share those experiences of
people that maybe, you know, didn't take advantage of making
the decision at the right time or the most appropriate time.
When it comes to the psychology too behind the phrase, I'm not
(06:49):
ready. When people are saying that I
mean what brain based barriers are actually driving that
hesitation? Yeah, I think a shared human
experience is that all of our brains are really wired to avoid
loss, right? Like we're risk adversed in, in
in nature. And so I think that's what like
(07:09):
automatically puts that first barrier up for people is that
that's how they're seeing it, right?
And and rightfully so. It's a big because they don't
know exactly how they're going to feel even when the benefits
might seem really obvious to them, right.
And so I always coach teams too.It's like the I'm not ready
(07:29):
because you know, who hasn't heard that before, right?
I'm not ready. I often say two things like that
either is like, I don't understand the value that you
have to offer or OK, I get the value that you're offering.
Like it seems logical, right, interms of a, you know, a mindset,
(07:51):
our brain perspective, but it's not a great enough value to
overcome the pain or the loss, the fear of loss that I'm
feeling in this moment. And so our jobs really are, and
you don't often think of this, you know, in traditional sales
sense is to understand what thatloss is because that's even
(08:16):
though we have the shared human experience, their specific story
is unique to them. And that's what we really have
to uncover and untangle or help them untangle, because that's
not our job to help them tell their story, right?
And how do you do that? I mean, if if logic isn't enough
and the conversation has to kindof move forward to the next
level, I mean, how do you take that next step to move it there?
(08:39):
Yeah, I mean, it's a great question.
You know, if I were to oversimplify it at first, I, I
always say early on in the onboarding to try and get this
to stick with, with new hires asthey're maybe learning a new way
of sales or just human connections.
Is that you really have to learnhow to be wildly curious and to
(09:02):
do that in an empathetic way, right?
Because most people when you can, you know, when you can kind
of find your authentic way of doing that.
Most people are going to untangle their own ambivalence
to making a move. Their story will come out
eventually. Actually have a great, if you
(09:25):
don't mind, I have a great storyI could share with you real
quick about yeah, So gosh, this was probably maybe 10-15 years
ago when I was coaching a sales professional actually in
Kentucky, but they were just having a really hard time.
And I'm a big component of home visits.
And they're like, I know what you're going to say.
I've already done the home visit, Alicia, you know, because
(09:46):
that's where people get comfortable right in their own
space. And so you got to meet them
where they're at. And so we kind of said, I said,
OK, well, let's try the home visit again and maybe not have
quite an agenda this time going into your home visit other than
you're going to meet somebody you really are interested in
(10:06):
having lunch with and getting toknow that person and like and
try not to think over, think it,right.
And so that's kind of the approach they brought into that
home visit. Well, it turns out that this
lovely lady who kept saying I'm not ready.
And then she kind of phased into, as we kind of employed
some different strategies, she kind of phased into, I just have
(10:28):
so much stuff like it's I need ayear to kind of like sort
through things. You know, we've all heard that.
But what ended up being the actual story, what he found out
over lunch, a very casual lunch,was that.
And the still, like, brings tears to my eyes when I think
about her pain or shame or whatever she was feeling in that
(10:50):
moment was that she had adopted her two sons.
And she knew that she would needtheir help in downsizing and
going through all of her stuff because that part was true.
There's always little bits of truth in, in what we hear or
whatever. They're just not comfortable at
that point telling the whole story.
But neither of her sons knew they were adopted.
(11:12):
They thought that was their biological mom.
Yeah. And so, you know, Can you
imagine? I mean, I all respect to her
because, I mean, her love was probably just so immense for
those two boys that she had and raised their entire lives.
But to have to face out at that chapter in her life wasn't
(11:33):
something that she was willing to do.
Yeah. Wow.
I mean, what does a salesperson say when someone like that says
they're not ready yet? I mean, you can.
That's so difficult. Yeah, Yeah.
I think when you can just get, when you get below the surface
(11:53):
like that, I mean, that's a deepone, right?
But again, I think when you know, for lack of better terms,
you're trained from the start toreally understand the psychology
and to really understand that, you know, this is you.
You were focused on the prospect, not the product, which
seems counterintuitive for healthcare maybe in some sense.
(12:15):
But I think it comes natural to them at that point to just like
hold space for that person. That's really all they need it,
you know, and reassure them, right?
Everything's going to be OK. You know, I'm here to help you
on this journey, you know, whatever you need me to do, you
know, I'm on your team. So.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And I know a lot of times too,
(12:36):
it's not like they're saying no to you or to the community or,
you know, the organization. They're really saying no to the
belief that they have about whatthat community stands for, what
life in that community would be right.
So how do you how do you reframethat conversation?
Yeah. I think, you know, first thing
that comes to mind is I often think about, you know, if
(12:58):
somebody were to like out of thegate, and I understand this
doesn't, you know, logically happen.
But like, I think if a, if a prospect or a senior was to, you
know, pick up the phone on theirfirst call or whatever and just
be completely vulnerable, which we know that doesn't happen from
a human perspective, right, Because everybody's saying the
same thing. Do you have openings and what's
(13:20):
your pricing? Right, Because that's what else
do I ask? And but I really think that
people would be asking questionslike, you know, am I going to
meet friends and when I feel lonely there, don't talk to me
about healthcare too soon because am I going to, is that
where I'm going to be, you know,six months from now, that sort
(13:41):
of thing. Yeah.
One of the other things that youhad talked about last time too
was was silent readiness, which is the term I really like.
But looking at CRM data to kind of surface hidden opportunities.
What are the types of behaviors that you can uncover in ACRM
that would help you indicate that somebody might be ready,
but not actually speaking up? Yeah, yeah, I, I think that's
(14:04):
great. And I'll just preface it by
saying, and, and you kind of ledinto this in my intro, but I'm
like, I've never met a report I didn't like.
But I think you also have to, you know, from a management
perspective or if you're coaching teams, whatever that
position might look like. I try to remind myself to, to
take a step back from the metricso much.
(14:25):
And really it because you're notgoing to find this in a report
right so much unless you really set up your activities and your
sales health tactics very specifically.
But you've got to dig in for thequality of of the follow up that
they're doing in the CRM becausethose those stages of readiness,
(14:48):
right, like getting from the denial to the thinking to, yeah,
I think I'm ready. And all of those stages, that's
not going to show up in a reporteither.
And so and it's only going to happen, you're only going to
advance a person if you're putting in the quality in the
very personalized creative follow up.
So it's not enough just to pull a report, you know, even though
(15:11):
we want to look at productivity and conversions and all of those
things. I want to see the notes and the
type of activities, the outcomes, all of those things
that you're doing to connect to the with that person as if that
was your grandmother, you know, searching for, for senior
living, right? And are the things and the
(15:33):
approaches very specific to who that person is and not their
diagnosis and not maybe what they said, you know, the pool
was super important to those sort of things?
And how can teams use the CRM asmore than just a task list?
Yeah. I mean, I think exactly that,
right. And so, and I'll maybe just
(15:55):
preface this as well too, I'm pretty passionate about hiring
and onboarding and really setting people up to be
successful. And so it's really important
that they understand kind of thevalue and what they're going to
get out of it, right? Because I, I'm sure anybody
(16:16):
listening to this in this industry that has managed teams
and you talk about the CRM, you know, the pushback, you know,
that you get from team members. And you know, it's just like
what I talked about earlier withthe consumer not understanding
the value of the value built isn't exceeding the pain I'm
feeling and having to enter thisdata for you in the CRM.
(16:39):
And that's not it at all, right?When we we thoroughly understand
the benefits of the CRM. So while it's a great task list
and ensuring you're following the follow up process and all of
those great things, we're all human too.
And so to be able to really input the human story behind the
(17:00):
prospect into your CRM. So in essence, you have ACRM
option that is built to allow you to do that in that you can
customize what you're inputting in that prospects record very
specific to them and not just, you know, a field that has a
drop down of three options because that's, you know, that's
(17:22):
not going to work. Yeah, that's pretty.
Limited. Talking a little bit about
consistency in in different markets, there was a Pew
Research study that said that rural older adults often delay
transitions due to cultural expectations and limited
exposure to care models. What do you, what do you see?
(17:42):
I know you've worked in the rural markets and, and then some
metropolitan markets and everywhere in between.
I mean, what is consistency in that approach look like across
diverse markets? Yeah.
I think if you, I guess I'm kindof looking at that through two
lenses and 1 is just in terms ofhow you're setting the stage in
your sales philosophy and sales approach.
(18:05):
And it's important to have a framework, but not necessarily a
script. I think to your point, right?
It's like even though you know, the psychological, you know,
human behaviors are shared experiences regardless whether
you live in rural Kentucky or orNew York City, right?
But there are some differences in in terms of how they move
(18:29):
forward in that sales process. And that's where you need to
make sure that you have a framework for that and you're
not, you know, you're not expecting salespeople to I said
script, right. But to get so prescriptive that
it's not going to fit, it's not going to fit in that
perspective. And again, in terms of, of
(18:52):
setting up the sales team right out of the gate as well too, I
always think it's really important to mention I've
always, you know, in, in the 26 years of hiring sales
professionals and even starting first in HR in this industry,
I've had this motto about, you know, hire for passion and train
(19:12):
for skill. And it has served me 99% of the
time I will say. And when you have that person
that is passionate and you thinkit is going to align with with
the values, right? Because I think there are a lot
of values behind what we're talking about in our approach.
And so once you have that, I think it's really about, you
(19:34):
know, setting the expectation through the onboarding process
that this is how we do it here, right.
So I know what's expected of me as the sales professional, but
I'm also giving them all the tools and resources in order to
be successful in that, that approach.
And I do believe that like consistency really comes from
(19:56):
shared values, right? So I, I might just narrow it
down to really if you want to take something from, from what
your question was, you really have to hire and train, right?
Yeah, that's a great response. And in terms of do you feel like
the prospects core fears stay the same, but it's just like how
(20:17):
you earn the trust that varies in different markets?
Well, I think what the fear is, you know, varies obviously, but
the fear itself, I do think thatthat really does, you know, and
it could be something, you know,I don't think insignificant, but
somebody might might feel that way of like, gosh, is there, you
know, what's your male, the female ratio?
(20:38):
My and I'm gonna find my girlfriends there all the way
to, you know, the story I sharedwith the two adopted sons,
right. And that's, that's a lot to take
on as a sales professional. But think I think it's
important, you know, especially when you're selling the whole
continuum. And that's basically what my
entire career has been. And, and, and somebody told me
(21:01):
very early in my career when I was making the shift from HR to
sales, a mentor of mine said, just remember like this one
thing, Alicia, they're like people buy people, they do not
buy things. And that's really, really stuck
in my head all of these years. And I've been able to, I think,
conceptually expand on that intomy sales philosophy.
(21:26):
And so it's important that they recognize the importance of
their job as a sales professional again, to help with
those fears. And it's like, get back to your
question is to really help them untangle that ambivalence and
find out what that is. Let them do that.
But you got to ask good questions.
You got to build that trust. You know, everybody kind of
(21:47):
knows those parts of it. But as it relates to like the
people by people and not things,you're not the subject matter
expert on everything. And if you try and make yourself
that, you're going to lose the human element of what you're
ultimately trying to achieve with what we're talking about,
right? Is like that paradox of I know I
(22:09):
really need to, I don't want to.And how do we get people moving
forward in that stage? And so sales culture is such a
big thing. And I know it's not easy,
especially in large communities and large organizations, to
build that. But if you can tap into just a
few of your colleagues that are the people that actually provide
(22:32):
the value, right? Again, you know where they can
demonstrate that value. That's how you're going to help
people. You know, little by little move
forward in those in those stagesof readiness.
Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned thethe complexity and the continuum
of care too, because I was goingto bring it back to the the
(22:52):
sales team too. A lot of sales people, they're
tasked with explaining multiple levels of care.
Without that subject matter expertise, how can how can
leaders equip staff to speak confidently about services they
may not work with on a daily basis?
Yeah, yeah. Well, two things.
I think it's tapping into those people that provide the value,
right? I always say, you know, it's
(23:14):
great to tell somebody about something, but it's even better
to show them. And, you know, the best thing
you can do is have them experience it in some way so you
can tell, right? We can learn, you know, the
continuum and we, we, we know services offered and how to
qualify and all those things, but you've got to be able to
(23:35):
move them, you know, in bite sized pieces.
You don't want to move too fast,but like you need to be able to
move them to the point where they can see obviously, right.
We're not converting without without the community visit
happening, but to build that sales culture to bring in those
peers so that they can actually demonstrate too.
Like I was a super simple example, but I'm like, oh, you
(23:58):
know, you have signature cookies.
Well, that sounds great, smells great, but they taste great.
You know, it's kind of thinking in simple terms like that.
And I can't imagine there's a successful sales culture out
there that lets these conversations go like
unsupported. I mean, there has to be some
level where people feel comfortable other leaning on
other sales team members or other members of the community
(24:19):
to help educate them on those other levels, right?
Because those conversations are going to happen no matter what.
Yeah, absolutely. But you know, it can be such a
huge advantage for you too, if you have that whole continuum.
And I think, you know, dependingon how your sales teams are are
set up, you sell the whole continuum of you have healthcare
and residential, whatever that might look like to you.
But you know, if done not done right, I think maybe what I hear
(24:42):
you saying too is like there is there is some inherent risk
there because coming in the front door right from like an
independent perspective, I thinka lot of times and no discredit
to those sales teams, but a lot of times they tend to be afraid
to approach that when it's actually such, you know, a huge
(25:05):
selling point for you to have that continuity in care and to
be rest assured that, you know, I can age in place here and all
of those things. And it can help you, it can help
you shorten that sales cycle again, out of the front door
from a from an independent perspective, if you really learn
how to build that value of healthcare.
(25:27):
And you know, it doesn't mean you need to, you know, at that
point understand all the complexities of Medicare or
whatever that might be. But you need to again, like
bringing it back to the human element and what what value is
in it for them, you know, and being able to speak to those
perspectives and then bring in your subject matter experts that
(25:49):
actually provide the value. Yeah, I think it's important
because not everybody, not it's not a lived experience for
everyone. You know, not everybody has had
a family member who's had dementia, even though it is so
prevalent. There are people in this
industry who haven't, you know, so they may not feel comfortable
having those conversations, and so bringing someone in who has
will only help strengthen that relationship.
(26:10):
Right. Well, and especially if you can
bring in like I said earlier, you know what they would
consider a peer of theirs as well too.
You know that is super impactful.
Yeah, talking a little bit aboutbuilding a sales system that
respects readiness to how do youbuild a process that nurtures
without pestering? I think I hear that a lot from
(26:32):
prospects that they're getting too many calls or too many
emails, too many text messages. Yeah, gosh, there I yeah, I
could go on about this subject sometimes.
I know, I know my teams know that I use the word bite sized
pieces a lot really is the key to it.
But you have to understand wherethat person's mindset is at in
(26:53):
that point and have you, I mean,do you understand what it is
their, their fear is right to get back to what we talked about
earlier and, and, and the thingsthat they they value and all of
that. And so I always tell people
like, we're just moving them forward to the most appropriate
next step that makes sense for them in their journey, right?
(27:17):
And so from a coaching perspective, I'm always like,
OK, well, the next step has to be time activated, has to be
mutually agreed upon, right? Otherwise you're going to get
people ghosting you, like the young kids say, right?
And so, you know, when I'm seeing all these voice messages
left in the CRM, you know, we got to take a step back and
(27:39):
let's look at what that sounded like when you, when you, you
know, close to the next step, touse industry terms, right?
It's like, did they, you know, did they agree to that?
Did they know what was going to happen next into the in the
relationship? And did it make sense to where
we left that conversation? Because I've, I didn't know yet
(28:00):
that the story of your two sons,you know, if I would have
suggested a community visit or anursing assessment or something
like that, I guarantee you that prospects journey would have
gone a lot different for both ofthem, right?
That was, is that what you wouldcall readiness nurturing?
I mean like, you know, marketingor or having that conversation
(28:23):
with people based on where they're at in the process.
That's, yeah. I mean, I think that's a great
way to simplify it, yeah. What makes next?
What makes the most sense next? Yeah, and and always be asking
yourself that. Have you found a way to automate
that or do you feel like there still has to be the human factor
in there kind of driving the buson in terms of when those touch
(28:47):
points are made? Yeah.
I mean, I automated in a sense of we do have a pretty
prescriptive follow up process in terms of like time frames and
quantity, but you also have to give them that freedom to like I
said, you know, it's not a script, you know, it's a
framework for them. And so I think a lot of times
(29:09):
people think too that it has to be, you know, the face to face
or the ear to ear, but you know,pending what that conversation
sounded like when you left off, maybe you send them an inspiring
quote based on something that you know, happened in you or you
learned in your conversation with them.
And I think just kind of really thinking about creative follow
(29:32):
up in general. One sales professionals get
comfortable with that that can actually help put them at ease
too, because I think they they just constantly feel this
pressure, you know, maybe from, you know, management or whoever
it might be about number of phone calls out and and number
of visits and all those things are super important.
(29:54):
Again, to kind of jump back to some in a Jerry about something
we talked about earlier with your CRM.
That's why it's so important to have, you know, ACRM that is
customizable so that you can input your customers very
specific story, but also you canunderstand, you know, easily
discern out of your CM where they're at in that readiness
(30:17):
stage, right? Because then it's going to make
more sense in terms of what doesthat, you know, next step look
like. My last question for you, it's
kind of I guess it's two questions and one, but focusing
on on leadership, I know you encourage sales leaders to take
ownership of readiness at the team level.
So two-part question, how do youhelp team managers frustration
(30:42):
and help them stay focused? And then what does it look like
to lead with patience and strategy even when the board
wants numbers now? Because that's the other thing I
know a lot of communities are are dealing with this pressure
from owners, not so much operators, but owners.
I think it goes back to, you know, having that sales
philosophy, well, hiring, right,having the sales philosophy and
(31:05):
starting people out in the right, just on the right foot,
right? Because you can waste so much
time not just in the productivity of your sales
professionals or your own time, but in the whole, you know,
sales stage and sales cycle in terms of days and time there as
well, too, if your approach isn't right.
(31:28):
Yeah. And so you know, how that sounds
to the actual sales professionalon the team, you know, a lot of
times, and not to oversimplify is like, you know, they have to
understand and believe in the process.
And that it is, you know, kind of a, a proven system from a
(31:49):
psychological, there's some brain science behind that and,
and, and how we all think and operate, right.
And so you've got to, you got tobuy into that as the person that
you know, was hired to employ that.
And then you got to stay consistent with it and trust it
and, and, and follow, you know, follow the framework.
(32:10):
I think, you know, maybe operators, owners or whomever it
might be can be like myself or you get deep into the numbers.
However, you know, it's it, it might look like it's taking more
time, but I would just argue that if you can get the team
consistently using a process, you're going to convert more
(32:34):
people, you know, And so your pool, does that make sense?
Like the pool is going to be larger statistically speaking,
in terms of of like your overallconversions, but each individual
getting them to each stage of readiness might take a little
bit longer if you were to break it down, you know, from that
lens. And so, you know, whether you're
(32:56):
on the sales team or on the corporate team or whatever, I
think it's important to be able to, it's not easy to do and you
know, is to, you know, flip between the empathetic, you
know, nurturer type person and the strategic and the numbers.
(33:16):
But you got to be able to take that with your teams and then be
able to speak to what you know is important to to owners and
operators so that they understand too, right.
It's kind of like when we talkedabout the CRM and them
understanding what value was in it for them so that you're not
constantly hearing your teams belike, now what do you want?
Put input in there, that sort ofthing.
(33:38):
So yeah, you got to speak people's language, right?
It's all of this, whether we're talking about owners or
operators of the actual amazing sales professionals that do this
day in and day out or the consumer, which is, you know,
the main point of what we're talking about.
It's, it's understanding how people think in, in, you know,
(33:58):
the cultures that they're in. I think the data, I think the
process goes back to the data aswell, because if you're looking
at the data, you can establish where those processes are, are
working, winning out and where they're not, right.
I mean, if you even look at the sales cycle, where are prospects
dropping off? Are they booking tours?
Are they not booking tours? Yeah, if they booked a tour and
(34:21):
they showed up for the tour, whyare they not moving in?
You know, you can start to analyze that data and and get
some real clear understanding from that.
Yeah, glad you said that becauseI think that maybe brings the
point together that I was tryingto say like when you're talking
numbers to to owners or whomeverit might be.
So let's just using the inquiry to tour, you know, conversion
(34:42):
perspective, right? Like you might, you know, you're
likely going to see when you have this process, more people
converting from inquiry to tour,right?
Which is ultimately how you're going to get the sale.
However, you might see that the days from inquiry to tour might
take a bit longer, right? But the payoff is there.
(35:04):
And so you got to be able to speak to, you know, the payoff,
obviously, depending on your audience.
Yeah. And if you know it's a longer
sales cycle, what else can you be doing in the interim, right,
to help nurture that prospect sothat opens?
Up which exactly could be a whole nother conversation about
that reciprocal pipeline and marketing and all that great
(35:25):
stuff. Yeah, yeah.
Awesome. Thank.
Thank you so much, Alicia. This was a great conversation.
Where can our audience go to learn more about Covenant Living
or connect with you directly? Absolutely, it was my pleasure.
I had a great time and I just love talking about just the
human element and and the peoplethat we're serving.
So you can definitely learn moreabout Covenant Living at
(35:45):
coveliving.org. And then can people reach out to
your to you on LinkedIn or reachout to you through e-mail?
What's the best way to connect with you?
Yeah, absolutely. Either one I would be open to.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Alicia Story or my e-mail
address is astory@covcovliving.org.
(36:06):
All. Right.
Awesome. Thank you so much.
All right, so as we wrap up today's episode, I want to thank
Alicia Story for breaking down one of the most common but under
discussed realities and senior living sales.
Most people are not ready. Most teams are not equipped to
handle that. And that's exactly why this
conversation matters. So if you want to connect with
(36:27):
Alicia or learn more about her work at Covenant Living, we've
included her LinkedIn and Covenant Living's website in the
show notes. As always, we hope you found
this episode insightful and inspiring.
Don't forget to subscribe to ourpodcast on your favorite
platform and stay tuned for moreepisodes where we continue to
explore the evolving world of senior care, covering everything
from care models and leadership strategies to policy, equity and
(36:51):
the future of aging. Also remember that From Leads to
Leases isn't just an audio experience.
We're also a video podcast, so you can subscribe to our YouTube
or Spotify channels to watch thefull episodes.
I'm Jerry Vinci, CEO of CCR growth.
Thank you for joining us on FromLeads to Leases.
Please like, subscribe and sharethis episode with anyone who
might find it useful. And until next time, lead with
(37:11):
strategy and with heart. Chat with you again soon.
Thanks, Alicia. Thank you.
Thanks for listening to From Leads to Leases.
Are you ready to fill your roomsfaster and increase occupancy?
Visit ccrgrowth.com to learn about our Senior Growth
Innovation Suite, a proven system to generate highly
qualified tour ready leads, accelerate sales and reduce
(37:32):
acquisition costs. Let's connect and turn your
challenges into opportunities. See you next time.
All of our brains are really wired to avoid loss, right?
Like we're risk adverse and in nature.
And so I think that's what automatically puts that first
barrier up for people. That's how they're seeing it,
right? Because they don't know exactly
how they're going to feel, even when the benefits might seem
really obvious to them. So I always coach teams too.
(00:23):
It's like that. I'm not ready.
Because you know who hasn't heard that before, right?
9 out of 10 prospects say they're not ready to move yet.
Nearly every resident says, I wish I'd done this sooner.
That gap isn't just emotional, it's strategic, and today's
guest explains how sales teams can close it.
(00:44):
Welcome to From Leeds to Leases ACCR Growth podcast that helps
senior living providers transform their complex
challenges into opportunities. Listen in for stories from
industry leaders, innovative strategies and insights, and
with our expertise, learn how toincrease occupancy faster,
Guaranteed. Welcome back to another episode
(01:06):
from Leads to Lease is the podcast that dives deep into the
senior living and senior care industries, bringing you
insights, strategies and storiesfrom the experts at the
forefront of innovation, leadership, and care.
I'm your host, Jerry Vincey, CEOof CCR Growth, full service
marketing and growth agency that's exclusive to the senior
living industry. And through this podcast, I'm
here to guide you through the evolving landscape of senior
(01:28):
care, exploring the innovation strategies and leadership
insights that are shaping the future of the industry.
So whether you're a provider, a caregiver or industry leader,
this show is here to help you make informed decisions and
create meaningful impact. All right, today's guest is
Alicia Story. She spent over 26 years in the
senior living space guiding communities across the full
(01:50):
spectrum from rural West Virginia to metro Orlando.
Today, she leads healthcare sales strategy at Covenant
Living Helping Scale, a divisionthat now spans 19 communities
and multiple care lines. So she's known for her
data-driven approach, which is something that I love, and
relationship based philosophy. Alicia specializes in sales
(02:11):
coaching, onboarding, and navigating complex care
conversations. Her latest focus is what she
calls the Readiness Paradox, which is a big part of what
we're going to talk about today and why most prospective
residents resist moving in and how sales teams can shift that
mindset. So Alicia, welcome to the show.
Thanks so much for coming on my.Pleasure.
(02:32):
Thanks for having me, Jerry. I appreciate it.
Yeah. Anytime, anytime.
This is such a a valuable conversation and I think it's,
it's probably the number one question that I think a lot of
sales, sales teams and just senior living industry has as a
whole when just understanding that readiness gap.
You know, I, we talked last timeabout the, the premature study
(02:53):
that found over 89% of residentswish they had moved in sooner
despite express expressing resistance.
I think it's what less than 10% actually actually end up
converting. Why does that gap persist across
market types? Yeah.
I think if we were just to kind of start from the very
beginning, we need to really look at our own approach.
(03:14):
And I think often times we go into that approach in this like
what I call like a sea of sameness, right?
And although there's truth to that, right?
Because medication management isgoing to look the same at any
place when we're presenting in that way, I think we're
discrediting the fact that it's not a one-size-fits-all
(03:38):
approach, right? Regardless of what your product
looks like. And so if you're going to start
anywhere, it, it's going to haveto be with your, you know, your
sales approach and your mindset and how you approach that.
Because you know, if we think about any of us in the buying
decision, right? Like readiness is deeply
(03:59):
personal, especially when you'remaking a big life changing
decision like this one and moving into senior living.
So I think it really is up to the sales professional to learn
the skills on how they're going to really untangle that person's
ambivalence. And that doesn't happen through,
(04:19):
you know, presenting your product just like anybody else
down the road in terms of how you offer medication management
as an example. Sure.
Do you think there's different levels of readiness too?
I mean, if a salesperson is really just thinking about what
they think the the level of readiness is, but then maybe the
prospect has like 5 different levels and maybe they're at
(04:41):
level 1. Well, absolutely, I do think
there is a systematic approach to to your sales process.
However, I would say that most people are in denial, right?
But if you think about the firststage of the readiness, and
again, that's why you have that gap, right, that exists, that
(05:01):
paradox. And I think probably the the
vast majority of those residentsthat are saying, I wish I had
done it sooner. It's kind of no different than,
you know, think about any of of us as it relates to human
behavior. It's really a shared human
(05:22):
experience, right? Like who hasn't said I'm going
to start that diet on Monday, right?
It's like, I know I need to, butI don't want to sort of mindset.
And so being able to put yourself in the shoes and kind
of maybe relate it back to your own experience of I know I
should, but I don't want to, I think really helps you get into
(05:44):
the mindset of, you know, what Iperceived to be that first stage
of being denial. Is there something in the data
to that correlates being ready and the regret that happens when
people don't make that move? I think it, it brings up an
interesting point just in terms of how, how you can share those
(06:05):
experiences of other people thatmaybe perhaps waited too long to
make the move or be able to findcommon interest in, you know,
the people that you have served in relation to the customer, the
consumer that you're talking to at that time.
Because we know that, you know, with anybody in in a buying
(06:26):
decision, most people are going to support somebody that they
view as a peer of theirs as a very trusted resource, right?
And so I think being able to share those experiences of
people that maybe, you know, didn't take advantage of making
the decision at the right time or the most appropriate time.
When it comes to the psychology too behind the phrase, I'm not
(06:49):
ready. When people are saying that I
mean what brain based barriers are actually driving that
hesitation? Yeah, I think a shared human
experience is that all of our brains are really wired to avoid
loss, right? Like we're risk adversed in, in
in nature. And so I think that's what like
(07:09):
automatically puts that first barrier up for people is that
that's how they're seeing it, right?
And and rightfully so. It's a big because they don't
know exactly how they're going to feel even when the benefits
might seem really obvious to them, right.
And so I always coach teams too.It's like the I'm not ready
(07:29):
because you know, who hasn't heard that before, right?
I'm not ready. I often say two things like that
either is like, I don't understand the value that you
have to offer or OK, I get the value that you're offering.
Like it seems logical, right, interms of a, you know, a mindset,
(07:51):
our brain perspective, but it's not a great enough value to
overcome the pain or the loss, the fear of loss that I'm
feeling in this moment. And so our jobs really are, and
you don't often think of this, you know, in traditional sales
sense is to understand what thatloss is because that's even
(08:16):
though we have the shared human experience, their specific story
is unique to them. And that's what we really have
to uncover and untangle or help them untangle, because that's
not our job to help them tell their story, right?
And how do you do that? I mean, if if logic isn't enough
and the conversation has to kindof move forward to the next
level, I mean, how do you take that next step to move it there?
(08:39):
Yeah, I mean, it's a great question.
You know, if I were to oversimplify it at first, I, I
always say early on in the onboarding to try and get this
to stick with, with new hires asthey're maybe learning a new way
of sales or just human connections.
Is that you really have to learnhow to be wildly curious and to
(09:02):
do that in an empathetic way, right?
Because most people when you can, you know, when you can kind
of find your authentic way of doing that.
Most people are going to untangle their own ambivalence
to making a move. Their story will come out
eventually. Actually have a great, if you
(09:25):
don't mind, I have a great storyI could share with you real
quick about yeah, So gosh, this was probably maybe 10-15 years
ago when I was coaching a sales professional actually in
Kentucky, but they were just having a really hard time.
And I'm a big component of home visits.
And they're like, I know what you're going to say.
I've already done the home visit, Alicia, you know, because
(09:46):
that's where people get comfortable right in their own
space. And so you got to meet them
where they're at. And so we kind of said, I said,
OK, well, let's try the home visit again and maybe not have
quite an agenda this time going into your home visit other than
you're going to meet somebody you really are interested in
(10:06):
having lunch with and getting toknow that person and like and
try not to think over, think it,right.
And so that's kind of the approach they brought into that
home visit. Well, it turns out that this
lovely lady who kept saying I'm not ready.
And then she kind of phased into, as we kind of employed
some different strategies, she kind of phased into, I just have
(10:28):
so much stuff like it's I need ayear to kind of like sort
through things. You know, we've all heard that.
But what ended up being the actual story, what he found out
over lunch, a very casual lunch,was that.
And the still, like, brings tears to my eyes when I think
about her pain or shame or whatever she was feeling in that
(10:50):
moment was that she had adopted her two sons.
And she knew that she would needtheir help in downsizing and
going through all of her stuff because that part was true.
There's always little bits of truth in, in what we hear or
whatever. They're just not comfortable at
that point telling the whole story.
But neither of her sons knew they were adopted.
(11:12):
They thought that was their biological mom.
Yeah. And so, you know, Can you
imagine? I mean, I all respect to her
because, I mean, her love was probably just so immense for
those two boys that she had and raised their entire lives.
But to have to face out at that chapter in her life wasn't
(11:33):
something that she was willing to do.
Yeah. Wow.
I mean, what does a salesperson say when someone like that says
they're not ready yet? I mean, you can.
That's so difficult. Yeah, Yeah.
I think when you can just get, when you get below the surface
(11:53):
like that, I mean, that's a deepone, right?
But again, I think when you know, for lack of better terms,
you're trained from the start toreally understand the psychology
and to really understand that, you know, this is you.
You were focused on the prospect, not the product, which
seems counterintuitive for healthcare maybe in some sense.
(12:15):
But I think it comes natural to them at that point to just like
hold space for that person. That's really all they need it,
you know, and reassure them, right?
Everything's going to be OK. You know, I'm here to help you
on this journey, you know, whatever you need me to do, you
know, I'm on your team. So.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And I know a lot of times too,
(12:36):
it's not like they're saying no to you or to the community or,
you know, the organization. They're really saying no to the
belief that they have about whatthat community stands for, what
life in that community would be right.
So how do you how do you reframethat conversation?
Yeah. I think, you know, first thing
that comes to mind is I often think about, you know, if
(12:58):
somebody were to like out of thegate, and I understand this
doesn't, you know, logically happen.
But like, I think if a, if a prospect or a senior was to, you
know, pick up the phone on theirfirst call or whatever and just
be completely vulnerable, which we know that doesn't happen from
a human perspective, right, Because everybody's saying the
same thing. Do you have openings and what's
(13:20):
your pricing? Right, Because that's what else
do I ask? And but I really think that
people would be asking questionslike, you know, am I going to
meet friends and when I feel lonely there, don't talk to me
about healthcare too soon because am I going to, is that
where I'm going to be, you know,six months from now, that sort
(13:41):
of thing. Yeah.
One of the other things that youhad talked about last time too
was was silent readiness, which is the term I really like.
But looking at CRM data to kind of surface hidden opportunities.
What are the types of behaviors that you can uncover in ACRM
that would help you indicate that somebody might be ready,
but not actually speaking up? Yeah, yeah, I, I think that's
(14:04):
great. And I'll just preface it by
saying, and, and you kind of ledinto this in my intro, but I'm
like, I've never met a report I didn't like.
But I think you also have to, you know, from a management
perspective or if you're coaching teams, whatever that
position might look like. I try to remind myself to, to
take a step back from the metricso much.
(14:25):
And really it because you're notgoing to find this in a report
right so much unless you really set up your activities and your
sales health tactics very specifically.
But you've got to dig in for thequality of of the follow up that
they're doing in the CRM becausethose those stages of readiness,
(14:48):
right, like getting from the denial to the thinking to, yeah,
I think I'm ready. And all of those stages, that's
not going to show up in a reporteither.
And so and it's only going to happen, you're only going to
advance a person if you're putting in the quality in the
very personalized creative follow up.
So it's not enough just to pull a report, you know, even though
(15:11):
we want to look at productivity and conversions and all of those
things. I want to see the notes and the
type of activities, the outcomes, all of those things
that you're doing to connect to the with that person as if that
was your grandmother, you know, searching for, for senior
living, right? And are the things and the
(15:33):
approaches very specific to who that person is and not their
diagnosis and not maybe what they said, you know, the pool
was super important to those sort of things?
And how can teams use the CRM asmore than just a task list?
Yeah. I mean, I think exactly that,
right. And so, and I'll maybe just
(15:55):
preface this as well too, I'm pretty passionate about hiring
and onboarding and really setting people up to be
successful. And so it's really important
that they understand kind of thevalue and what they're going to
get out of it, right? Because I, I'm sure anybody
(16:16):
listening to this in this industry that has managed teams
and you talk about the CRM, you know, the pushback, you know,
that you get from team members. And you know, it's just like
what I talked about earlier withthe consumer not understanding
the value of the value built isn't exceeding the pain I'm
feeling and having to enter thisdata for you in the CRM.
(16:39):
And that's not it at all, right?When we we thoroughly understand
the benefits of the CRM. So while it's a great task list
and ensuring you're following the follow up process and all of
those great things, we're all human too.
And so to be able to really input the human story behind the
(17:00):
prospect into your CRM. So in essence, you have ACRM
option that is built to allow you to do that in that you can
customize what you're inputting in that prospects record very
specific to them and not just, you know, a field that has a
drop down of three options because that's, you know, that's
(17:22):
not going to work. Yeah, that's pretty.
Limited. Talking a little bit about
consistency in in different markets, there was a Pew
Research study that said that rural older adults often delay
transitions due to cultural expectations and limited
exposure to care models. What do you, what do you see?
(17:42):
I know you've worked in the rural markets and, and then some
metropolitan markets and everywhere in between.
I mean, what is consistency in that approach look like across
diverse markets? Yeah.
I think if you, I guess I'm kindof looking at that through two
lenses and 1 is just in terms ofhow you're setting the stage in
your sales philosophy and sales approach.
(18:05):
And it's important to have a framework, but not necessarily a
script. I think to your point, right?
It's like even though you know, the psychological, you know,
human behaviors are shared experiences regardless whether
you live in rural Kentucky or orNew York City, right?
But there are some differences in in terms of how they move
(18:29):
forward in that sales process. And that's where you need to
make sure that you have a framework for that and you're
not, you know, you're not expecting salespeople to I said
script, right. But to get so prescriptive that
it's not going to fit, it's not going to fit in that
perspective. And again, in terms of, of
(18:52):
setting up the sales team right out of the gate as well too, I
always think it's really important to mention I've
always, you know, in, in the 26 years of hiring sales
professionals and even starting first in HR in this industry,
I've had this motto about, you know, hire for passion and train
(19:12):
for skill. And it has served me 99% of the
time I will say. And when you have that person
that is passionate and you thinkit is going to align with with
the values, right? Because I think there are a lot
of values behind what we're talking about in our approach.
And so once you have that, I think it's really about, you
(19:34):
know, setting the expectation through the onboarding process
that this is how we do it here, right.
So I know what's expected of me as the sales professional, but
I'm also giving them all the tools and resources in order to
be successful in that, that approach.
And I do believe that like consistency really comes from
(19:56):
shared values, right? So I, I might just narrow it
down to really if you want to take something from, from what
your question was, you really have to hire and train, right?
Yeah, that's a great response. And in terms of do you feel like
the prospects core fears stay the same, but it's just like how
(20:17):
you earn the trust that varies in different markets?
Well, I think what the fear is, you know, varies obviously, but
the fear itself, I do think thatthat really does, you know, and
it could be something, you know,I don't think insignificant, but
somebody might might feel that way of like, gosh, is there, you
know, what's your male, the female ratio?
(20:38):
My and I'm gonna find my girlfriends there all the way
to, you know, the story I sharedwith the two adopted sons,
right. And that's, that's a lot to take
on as a sales professional. But think I think it's
important, you know, especially when you're selling the whole
continuum. And that's basically what my
entire career has been. And, and, and somebody told me
(21:01):
very early in my career when I was making the shift from HR to
sales, a mentor of mine said, just remember like this one
thing, Alicia, they're like people buy people, they do not
buy things. And that's really, really stuck
in my head all of these years. And I've been able to, I think,
conceptually expand on that intomy sales philosophy.
(21:26):
And so it's important that they recognize the importance of
their job as a sales professional again, to help with
those fears. And it's like, get back to your
question is to really help them untangle that ambivalence and
find out what that is. Let them do that.
But you got to ask good questions.
You got to build that trust. You know, everybody kind of
(21:47):
knows those parts of it. But as it relates to like the
people by people and not things,you're not the subject matter
expert on everything. And if you try and make yourself
that, you're going to lose the human element of what you're
ultimately trying to achieve with what we're talking about,
right? Is like that paradox of I know I
(22:09):
really need to, I don't want to.And how do we get people moving
forward in that stage? And so sales culture is such a
big thing. And I know it's not easy,
especially in large communities and large organizations, to
build that. But if you can tap into just a
few of your colleagues that are the people that actually provide
(22:32):
the value, right? Again, you know where they can
demonstrate that value. That's how you're going to help
people. You know, little by little move
forward in those in those stagesof readiness.
Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned thethe complexity and the continuum
of care too, because I was goingto bring it back to the the
(22:52):
sales team too. A lot of sales people, they're
tasked with explaining multiple levels of care.
Without that subject matter expertise, how can how can
leaders equip staff to speak confidently about services they
may not work with on a daily basis?
Yeah, yeah. Well, two things.
I think it's tapping into those people that provide the value,
right? I always say, you know, it's
(23:14):
great to tell somebody about something, but it's even better
to show them. And, you know, the best thing
you can do is have them experience it in some way so you
can tell, right? We can learn, you know, the
continuum and we, we, we know services offered and how to
qualify and all those things, but you've got to be able to
(23:35):
move them, you know, in bite sized pieces.
You don't want to move too fast,but like you need to be able to
move them to the point where they can see obviously, right.
We're not converting without without the community visit
happening, but to build that sales culture to bring in those
peers so that they can actually demonstrate too.
Like I was a super simple example, but I'm like, oh, you
(23:58):
know, you have signature cookies.
Well, that sounds great, smells great, but they taste great.
You know, it's kind of thinking in simple terms like that.
And I can't imagine there's a successful sales culture out
there that lets these conversations go like
unsupported. I mean, there has to be some
level where people feel comfortable other leaning on
other sales team members or other members of the community
(24:19):
to help educate them on those other levels, right?
Because those conversations are going to happen no matter what.
Yeah, absolutely. But you know, it can be such a
huge advantage for you too, if you have that whole continuum.
And I think, you know, dependingon how your sales teams are are
set up, you sell the whole continuum of you have healthcare
and residential, whatever that might look like to you.
But you know, if done not done right, I think maybe what I hear
(24:42):
you saying too is like there is there is some inherent risk
there because coming in the front door right from like an
independent perspective, I thinka lot of times and no discredit
to those sales teams, but a lot of times they tend to be afraid
to approach that when it's actually such, you know, a huge
(25:05):
selling point for you to have that continuity in care and to
be rest assured that, you know, I can age in place here and all
of those things. And it can help you, it can help
you shorten that sales cycle again, out of the front door
from a from an independent perspective, if you really learn
how to build that value of healthcare.
(25:27):
And you know, it doesn't mean you need to, you know, at that
point understand all the complexities of Medicare or
whatever that might be. But you need to again, like
bringing it back to the human element and what what value is
in it for them, you know, and being able to speak to those
perspectives and then bring in your subject matter experts that
(25:49):
actually provide the value. Yeah, I think it's important
because not everybody, not it's not a lived experience for
everyone. You know, not everybody has had
a family member who's had dementia, even though it is so
prevalent. There are people in this
industry who haven't, you know, so they may not feel comfortable
having those conversations, and so bringing someone in who has
will only help strengthen that relationship.
(26:10):
Right. Well, and especially if you can
bring in like I said earlier, you know what they would
consider a peer of theirs as well too.
You know that is super impactful.
Yeah, talking a little bit aboutbuilding a sales system that
respects readiness to how do youbuild a process that nurtures
without pestering? I think I hear that a lot from
(26:32):
prospects that they're getting too many calls or too many
emails, too many text messages. Yeah, gosh, there I yeah, I
could go on about this subject sometimes.
I know, I know my teams know that I use the word bite sized
pieces a lot really is the key to it.
But you have to understand wherethat person's mindset is at in
(26:53):
that point and have you, I mean,do you understand what it is
their, their fear is right to get back to what we talked about
earlier and, and, and the thingsthat they they value and all of
that. And so I always tell people
like, we're just moving them forward to the most appropriate
next step that makes sense for them in their journey, right?
(27:17):
And so from a coaching perspective, I'm always like,
OK, well, the next step has to be time activated, has to be
mutually agreed upon, right? Otherwise you're going to get
people ghosting you, like the young kids say, right?
And so, you know, when I'm seeing all these voice messages
left in the CRM, you know, we got to take a step back and
(27:39):
let's look at what that sounded like when you, when you, you
know, close to the next step, touse industry terms, right?
It's like, did they, you know, did they agree to that?
Did they know what was going to happen next into the in the
relationship? And did it make sense to where
we left that conversation? Because I've, I didn't know yet
(28:00):
that the story of your two sons,you know, if I would have
suggested a community visit or anursing assessment or something
like that, I guarantee you that prospects journey would have
gone a lot different for both ofthem, right?
That was, is that what you wouldcall readiness nurturing?
I mean like, you know, marketingor or having that conversation
(28:23):
with people based on where they're at in the process.
That's, yeah. I mean, I think that's a great
way to simplify it, yeah. What makes next?
What makes the most sense next? Yeah, and and always be asking
yourself that. Have you found a way to automate
that or do you feel like there still has to be the human factor
in there kind of driving the buson in terms of when those touch
(28:47):
points are made? Yeah.
I mean, I automated in a sense of we do have a pretty
prescriptive follow up process in terms of like time frames and
quantity, but you also have to give them that freedom to like I
said, you know, it's not a script, you know, it's a
framework for them. And so I think a lot of times
(29:09):
people think too that it has to be, you know, the face to face
or the ear to ear, but you know,pending what that conversation
sounded like when you left off, maybe you send them an inspiring
quote based on something that you know, happened in you or you
learned in your conversation with them.
And I think just kind of really thinking about creative follow
(29:32):
up in general. One sales professionals get
comfortable with that that can actually help put them at ease
too, because I think they they just constantly feel this
pressure, you know, maybe from, you know, management or whoever
it might be about number of phone calls out and and number
of visits and all those things are super important.
(29:54):
Again, to kind of jump back to some in a Jerry about something
we talked about earlier with your CRM.
That's why it's so important to have, you know, ACRM that is
customizable so that you can input your customers very
specific story, but also you canunderstand, you know, easily
discern out of your CM where they're at in that readiness
(30:17):
stage, right? Because then it's going to make
more sense in terms of what doesthat, you know, next step look
like. My last question for you, it's
kind of I guess it's two questions and one, but focusing
on on leadership, I know you encourage sales leaders to take
ownership of readiness at the team level.
So two-part question, how do youhelp team managers frustration
(30:42):
and help them stay focused? And then what does it look like
to lead with patience and strategy even when the board
wants numbers now? Because that's the other thing I
know a lot of communities are are dealing with this pressure
from owners, not so much operators, but owners.
I think it goes back to, you know, having that sales
philosophy, well, hiring, right,having the sales philosophy and
(31:05):
starting people out in the right, just on the right foot,
right? Because you can waste so much
time not just in the productivity of your sales
professionals or your own time, but in the whole, you know,
sales stage and sales cycle in terms of days and time there as
well, too, if your approach isn't right.
(31:28):
Yeah. And so you know, how that sounds
to the actual sales professionalon the team, you know, a lot of
times, and not to oversimplify is like, you know, they have to
understand and believe in the process.
And that it is, you know, kind of a, a proven system from a
(31:49):
psychological, there's some brain science behind that and,
and, and how we all think and operate, right.
And so you've got to, you got tobuy into that as the person that
you know, was hired to employ that.
And then you got to stay consistent with it and trust it
and, and, and follow, you know, follow the framework.
(32:10):
I think, you know, maybe operators, owners or whomever it
might be can be like myself or you get deep into the numbers.
However, you know, it's it, it might look like it's taking more
time, but I would just argue that if you can get the team
consistently using a process, you're going to convert more
(32:34):
people, you know, And so your pool, does that make sense?
Like the pool is going to be larger statistically speaking,
in terms of of like your overallconversions, but each individual
getting them to each stage of readiness might take a little
bit longer if you were to break it down, you know, from that
lens. And so, you know, whether you're
(32:56):
on the sales team or on the corporate team or whatever, I
think it's important to be able to, it's not easy to do and you
know, is to, you know, flip between the empathetic, you
know, nurturer type person and the strategic and the numbers.
(33:16):
But you got to be able to take that with your teams and then be
able to speak to what you know is important to to owners and
operators so that they understand too, right.
It's kind of like when we talkedabout the CRM and them
understanding what value was in it for them so that you're not
constantly hearing your teams belike, now what do you want?
Put input in there, that sort ofthing.
(33:38):
So yeah, you got to speak people's language, right?
It's all of this, whether we're talking about owners or
operators of the actual amazing sales professionals that do this
day in and day out or the consumer, which is, you know,
the main point of what we're talking about.
It's, it's understanding how people think in, in, you know,
(33:58):
the cultures that they're in. I think the data, I think the
process goes back to the data aswell, because if you're looking
at the data, you can establish where those processes are, are
working, winning out and where they're not, right.
I mean, if you even look at the sales cycle, where are prospects
dropping off? Are they booking tours?
Are they not booking tours? Yeah, if they booked a tour and
(34:21):
they showed up for the tour, whyare they not moving in?
You know, you can start to analyze that data and and get
some real clear understanding from that.
Yeah, glad you said that becauseI think that maybe brings the
point together that I was tryingto say like when you're talking
numbers to to owners or whomeverit might be.
So let's just using the inquiry to tour, you know, conversion
(34:42):
perspective, right? Like you might, you know, you're
likely going to see when you have this process, more people
converting from inquiry to tour,right?
Which is ultimately how you're going to get the sale.
However, you might see that the days from inquiry to tour might
take a bit longer, right? But the payoff is there.
(35:04):
And so you got to be able to speak to, you know, the payoff,
obviously, depending on your audience.
Yeah. And if you know it's a longer
sales cycle, what else can you be doing in the interim, right,
to help nurture that prospect sothat opens?
Up which exactly could be a whole nother conversation about
that reciprocal pipeline and marketing and all that great
(35:25):
stuff. Yeah, yeah.
Awesome. Thank.
Thank you so much, Alicia. This was a great conversation.
Where can our audience go to learn more about Covenant Living
or connect with you directly? Absolutely, it was my pleasure.
I had a great time and I just love talking about just the
human element and and the peoplethat we're serving.
So you can definitely learn moreabout Covenant Living at
(35:45):
coveliving.org. And then can people reach out to
your to you on LinkedIn or reachout to you through e-mail?
What's the best way to connect with you?
Yeah, absolutely. Either one I would be open to.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Alicia Story or my e-mail
address is astory@covcovliving.org.
(36:06):
All. Right.
Awesome. Thank you so much.
All right, so as we wrap up today's episode, I want to thank
Alicia Story for breaking down one of the most common but under
discussed realities and senior living sales.
Most people are not ready. Most teams are not equipped to
handle that. And that's exactly why this
conversation matters. So if you want to connect with
(36:27):
Alicia or learn more about her work at Covenant Living, we've
included her LinkedIn and Covenant Living's website in the
show notes. As always, we hope you found
this episode insightful and inspiring.
Don't forget to subscribe to ourpodcast on your favorite
platform and stay tuned for moreepisodes where we continue to
explore the evolving world of senior care, covering everything
from care models and leadership strategies to policy, equity and
(36:51):
the future of aging. Also remember that From Leads to
Leases isn't just an audio experience.
We're also a video podcast, so you can subscribe to our YouTube
or Spotify channels to watch thefull episodes.
I'm Jerry Vinci, CEO of CCR growth.
Thank you for joining us on FromLeads to Leases.
Please like, subscribe and sharethis episode with anyone who
might find it useful. And until next time, lead with
(37:11):
strategy and with heart. Chat with you again soon.
Thanks, Alicia. Thank you.
Thanks for listening to From Leads to Leases.
Are you ready to fill your roomsfaster and increase occupancy?
Visit ccrgrowth.com to learn about our Senior Growth
Innovation Suite, a proven system to generate highly
qualified tour ready leads, accelerate sales and reduce
(37:32):
acquisition costs. Let's connect and turn your
challenges into opportunities. See you next time.
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