April 2, 2001

              Answer No. 1:  The average for FSI reader is 41% -- or 4 pre-paid contracts signed for every 10 at-need calls within a year.  Pre-need pros say that's actually better than they'd expect for funeral homes overall.  And a decade ago, that average would have probably been closer to 20%, or half of what it is today, believes pre-need pro Dan Isard, Foresight Companies (800-426-0165), Phoenix.

             Answer No. 2:  That's not nearly good enough.  For starters, unless you're breaking 40%, you're probably not using pre-need to shift future market share away from your competitors.  Instead, you're mostly signing up families who would have used your firm anyway, says pre-need guru Quinn Eagan.  His firm, Preneed Funeral Program (800-529-7729), Metairie, La., has trained reps at more than 600 funeral homes nationwide.

             Then there are the chains and their historically hard-charging pre-need efforts.  Example:  Stewart jot a 70% ratio in 1996, with about 38,000 pre-need contracts sold and 54,000 at-need calls.  That ratio slipped to 42% in 3 short years, thanks to a surge in the No. 3 chain's at-need business and a slump in pre-need sales.  But don't breathe too easily:  Stewart and the big boys are going to hit pre-need even harder in the next few years as they continue to shift their focus from acquisitions to operations.

            1.  Don't expect your at-need staff to sell pre-need.  Forget the arguments about whether FDs make good sales reps or whether non-licensed staff should sell pre-need.  The more important fact is that the pressing at-need demands of removals, arrangement complications and such will always win out if the same FD is responsible for handling those challenges AND growing pre-need.  You won't hit 100% -- or grow your market share - as long as your FDs are canceling pre-need appointments whenever an at-need emergency arises.

            2.  Follow up on every pre-need lead within 5 days.  One of the most common blunders Eagan sees:  A funeral home places a pre-need ad in the paper or sends a direct-mail piece that draws tons of response...and the follow-up is limited to a secretary mailing info packets within the next few weeks.  "They get close to the altar, but the get scared of consummating the deal," Eagan says.  Instead, he urges, make sure you follow up within 5 days, while the memory of the ad is still fresh.  Plus...

            3.  Make your pre-need follow-ups in person.  Think about it:  It's much harder to turn away a person at your door than a voice on your phone.  Here's how Eagan does it:  Have your rep visit the home of a pre-need prospect within 5 days of receiving their response.  Your rep is only there to set up an appointment to discuss pre-need options.  Don't enter the house, even if the family invites you.  Tell them, "We can't see you right now.  We're too busy.

           Remember:  "You want to keep it formal,  and you want to talk to the husband and wife together," Eagan says.  Also, don't give them a pre-planning guide or any other literature during that brief initial visit.  Otherwise, the prospect might wrongly conclude that they have everything they need before you even get to talk to them.