MichaelSullivan
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Feb 26, 2010, 8:47 AM
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10 Tips for a Seniors-Friendly Sales Office
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By Michael P. Sullivan
50-Plus Communications Consulting: www.graymoney.biz
The office or offices where you conduct retirement housing sales can affect the outcome and your eventual sales success with older prospects and customers. Here’s a checklist for auditing your office to make them more seniors-friendly:
1: Control office noise. Many seniors have hearing loss and attention deficits similar to young children. Background noise may interfere with comprehension. Distraction can interfere causing misunderstanding of your sales message. Control and reduce the level of background noise. Use music that is soothing and non-intrusive. Watch for signs of hearing problems with older prospects. Prevent telephone or cell phone rings during your meeting.
2: Create comfortable seating. Chairs with armrests are preferred. Those that are slightly movable work best. Low-slung sofas are less comfortable and difficult for people of age to get out of. Think about adding a sofa pillow or two for back support.
3: Make sure you have adequate lighting. With age, vision decline causes problems, such as glare from windows or harsh ceiling lights. Distractions can interrupt your presentation. Increase floor lighting to aid depth perception problems. Provide for adequate non-glare illumination from outside windows. Cover reflective desktops or conference tables with papers to reduce light bounce. Make sure computer screen is positioned to avoid reflected lights. Have several sets of reading glasses with different magnifications on hand for those prospects who forgot theirs.
4: Control room temperature. The aging process causes increased personal sensitivity to hot and cold. This sometimes causes attention problems. Check out overhead air vents and reposition prospect’s space and eliminate drafts. Place a small blanket or shawl on chair for visitors’ use.
5: Deal with privacy concerns. Protect conversations by closing your office door, placing information in secured files and generally treating all information as confidential.
6: Provide time for a short break. Ask them if they need to take a break. Give the client a chance to use the restroom. Provide directions to your restrooms, escort the person to the location if it’s hard-to-find or a long walk.
7: Manage the use of contact time when possible. Time takes on a different meaning with age. Many seniors forget or lose track of time. While you want to answer their questions fully, you need to manage time. One idea for managing time: Hang a large analog, not digital clock, on the wall facing your prospect. Remind the person how much time is available before the next scheduled appointment and determine how best to use the remaining time.
8: Use seniors-friendly office decorations. Older people want to do business with people who are like them. One way to make this connection visually is to have pictures of your children, grandchildren, parents or grandparents. Use pastoral or patriotic scenes; family, pets, children or area landmarks. Purchase nostalgic artifacts for shelves or desks. Overall, communicate that you are neat, orderly and professional, by your office appearance.
9: Provide clear directions to your office when setting an appointment. Use visual landmarks when giving directions, something that works well with right-brain oriented older people. “We are located next to the building with the golden dome on Main Street.”
10: Beware of potential accident-causers. Among them: Ragged edges of carpeting, throw rugs, poorly-lit step-downs, glass office doors, see-through cocktail tables, sharp edges of furniture.
Michael P. Sullivan, President, 50-Plus Communications Consulting, Charlotte, North Carolina, (704) 554-7863. Mike consults and trains staff at retirement facilities, home care living firms, financial services and health care organizations. His book, “101 Easy Ways to Increase Business with Boomerplus Clients” is available on his website, www.graymoney.biz. Contact him at mps50plus@aol.com.
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(This post was edited by MichaelSullivan on Mar 1, 2010, 1:19 PM)
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