How Long Should Senior Living Sales Coaching Engagements Last?
Senior living sales training is an effective tool for teaching concepts and reinforcing learning. This is the first step. Senior living sales coaching is necessary to guide learners toward mastery; for the training to stick long term and grow retention of top performers.
Sales coaching is not a one and done exercise. How long should a coaching engagement last?
It depends on the objective, the learner, and the organization.
At Grow Your Occupancy, we break down coaching into 3 phases: LEARN IT, KNOW IT, and MASTER IT.
LEARN IT
LEARN IT in a day, right? Statistically only 25% of training with “stick” if the training isn’t followed up with coaching. The initial LEARN IT phase typically lasts for up to three months. During LEARN IT, senior living sales concepts are reinforced, expectations are set, and selling skills are practiced. The goal of LEARN IT is achieving initial benchmarks of growth as a salesperson or sales leader in a senior living organization.
LEARN IT is intended for:
- Post sales training; grow understanding and retention
- Teams that do not have solid sales systems in place
- New hire onboarding to bring them up to a level of competence needed to successfully sell senior living*
- A reinforcement / refresher for experienced sales professionals
*Grow new sales director onboarding is proven to grow retention and provide improved sales outcomes during the initial 90 days and throughout initial year of hire.
KNOW IT
KNOW IT follows LEARN IT and lasts for three to six months. During KNOW IT, coaches reinforce learning, help learners grow their skill level through practice and exposure to increasingly challenging realistic role-playing scenarios. The goal of KNOW IT is to gain confidence, instill accountability to sales practices, increase sales conversions (thus sales) and enforce the sales-focused culture at the organization.
KNOW IT is intended for:
- Sales professionals who are ready to “level up” their sales skills and confidence
- Sales managers who come from a different organization and need exposure to their new organization’s ways of selling senior living
MASTER IT
MASTER IT is the culmination of the journey through LEARN IT and KNOW IT. Selling senior living is difficult and truly mastering the skills is a lifetime practice. Initial mastery takes place between six and 12 months from the start of coaching.
During MASTER IT, coaches work with experienced learners to sharpen their selling skills to the mastery level, gain more confidence, grow retiention and fine tune areas of professional growth and opportunity.
MASTER IT is intended for:
- Organizations seeking comprehensive understanding of senior living sales skills for their community teams
- Organizations committed to retaining top sales talents within their organization
- Owners/operators that desire to achieve an organization-wide sales culture transformation
- VPs of Sales/CSOs/RDSMs that desire executive coaching to continue professional growth and carry sales excellence through organization
- Corporate sales trainers that require a specific “Train the Trainer” learning path
“Sales coaching has contributed to our overall move-in and occupancy growth. All metrics and conversions are tracked and we see a direct correlation between teams who lean into coaching and increased metrics across the board. If you can make one investment in your occupancy growth, choose sales coaching.”
– Chris Guay
CEO
Vitality Living
Which sales coaching journey is right for me?
The ideal length of a sales coaching engagement depends on several factors—including your organization’s goals, team size, sales cycle length, and whether you’re focusing on skill development, mindset shifts, or process improvement. That said, here are some general guidelines:
- Sales cycle length: The longer sales cycle of the lower acuity levels of senior living require longer engagements to measure results. A comprehensive sales coaching engagement equips sales teams with the skills necessary to “stick with it” for the long haul of selling senior living.
- Team size and structure: Larger or more layered senior living teams may benefit from phased coaching over time versus trying to put all team members through at the same time. This strategy can ensure that a high level of productivity is maintained organization-wide.
- Customization: A blended model that starts learners of varied skill levels at different stages may be ideal for owner-operators that are actively building new communities, acquiring existing communities, or merging with other organizations.
“I worked with Julie Podewitz for over 5 years. Our coaching calls with Julie have provided that extra push that resulted in record occupancy. We couldn’t be more happy to have finally reached our goals and are pleased to report that we now have an extensive wait list. Julie’s positive approach and attitude is motivating and her methods are tried and true. I am confident that if you are looking for a “coach” to fine tune the sales process, Julie is your go-to person!”
– C. Ryan
Regional Director
Grow Your Occupancy: experienced senior living sales coaches
Grow Your Occupancy offers senior living sales training, coaching, and online learning to help you develop the skills you need for sales success. Find out more about Grow Your Occupancy: book your free 30-minute consultation today.
