Recently, in a job listing for a sales counselor at a senior community, the first qualification read: Strive to exceed monthly call targets. Unfortunately, in senior living sales, call out quotas are often viewed as a predictor of success, i.e., the more call outs, the more likely you’ll get a result. It’s a classic case of mistaking activity for progress. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work.
That first conversation with a prospective resident, or their influencer, isn’t just another call to check off the list. It’s the seed for every future interaction. But if a salesperson is laser-focused on hitting a call out target, they aren’t really listening to the prospect. Most likely they’re rushing through the conversation, missing opportunities to connect and ultimately failing to build trust. And with the senior living decision sales cycle creeping back to the pre-COVID norm of 18-24 months for CCRC/Life Plan communities, we need to be thinking two, three, or even four steps ahead.
We’ve seen it firsthand, sales teams so fixated on hitting their 20-call daily quota that they actually get frustrated when a new prospect calls in. Instead of seeing an inbound lead as an opportunity, they see it as an interruption. Why? Because a real conversation takes time, and time spent talking to an actual prospect means fewer checkmarks on the call-out sheet.
Let’s put it in perspective: A sales team of two full-time residency counselors and a sales director is tasked with making 20 calls per day. In theory, they could work through an entire database of 1000 leads in less than a month. But how many of those calls led to meaningful conversations? Probably not many. The truth is that a cold-call mentality doesn’t work in senior living. Your prospects are often hesitant, emotional, and full of questions they don’t even know how to ask yet. That’s why the best sales teams aren’t just dialing for dollars; they’re listening, guiding, and helping people feel at ease.
Instead of obsessing over call-out numbers, we should focus on:
Here’s a radical thought: What if we didn’t pay attention to the numbers of call outs but focused on actual indicators of success like repeat tours and the art of crafting them?
This shift in mindset isn’t just about better sales, it’s about making senior living feel like an opportunity, not a sales pitch.
Want to learn how Solutions Advisors is helping sales teams move from transactional to transformational? Let’s talk. Contact Mike Brindley, Chief Sales Officer, at 866-342-2267 or fill out the form below: