How To Handle Family Concerns Without Losing the Move-In - Day 14

If you work in senior living long enough, you’re going to hear it all:
“It’s too expensive.”
“We’re not ready.”
“We need to think about it.”

And here’s the shift I want you to make today: 

Those aren’t rejections. They’re requests for help.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what families really mean when they raise concerns — the words behind the words— and I’m giving you a simple process to respond with empathy, confidence, and structure (without sounding pushy or folding on your value).

In this episode, I cover:

• Why “concerns” are usually about trust, fear, guilt, or confusion (not your building)
• The 7 most common family concerns and what they actually mean
• Your real role in the sales seat:
  40% social worker, 30% financial advisor, 20% advocate, 10% sales
• The 5-step process to address concerns calmly and effectively

🔗 Want the full scripts + worksheets?

If you want the complete Concern Response Guide (scripts for all 7 concerns, affordability worksheet, plus roleplay examples), that’s what we build inside Deep Dive Discovery.

🗓️ Next cohort starts February 21st
👉🏽 Go to StartWithOccupancy.com → Programs → Deep Dive Discovery

Transcript

Tiffany Updated voice 0:00

Lean in because today we're discussing something everyone will encounter when running any business. However, in ours it has to be handled appropriately, almost delicately. Otherwise, you run the risk of alienating the very people you are trying to help. In the corporate arena, we call these things objections. Um, but what I would like to call them are concerns, more specifically family concerns, and it could be resident concerns as well. And I want you to remember this. Concerns aren't rejections. They're not rejections of you, your community, your care. I wanna illustrate this. Let me tell you about the time when I was working with a couple. They were looking for the wife's father, so you can say his father-in-law, but the husband, his mother already lived in our sister property that was pretty close to us. It wasn't too far, maybe about 20 minutes. And so the couple visited our community where I was, and I showed them around. I did the normal stuff that you would do when someone is looking at moving into your community. I answered all their questions, I followed up consistently afterwards, but they kept stalling and I was like, what's going on? Everything looked positive, you know when that happens, right? And the thing that they kept saying when I would check in is we need to think about it. We're not sure yet. Can we come back next week? And I was patient, you know, I gave them their space, but still followed up with them consistently. I asked questions and then from those questions I gave them resource information that they were looking for or needed. And I started to get a bit frustrated because I was like, he is so cool. I want him to move into my community. And so I just adored her dad and I thought he would be a great fit for our community. I thought I was doing everything right and so I'm like, what is happening here? Why aren't they moving faster or moving forward? Did they decide to move the dad into the sister property and I just don't know it yet. I called and checked and they said no. So the daughter came to me and she said, eventually, Tiffany, we decided to move Dad in with you. I was thrilled, but I had to ask, what made you choose us? You seemed hesitant for weeks about your husband's mom being over at the other location, so I just thought you were gonna go there. I said, is there anything wrong over there? And she's like, no, no, everything is fine. Um, my mother-in-law still lives at your sister property and the care there is good. But I trust you with my dad. I watched how you listened to us, how you answered our questions, how you followed up, and you did it without being pushy. I need to know that someone will care about my dad the way I do, and I trust that you and your staff will. That's when I realized her concerns weren't about my community. They were about trust. She needed to trust me or whoever she chose before she could trust them with her father. And that reinforced everything I knew about how to address family concerns. Hi, I'm Tiffany Hill Allen, and welcome to episode 14 of our 21 Days All Things Senior Living Marketing Series, and today we're talking about family concerns and why they're not rejections of you or your community or your staff. There are requests for help and guidance and clarity because here's the truth, when someone shares a concern, they're not saying no. They're saying, help me to understand. And when you learn to hear what they're really saying, you'll help more families say yes with confidence. Let's dive in.

Tiffany 4:00

Uh huh. Welcome to Start With Occupancy, the podcast for senior living owners, operators, and sales professionals./Hi, I'm Tiffany, marketing strategist and former corporate baddie who got tired of producing results for wall street and wanted to make a change on main street./I provide quick tips, idea nuggets, and case studies to help you with proven sales, marketing, and business development strategies along with leadership concepts so that you can inspire change, impact lives, and improve outcomes for the aging, their families and your teams./I'm committed to equipping you with the tools, the knowledge and resources that you need to excel in your business./With experience working inside senior living companies, large and small, I've developed a deep passion for advocating for the aging adult and those who care for them, all while driving business growth./So whether you're already in the senior care industry or maybe you would like to be, if your mission is to serve them, my mission is to serve you./Join me as we unravel the strategies and tactics that drive success in your business while making a difference in someone's life./The goal is to touch, guide, and impact the lives of 10 families per month!/Are you with me? It's time to be inspired, gain practical tips and own your future.

Tiffany Updated voice 5:30

Here's what I learned in my 15 years in senior living sales. Family concerns are not what they seem. When someone says, it's too expensive, we're not ready. We need to think about it. They're not saying what you think they're saying. Most times. they're speaking more in code, and it is our job as an owner, an operator, a salesperson to decode it. I call this the words behind the words because every concern. And like I said, in corporate we call it objections, but I really like to call it concerns. But every concern has a deeper meaning. And when you learn to listen for that deeper meaning, you stop taking concerns personally and stop getting defensive, and you start helping families to make the right decisions for them, and it could even be the right decisions for your community. Now, before I give you the framework, I need to tell you something important. In senior living, whether you are in sales, whether you're an owner, whether you're an operator, you're not just a sales person trying to get residents, okay? You're not just trying to market your community. And you're definitely not just the role or the title that you possess. So you're the owner. You're not just an owner when it comes to helping families move into your community. Your role switches over. And you are 40% now a social worker, you are 30% a financial advisor. You are 20% an advocate and 10% sales. That's how it boils down to you're helping people go through one of the hardest decisions of their lives. So when they share concerns, they're not rejecting you. They're asking for help, navigating their fear, their guilt, their confusion. Once you understand that, concerns then become opportunities to serve. So today I'm going to give you the seven most common concerns and what they really mean, which is the words behind the words. Are you ready? Concern number one. I'm struggling with this decision that is the concern now, how does it translate to you, and what do you hear that's coming out of their mouth? What are the words they're using?"We're not sure yet.", This is so hard.","I don't know what to do." What They really mean is I need your help to walk me through this. I'm overwhelmed. I need guidance, and I'm just not sure what the next step is. Your role is to become their counselor. You ask questions, listen and guide them through the decision making process step by. Think of it as a journey, as a path, and so you're taking them one step at a time, leading them to either your community or another solution that might be best for them as well as for you. The second concern is I need to trust you more. Well, what does that sound like when they're saying it to you? It says,"we're still looking at other places.", We want to think about it." Can we come back next week?" Much like what she said to me, what they really mean is, I don't trust you enough yet to make this type of decision today. I need more time. I need more information. I need to see if you are the right person to care for my loved one, whether it be mom, dad, uncle, grandma, grandpa. They're looking to build that trust. So your role in this scenario is to build trust through your consistency, through your follow up, and showing, not telling that you and your staff really care. That could be through your first impressions. That could be the staff smiling. That could be how your other residents are showing up when they come and visit. It's all about that concern number three. The concern is, I don't see the need, but what does it sound like out of their mouths? And to you, Mom is doing fine at home.", We can manage for now.", You've heard that before, right? It's not that bad yet." That's another one. Right? Well, what they really mean is this, I'm in denial about how serious this is. Help me to see the reality without making me feel guilty. Because I really don't wanna make this decision. Your role for this particular concern is to present the scenarios of what could happen or what could be gently ask questions that help them to see the risk that they're not actually acknowledging right now or yet. This one's tricky, right? So let me give you a brief example of what I can think of in my, my, my experience. Um, I had a daughter who didn't see the need. She could not see the need, even though it's very obvious of what the need was for her mom. Her mom had dementia and I don't think it was actually diagnosed. So the daughter was, you know, in denial there. And she said she has some challenges. Cognitively, but she lived alone in a not so great part of town, and the daughter was worried about her mom opening the door to strangers. So her solution was to put sticky notes on the, you know, inside of the door where the locks are. And they would be bright sticky notes is what she told me."Do not open the door for strangers." And she was so reassured that her mom would never open up a door for a stranger. Like she's like, I have sticky notes everywhere. I tell her where things are in the house, the sticky notes, tell her what to do and so I leave them all over the house. To you and I, the absurdity is, is hearing her talking about that and how dangerous that could be. But for her it made total sense. So she gave her mom reminders, instructions, warnings, all of this on sticky notes all over the house. And she called me and said that her mom might need help eventually. Not right now though. And that she's fine, you know? And I said, well, can I do a home visit to your mom? That's the program that we offer to help with the transition of seniors into our community. It helps to build trust. And I said, I just wanna check in on her. While I'm out visiting other people and she said, well, she won't open the door. I don't know if it's gonna do you any good.'cause I know she won't open the door. I told her not to, but yeah, sure you can go ahead and try. I said, okay, well let me call you after the visit and let you know what happened. And she was very open to that, right? And she says, well, this will be kind of interesting. I'd like to know what she would do. I went to her apartment, knocked on that door, her mom opened up the door immediately. All I had to do was say that I was a friend of her daughter's and that was it. And she welcomed me in like I was an old friend, gave me candles and things from her house as gifts for visiting her. And she was so happy that somebody came to see her and visit her. And she told me about the ducks on the lake, that she likes to sit in her chair'cause she can look to the right and see the ducks and the the water. Um. Um, fountain at the lake, and then she was looking at her TV and it was like the weather channel, but not the people talking, just the static numbers and music. That was all, and that's all she did all day long. She clearly needed the help. She needed a safer environment, but the daughter just couldn't see it yet. Finally she was able to agree to moving her mom in, but she canceled the move-in date three times, canceled the contract, canceled everything after everything was you know, set up. And she did this like three times over a period of four to five months, and it was because of her guilt and her denial was eating away at her conscious. Then one day I got a call. Mom's robe had caught on fire on the stove because she was not cognizant of the sleeve being over the fire. And she was like, I was so scared and I'm so happy that she wasn't hurt, thank God. But it was a wake up call that her daughter needed. Unfortunately. Mom was okay. She was not hurt or anything like that, but the possibility of what could go wrong was jarring for the daughter enough to make the move. So mom moved in quickly and absolutely loved the community. She had friends now, she was able to talk. I arranged a room where she can see the same lake, type view with a fountain.'cause we had one there. So I was able to even replicate that for her. And then here's what I learned. Sometimes families need to see the what if scenarios. Not to scare them, I don't wish anything harmful, but sometimes you have to allow them to go through the experience and the reality that they're trying to avoid. My job wasn't to push them. It was to present. To present the scenarios gently, to give them examples and let them come to the realization themselves and empower them to know they're making this decision for the best of their loved one, and that's how I addressed the, I don't see the need concern. You help them to see it without making them feel guilty. Now, concern number four. I need more information. That is the concern. What does it sound like to you coming out of the family's mouth? How does this work?","What happens if this happens or that happened?","Can you explain this or can you explain that?" What they really mean is I don't have enough clarity about the process to make an informed decision. I need you to fill in the gaps. That is what they're really saying. So your role. Is to then become the expert. Provide information clearly, because healthcare for aging adults is a maze. It's an absolute mess. And the more that you're clear about the steps and the processes and you can articulate that to families, the more trust they will have built in you and you can guide them on the path of what's going to happen next, answer their questions thoroughly and don't assume that they know anything, especially when it comes to hospitalization, discharge, and then, going into a skilled nursing facility and rehab and then going home, and what does that look like in the process and the payer source, all of that and how that happens. Families don't know and they're told different things by different people, and the more you can understand in your area what that process looks like and you can guide a family through it, the better it will be at overcoming that particular concern The next concern is number five. I don't see the urgency. Now, I don't see the urgency is different than I don't see the need. My example with the story was, I don't see the need. She's fine. It's okay. There's not a real need. versus I don't see why we have to do it right now You can almost think that's what it was, but she didn't see the need because everything was fine. There was not a real need. It would be a want. And urgency is like,"we'll just do this eventually.","We'll just wait a few months.","We're not in a rush." It's like they don't even see the urgency of the matter. And what they really mean in this is that I don't understand why we need to act now. Help me see the timeline now for. The person who doesn't feel the urgency. Your, role in this situation is to present the risk of waiting without being pushy. So what are the risks of waiting? This is really evident when somebody is a fall risk because a family's like, oh, they're good at home. And you're saying to them,"correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she fall four times in the last 12 weeks?" You see what I'm saying? They don't see the urgency. That maybe, she needs to be in a more safer environment. Not that being in your community is going to prevent falls, but you have mitigation measures in your community to help prevent a fall as opposed to them living at home. You see what I'm saying? So showing them. What could happen if they delay? I had a person that was like this, who was set to sign because of family dynamics, which is a whole nother episode, she didn't sign, like literally they were at the table and a family member, which was her daughter because it was the nephew that was helping his aunt. But the daughter came in from nowhere, never involved in her mom's life, and was went to the table and refused to let her mom move in. And this woman was a fall risk. And so what ended up happening is six weeks later, guess what happened? She had another fall, but this time the fall was so severe that she then had to stay at a skilled nursing in a Hoyer lift situation and assisted livings in Florida, you can't have Hoyer lifts. She wanted to still move in It broke my sales manager's heart because she was then crying and she was like, but I wanna come to you. I wanna come to you. But it was too late because the inherent risk happened and the urgency wasn't met when it was needed. Show them what could happen if they delay. I also think about another family where according to the daughter, her mom was not mobile, and she didn't have 24 hour care. But the daughter was saying, well, I'm always there. I live right down the street. The neighbor helps out. Mom is fine. There's no urgency. Still no urgency. You know, you couldn't write this in a script. So the daughter comes to me, I don't know how many, you know, maybe about a month later or whatever have you, and she's like, we gotta move mom in right away. And I'm thinking, what happened? And she said, well, lightning struck. I wasn't there. And, and thank God that the neighbor, another neighbor, not the normal one, but another one, remembered that there's an older lady in the house and they were able to get in and rescue my mom. Again, these are just some of the examples. Use mine as an example if you have to. Um, but again, the daughter didn't see the urgency until the urgency presented itself, and she then said, you know what? We need to do something now. Concern number six is too expensive. This is the price, cost conversation, which is probably what you get your number one thing, right? A number one concern is either I'm not ready, um, or too expensive. What they say when they say it to you, um, is that,"we can't afford this.","That's more than we expected.","Mom's income doesn't cover it." These are just the, the buzzwords, right? And what they really mean is this. I'm scared of running out of money. Like that is a real legitimate concern for a lot of families. I don't know or don't understand how to make this work financially. I'm overwhelmed with everything else. I can't even figure out the financial part of it. And unfortunately, that is a reality for a lot of families and that's why I encourage people. Um, and I encourage you when you go to church and when you do things, now that you're in this industry or looking to get into it, have conversations with people about the importance of, of their older loved ones, uh, talking about their financial situation. And, finding what their desires are and what they look for in a community before they have to have one. Right? So your role, in this particular situation, is to become their financial advisor. You're going to ask more questions, walk them through what their full financial picture look like, not just in monthly income, but show them the resources that are available to them in addition to their income if they don't have outside resources they haven't applied for then is taking what they have and, and being able to break it down to show them the affordability of it. I have a video illustrating this that I did on my YouTube channel, and I will include that into the show notes below that you can actually look at it visually for those people, um, who are more visual learners. But I'm going to give you an example of that right now I'm thinking about a daughter specifically who came to, um, to me after, you know, the visit because we actually, sit down first, talk to them, show them around, and then do our, our what we call our second sit or just, you know, um, going over everything. She loved, everything, the room, the staff, the activities. Her mom was with her and mom was excited too. And then I gave her the pricing sheet and she was like, oh, this is, this is a little expensive. And she said, well, this is$4,500 a month. My mom only gets$2,200 in Social security. We can't afford this. And that's the initial reaction of most families. This is$4,500. Mom only makes$2,200. We can't afford this. That is like a gut, um, blow to families because that's how they're thinking. But, what I learned is this, most families hear the monthly rate and panic. They think their loved one's income has to match the monthly amounts or be lower than the monthly amount of the the charges because they initially in that moment, forget about savings and investments and home equity and life insurance policies and VA benefits, and all the other things, annuities, like all of a sudden all that goes out the window in their mind because they're coming in thinking, well, if mom makes$2,200, I'll find someplace that's gonna be$2,200. So I said to her, I understand. Let me do a couple of things. Let me ask you this. Does your mom have any savings or investments? And of course she's like, well, yes, she has about, um,$80,000 in savings, but we're trying to save that for emergencies. And I'm like, okay, so we have a, you know, 87-year-old person who has$80,000 in savings,$2,200 a month in income. And, I pulled out a piece of paper and I said, okay, let's do the math together. Let's sit here and let's, let's figure this out. And I wrote it out for them on paper in front of them. Mom's monthly income is$2,200. Um, our cost is 4,500. So that leaves you with a deficit, a shortfall of$2,300 a month. Then I said, now let's look at her savings. She has about$80,000. Let's set aside$10,000 for true emergencies. If she lives with us, she's not gonna have too much. Right? And I could have did a higher amount, but I just kind of give them an idea. So that leaves$70,000 available. So I wrote down$70,000 divided by the deficit, which is$2,300 equal 30. That's 30 months. And I said, well, your mom could live here realistically, for two and a half years before, we would have to then start looking a little bit before that to apply for Medicaid. And at that time we can explore what her Medicaid options are.'cause we do accept Medicaid.'cause my community did. And so I said, um, we also have VA. She was also eligible, I think for VA benefits, right? She was eligible for VA benefits and, and other options. But we can explore, you know what all of that looks like. Her whole face changed. Can I tell you, her face changed because she was like, oh, I didn't think about that. And remember I didn't use all of mom's money. I gave them back some of it, right? And so it was just another way of her looking at the monthly income and our cost. Her mom moved in and you know what happened? Um, we helped them apply for the VA aid in attendance through my third party that I used, and she got the benefits within six months. So that covered her at that time, an additional$1,200. So now. She was able to live with us for like four years before even having to look at Medicaid. So at 87, she would have to start looking at Medicaid around 91. You see what I'm saying? So when you break it down to families, it helps them to see it and to understand it a little bit better. So when someone says that it's too expensive, they're not saying no. They're saying, help me to see how this can work for me financially. And when you walk them through that full picture, it can be a world difference for you. And I was always amazed that I would say 70% of my conversations with families and the deciding factor of them moving in with me was me helping them to see how they could afford it and what services we had to help them to be able to afford it. The key is to see that it is possible. Your job is not to sell. I mean, of course it's to sell, but it's to educate and that is a part of it too. So pause this episode right now, right? Think about the last family that you had that said is too expensive, did you walk them through what their full financial picture is? Did you ask them?"Can you tell me more about your finances so I can see what services not only that we have, but are out there in the community that you may not be aware of?" See how that goes? Or, did you just accept their concern and say, well I get it. Or, did you backpedal your value and say, well, we can reduce our rate by this amount so that you can afford it without even seeing what the whole picture is? There are instances where affordability is absolutely a concern and sometimes it, it's just out of reach for people. However, you have to have that full conversation with the family for them to even know if it is a problem. And, for them to learn how they could possibly afford you. The last concern we're going to go over is number seven. I don't see the value is the concern. How does that show up in their words to you? Why should we choose you over a competitor, A, B, C, senior living?","What makes you so different?" Um,"the other place is cheaper." What they really mean is, I don't understand what I'm getting for the price. Help me to see the value. That is what they're really saying, right? Why are you cheaper? What's the value of you compared to them? You're both doing the same thing. My mom's living there, you're feeding her, and that's about it. You know what I'm saying? You're giving meds. So it's your role to show them the value proposition for your community. And we go over this with my initial course, Start With Occupancy, which we're gonna be doing in the bootcamp if you're wanting to join that, that's going to start this later this month. Um, but that is something that we go over is understanding what your value proposition is in the market so that you can explain it to families. Not just features of what you have, but the benefits of what you offer and what that means actually to them. The value isn't just three meals a day. The value isn't. I'm passionate. I, I mean, I'm glad you are. I'm glad you're loving and you have a loving home and passionate, but that's not the value for a family because everybody says that the value isn't, that you have activities. Well, everybody should have some activities. The value isn't that you have 24/7 staff. Everybody should have twenty-four seven staff. The value isn't that you're offering meals. That's not value. Those are like check marks, right? So your value, what could your value be to a family that you can communicate to them? The peace of mind because the level of care that your staff provides. And how do they deliver that care? They can sleep at night and through the night without worrying about their loved one. Reduce stress that they're able to now have less caregiver challenges coordinating healthcare appointments and doctor visits and medication and pharmacy, because now you're taking over that portion of caregiving for them. Um, another value is better relationship with their parent. Sometimes that relationship gets a little strained because the child is now the caregiver. And the one thing that people say all the time, and yes, it's cute, I kind of take some issue with it, is I'm parenting my parent. They're full grown adults and they are more defensive when you're saying that you're parenting them than if you're saying that you're partnering with them in their care and helping to care for them or helping to, um, to guide them in their care journey or their aging process. Like you'd be surprised. Words matter. And so that is a thing. Um, but now that caregiving daughter can outsource that side of caregiving to you, and that's what you want to show her as that value because of how you are also going to, again, it's a matter of your operations and implementation, but how you're going to communicate that to her in the long run. Safety and security. You know, you get no more. 2:00 AM panic calls from mom, or I had one lady, she used to call her daughter at a certain time, um, uh, to say the babies are crying, the babies are crying, the babies are crying. And she would call her daughter like 20 times in a night about the babies. So these are some of the things that you're able to help, um, these, you know, caregiving families and that's stressing them out. That's the value. When you can communicate that, the price concerns are then reduced and sometimes disappear along with the competitor, because if you're able to show your value and how your value as a community is a better fit for them than the competitor based on their situation, you're good. You're golden. Now you might be thinking, Tiffany, this is a lot. How do I remember all of this when I'm in the moment with a family and that's where my five step process comes in. Let me walk you through how we handle addressing family concerns. Um, some of it is a mixture of the different things from the different companies that I have used and my prior experience in handling concerns from any customer. Okay? Step one, ask for understanding not response. Right? Don't defend, don't explain whatever their concern was. Just ask,"help me to understand. And then whatever it is.""Help me to understand", for instance,"what's holding you back from making a decision today?","Well, help me understand what concerns do you have that I haven't addressed", or"help me to understand what would need to happen for you to feel comfortable with moving forward", Depending on the objection, but you can repeat that back to them so that you can ask for understanding just outta general curiosity. Step two, repeat for clarity and perspective. So repeat back what they say to you from the first one. Right? So what I'm hearing you to say is that you're concerned about. X, Y, Z, whatever they said, or you might say, it sounds like the main issue is, and then you're paraphrasing it back to them what they said to you, Let me make sure I understand. You're worried that, and say that back to them. The goal is to let them hear their concern from another perspective. Sometimes hearing it out loud helps them to realize it's not, um, as big as they thought. So sometimes having you parrot what they're saying and paraphrased, then they are hearing it back in their ears and then they will then be like, oh, well I guess that's not really a concern. I can't begin to tell you how many times families have actually said that.'cause they're in their mind, they're going back and forth, right? They're thinking about what's, what they're saying and, and hearing you say it helps them to do that. Step three is addressing their concerns with empathy, acknowledging their concern without being defensive or without providing a solution. Right? Right off the bat. You're saying, I understand many families tell me the same thing, or that's a valid concern. I would feel the same way if I was you too. But let me tell you this, right. I can see why that would worry you. The goal is to show them that you're on their side and you are, right? You're here to help them, but they need to see that. Communicate that to them so that they can recognize you're not trying to overcome their concern. You're trying to help them through their concern, right? So you're not just trying to shut them down. Remember, this is an emotional decision. You're trying to help them through it, and you're walking them through each step and they can have more than one concern. So you would start right over doing this over and over again, right? Step four is to solve their concern with the feature, the advantage and the benefit, right? This is something that's in business all the time. For instance, I Um, I have a partner that helps with VA applications. So we're gonna solve with the feature advantage benefit statement, right? So what we're gonna do at this stage is now we're gonna address the concern with the solution at this point. So for instance, before we said, I can see why that would worry you. And now the answer, we have a financial partner that helps families with applying for extra resources through the military or through the va, um, who can ex help you explore what other payment options you may have so you can, so you don't have to figure this out alone. Right. So the benefit is you don't have to figure this out alone. The advantage is that they're gonna help you find other payments, and the feature is we have a financial partner. So the feature, is the actual object or thing. The advantage is how it works and the benefit is what it means to you. You can utilize that in any of the, programs that you have or services that you offer. Or another feature. Let's say we offer a seven day respite stays. That's the feature, because they wanna try before they buy, right? Then we're not sure we're, we're unsure, but we are going out of town. And so, you know, great, well why don't we do this instead of having her fully move in why don't we offer you a seven day respite where you get to try us out before committing fully. And the benefit is that it gives you a peace of mind that this is the right fit. The goal is to show them how your solution addresses their specific concern. The last step in this is to clarify to make sure that they got what you're offering and that, you addressed their concern. So a clarifying statement may would be something like, do you see how this addresses your concern or does that help clarify things a bit for you? What other questions do you still have? That's the last one, because then you wanna go back up to step one and do it over again. Keep asking, keep repeating, keep empathizing, solving, and then clarifying until all their concerns are addressed. And at that point, of course, you have to do a next step and the other things that go along with this. But here's your homework today. I said a lot, and this is gonna be a longer than normal episode, but this is something that is really huge. Um, but here's your homework. Write down the five steps on a sticky note, right? Put it at your desk and where you're looking at it, ask, repeat, empathy, solve, clarify. Ask, repeat, empathy, solve, clarify, ask, repeat, empathy, solve, clarify. The next time a family shares a concern. Follow these steps. Don't skip any and see what happens. Your quick win for this week is that you're gonna practice one concern response. Pick the concern you hear the most often. Maybe it's too expensive. Maybe it's, we're not ready. Whatever it is, write it out. Your response, using the five step process and role play with somebody that's in your community or with your spouse at home or with your kids, you know, what question will you ask to understand the real concern? How will you repeat it back to them? What empathy statement will you use? What feature advantage and benefit will you share with them to address their concern? And then how will you clarify their understanding? Write it out, practice it out loud, use it with the next family. That's it. One concern, one response, one practice session. Now, if you're thinking Tiffany, I want the Complete Family Concern response guide with scripts and all seven concerns and affordability formula worksheet that you have and the Family Dynamics navigation guide, everything. Well, that's exactly what we do in my Deep Dive Discovery course. Our next cohort starts February 21st, We go over all of this very much in detail to help you become better, to convert your visits into actual move-ins to start a wait list to do all of these things. Um, we role play together, right? I won't put you on the spot, but I will get some guest speakers that comes in and we'll role play so you can actually see this modeled out. Um, and I think that helps a lot of people. Um. And so my goal is that I want you to feel confident in what you're doing, and I want you to leave with a system that I know works 100%. And if you want in, just head into, um, the website, StartWithOccupancy.com, and go to the programs page and there is a link right there for you to sign up for the next cohort for the, Deep Dive Discovery. There's some other courses and programs that I have, but Deep Dive Discovery is the one that you're going to wanna look at, but even if you don't join us, that's okay. Practice the one concern response this week. It will change your move in average. Again, registrations are open for those who want it, but if you're not up to it right now, that's okay. All right, let's recap. Today we covered the seven words behind the words, which is the real meaning behind common family concerns. I'm struggling with this decision, which means they need guidance. I need to trust you more, which means trust building is required, right? Um, uh, I don't see the need. Somebody's in denial. Um, I need more information. There's a clarity issue there, and I don't see the urgency. Timeline confusion is something that's real. And last but not least, of course, is too expensive. And that is the financial fear. I'm sorry, not less light. Least. There's one more. I'm sorry. Um, I don't see the value. I forgot that one. I don't see the value. That's the value proposition is unclear. So that's another one. So those are the seven, seven concerns. And we covered the five step resolution process to that which is ask repeat, empathy, solve, and clarifying your action step practice one concern response this week using the five step process. In the next step episode, we're diving into seasonal referral promotions, how to turn your happy families into your best marketers. That is something that is real and that happens. Um, you're gonna wanna hear that because that will, um, help. It's a higher converting metric. It's when you have somebody who trusts you and know you, tell other people that they trust about you, you're going to do a lot better than just doing digital marketing, right? And getting people that strangers online who you have to build that trust factor. but before I let you go, remember this, family concerns are not rejections, their requests for help. And when someone shares a concern, they're not saying no. They're saying, help me to understand. Help me to clarify. I need more information. They're saying I'm scared. They're saying I need guidance, and hopefully that's why you decided to be in senior care. So the next time someone shares a concern, please don't take it personally. Don't get defensive. Just listen for the words behind the words and help them solve the problem they're really struggling with. That's how you help more families say yes with confidence. And that's how you change lives. Until next time, we are here to inspire change, impact lives, and improve outcomes, and I'll see you in the next episode.