How are you handling the holiday roller coaster?

Ethan Darby,
Director of Business
Development

While the holiday season is upon us, I would like to take the time to wish every one of you a Happy Holidays on behalf of my family and the entire Trigard Memorials staff. It's a great time of year to show your appreciation to your employees and to celebrate the holiday season. I hope you all have taken the time to acknowledge the holiday's within your own companies as well.

This time of year comes with a certain feeling in the air. For most, this is an incredibly positive and joyous feeling. For others, it can be a sad or disappointing one. As cemeterians and deathcare providers, we are responsible for helping others through some of the hardest times of their lives. This responsibility can be a gift or an incredibly heavy burden. During this time of year, the burden grows heavier, as some families must deal with loss at a time that is supposed to be filled with family and togetherness. That is why we must make an extra effort to take special care of these families. I’m not saying that we don’t ALWAYS take care of our families to the best of our abilities, but maybe during this time of year, we can be more generous, and maybe more flexible.

We all probably have a few great ideas of how to add that extra personal touch for the families we serve this time of year, but a few that I recommend are:

• Placing a nice bouquet of poinsettias at the graveside with a temporary memorial to honor the family's loved one.
• Making sure there is a clear path to the graveside service to allow for better mobility if you have already received snow this year.
• Serving hot chocolate or coffee in a thermos to keep everyone warm during the outdoor ceremony.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Don't let the holidays slow you down

Jason Murphy,
Director of
Family Services,
Sunset Memorial Park

During the holidays and into the winter months, cemeteries often see their sales take a nosedive. This happens for a number of reasons, but most often, it is because of the cold weather and the holidays leaving potential customers short on cash.

I think the most important thing to do in order to have a successful holiday season is to have a different outlook. Don’t let your sales staff convince themselves that being slow this time of year is “normal.” Remind your staff to be more proactive this time of the year. They can’t just sit back and wait for sales to walk through the door. That won't help increase your sales. Instead, I have two solutions for helping you have a successful holiday and winter cemetery sales season.

1. Hold seminars to attract new customers. Ask your sales staff to hold seminars or informational meetings to keep potential customers coming in the door throughout the colder months. These presentations not only give you more opportunity for better sales during the winter, but they also give your staff a head start going into spring.
2. Contact current customers. The holidays can be tough after losing a loved one, and many people visit the cemetery around the holiday season. This would be a great time to remind visitors to restore, refinish or even upgrade their loved one’s memorial. We constantly upgrade our cell phones, cars and appliances, so why not our loved one's marker? 

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.