For funeral professionals experienced in at-need business, conducting preneed appointments can feel like speaking a foreign language. Families who choose to preplan often have different needs and motivations than families who have recently experienced a loss. However, with the proper education, communication and expectation-setting, both the funeral professional and the family can come to the appointment prepared to work toward a common goal: creating a personalized funeral plan that meets the family’s needs.

How funeral professionals should prepare for preplanning meetings.

Success starts with proper preneed meeting preparation on the funeral professional’s part. Everything done before the meeting should foster better conversation during the appointment, whether that’s how you prepare yourself or the communication you have with the family. Aside from making sure you are well educated in your firm’s offerings, it’s important to consider the family’s customer experience and plan thoughtfully.

Customer experience and the role of trust.

Trust plays a vital role in funeral home business. The more you present yourself and your firm confidently, competently and compassionately, the more likely a family is to trust you to help them plan this intimate part of their lives. As we know, trust is earned over time through intentional relationship building and attention to detail.

One such detail to consider going into a preplanning appointment is your previous history with the family. Have you served them before? Additionally, where did the family learn about you, and what led to this preneed appointment? Determining this can help you start the appointment with some information for conversation. If they found you through a community survey, they may have answered questions about their prior knowledge surrounding funeral planning and its associated costs or their preferences. By understanding their lead source, you gain an understanding of what’s been communicated with the family before and where there may be gaps in education for you to help fill during your preplanning appointment.

Schedule check-in communication.

Once a preplanning meeting is scheduled, don’t forget to follow-up. Determine a cadence that feels right for you, but we find a quick text or email the day before the appointment often works best. While simple, messages like this are impactful. By providing this small communication, you give the family the knowledge of who they’ll be meeting with, which allows them to ask questions if needed. Be sure to include information like where and when they’ll be meeting you, how long the appointment will be and what they can expect. With marketing automations through our Engauge CRM, you can streamline appointment reminders and other meaningful touchpoints before and after appointments so you never miss them.

Tip: Consider sharing resources like our free Personal Expressions Guide ahead of time to help families begin thinking through preferences you’ll discuss during your preplanning meeting.

It’s also important to consider what emotions the individuals you’re meeting with may be feeling. Perhaps the last time they visited your funeral home was for a loved one’s services. Even if they’ve never been to your firm before, death and end-of-life can be difficult, often uncomfortable topics for people. Lead with empathy and understanding and tailor your approach accordingly. Maybe in your check-in message, you provide instructions for the family upon their arrival and plan to meet them at the door so there’s a friendly face to greet them and ease their mind.

During the preplanning meeting.

As a funeral professional, you have to main jobs during the preplanning meeting: to educate and to listen. While, of course, you want to help the family preplan their funeral, approach the topic sensitively. We recommend taking a more holistic approach to preplanning appointments, a combination of education and motivation. Provide the necessary and helpful information about their options, but don’t be afraid to talk to them about the benefits of preplanning or costs. Preplanning meetings will look different for every family, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. It means that you’re listening and adapting your approach to meet their needs.

Aim for a preplanning meeting that feels casual but structured. Come with an agenda — a list of topics you’d like to cover or goals you’d like to accomplish during the meeting. However, be careful not to let the agenda make the meeting rigid or prescriptive. After all, it’s a conversation, not you talking the whole time. Seek to understand what the family is thinking and feeling. Ask what they would like to accomplish during your time together, if they have any priorities coming into the meeting. You may also find that there are certain topics you can skip, whether because they aren’t interested, already have other plans or simply don’t need more education.

Most importantly, remember that preneed appointments won’t always end in a sale or a completed plan, but meeting with a family is always worth your time. You’re building the relationship, gaining the family’s trust and showing them the benefits of planning ahead. Preplanning often requires multiple touchpoints and meetings.

The more preneed appointments you conduct, the more natural these conversations will become. If you need more guidance, you can always check the Homesteaders website for upcoming preneed trainings or read our blogs on preneed appointment setting and tools and resources for preneed success.