January 2, 2020
Published by 
Dan Isard on January 2, 2020
Dan Isard on January 2, 2020Twelve months, 12 steps to business success in 2020. This month: no-fear pricing. This is the year of implementing your 2020 vision plan in your business, and using the year 2020 as a metaphor for 20-20 eyesight is perfect. Like your eyesight, while we are aiming toward the most successful outcomes, we understand there may need to be some corrections along the way. As well as urging you in these columns to do everything in your power to facilitate your vision, I will be offering something different as well – a monthly video blog memorializing the written columns. I understand that some people learn by reading, some by doing and others by hearing/seeing. Visit theforesight companies.com/video-blog to view the monthly blogs, and I hope they will give you added insight. Sometimes doing the right thing is more about the courage […]
November 20, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on November 20, 2019
Dan Isard on November 20, 2019Promoting service fees, not merchandise, is the only way to survive as a business. You are reading my second submission for this month’s column because the first was rejected by my editor. And, like any good pouting 8th-grader, I have begrudgingly taken his rejection and done as admonished. The editor wrote me after reading my first draft: “Daniel Mark Isard, you go back to your desk and complete this assignment right now!” The original article, I admit, was the shortest I’d ever written. My editor didn’t like that; he said he felt I didn’t explain myself thoroughly. Of the more than 500 articles and thousands of words I’ve written for this profession, this was the first I wrote that was just five words (an average article is between 1,200 and 2,000 words). I thought I had given quality advice in […]
October 2, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on October 2, 2019
Dan Isard on October 2, 2019Long time industry expert re-joins former company Daniel Isard, managing partner of The Foresight Companies is proud to announce that Curtis Rostad has rejoined Foresight. “My relationship with Curt has spanned three decades. I believe Curt is a true professional that understands funeral service from every angle,” Isard said. “Curt has taught me so much about what it is like to live and work in a funeral home. I am grateful that he is coming out of retirement to work with us,” Isard added. “Returning to The Foresight Companies, I’m excited to see a company that has not only expanded in size, but also in the scope of services it provides to its clients. I’m looking forward to working with Dan and Doug in helping clients be successful, compliant, and more profitable in the future.” Rostad said. Curt was an […]
September 25, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on September 25, 2019
Dan Isard on September 25, 2019Planning to retire is one thing. Planning to retire and be financially independent is quite another. A commentary By Daniel M. Isard I find it fascinating that this study covers such serious topics, but I have to wonder whether respondents are taking them as seriously as they should. Its keystone statement, in my opinion, is “[to determine] how well members are prepared for retirement.” But a response rate of 7.6%? That is just ridiculous! Everyone plans to retire. Of all the people we bury or cremate, 80% die after age 65. Therefore, we should all be aware of it, we should all be concerned with it, and we should all be investing our money and time to play the odds that we will indeed be “among the numbers” of this great majority who die after retirement. Actually, the results of […]
September 25, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on September 25, 2019
Dan Isard on September 25, 2019Being a funeral home owner is as much about being a human resources manager as it is about being a funeral director. By Daniel M. Isard Human Resources Running a funeral home is either a business or a job. Which one depends on three factors: • Is your name on the sign and does the bank have a large loan with your signature? • Is your name on the sign and does the bank have a large loan with your family member’s signature? • Are you earning a wage for working? By my estimate, there are 19,000 funeral homes across the country, of which 15,000 are owned by about 10,000 individuals. If you are one of those 10,000, you are either living in a small town upstairs from your office and doing most everything yourself or you are a larger […]
September 25, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on September 25, 2019
Dan Isard on September 25, 2019Best in Class “Foresight Funding” harnesses the power of competitive bidding Phoenix, AZ— September 19, 2019 — The Foresight Companies has elevated funeral service lending to a new level by gaining exclusive access to a national financing platform that will match our client’s needs with hundreds of lenders. Dan Isard, Managing Partner of The Foresight Companies, LLC., one of the foremost consulting companies serving the funeral and cemetery professions announced today, “The Foresight Companies has revolutionized lending for deathcare. In the next decade, well in excess of $5 billion of funeral and cemetery ownership will changes hands. This is going to affect the stewardship of thousands of owner families. This potentially secures the employment of a significant number of full and part time people, licensed and unlicensed.” Isard said that The Foresight Companies have developed a process for private individuals […]
September 12, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on September 12, 2019
Dan Isard on September 12, 2019The Foresight Companies, LLC and The Roosevelt Investment Group, Inc. are aligning with Golden Considerations, Inc. Phoenix, AZ; New York, NY and Harrisburg, PA— September 12 — Dan Isard, Managing Partner of The Foresight Companies and Adam Sheer, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Roosevelt Investments, announce their Foresight Roosevelt Wealth Management collaboration is aligning with Golden Considerations, Inc. “Adam, Bob and I understand that first and foremost we are in the relationship business. Throughout our individual careers we have created beneficial relationships with thousands of funeral homes and cemeteries. Now, we are providing a collaborative benefit to those clients with our new relationship,” Isard stated. “We are rolling out a specialized support system to allow our clients to take advantage of a proactive plan that offers a holistic preneed and trust plan coupled with long-term financial management and finance tools. The […]
September 6, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on September 6, 2019
Dan Isard on September 6, 2019A solid, written business plan that is reviewed quarterly is mandatory if you own a funeral business. Here’s what should be in it. Why? Why did you choose to be funeral professionals? And why did some of you choose to manage a funeral business and others to own and manage a funeral business? To the last question, I hear some candid and honest answers: • It’s my family business; I was cast into this position. • It’s the only thing I could see myself doing; I’ve been working here since I was a kid. • I didn’t know I had a choice. Well, whether you guilted yourself into this profession, were born into it or exercised your free will, you are here. Therefore, the question is no longer “Why?” but “How can I do this job better, manage this […]
September 6, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on September 6, 2019
Dan Isard on September 6, 2019A Consumer Awareness and Preferences Survey commentary By Daniel M. Isard I will begin my commentary with a quote from Alphonse Karr, which was stolen by George Bernard Shaw, who said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” As I pore over the 2019 NFDA consumer survey and compare and contrast it with my memory of earlier versions, I’m amazed and saddened by what I see. Allow me to shed light on five more illuminating and condemning issues amplified this year. Before I start, the pollsters are very clear that this survey reflects a younger age than previous surveys. About 36.1% of respondents are between 40 and 54. Is this important? Keep in mind that almost 80% of all deaths take place after age 65, with the average life expectancy in this country being 78.7 years. That […]
July 24, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on July 24, 2019
Dan Isard on July 24, 2019By Daniel M. Isard Every dynamic of your operations can be enhanced by technology, and families appreciate the professionalism and ease it provides. Our business focuses on death and the living. This can be said of the tools of our trade as well, as we mourn the death of those things we felt we could never do without. Funeral service has lamented the death of three great tools of the trade. Can you guess what they are? I think they include: 1. Office chalkboard outlining all the cases This device was wonderful until you spilled water on it or leaned up against it and erased important details of upcoming services. Or perhaps you had employees with short arms, so they couldn’t write on the top half of the board. 2. Black velvet open-face message letter board While there is really […]
July 3, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on July 3, 2019
Dan Isard on July 3, 2019When you lose profit by setting your prices incorrectly, your firm loses value as well. Imagine it’s 1984 – prior to the FTC Funeral Rule being instituted – and we’re having a discussion about the method to set prices. It takes all of 12 seconds – the price of your casket times four, five or six, depending on whether you want to be higher or lower than your competitor. It doesn’t require a computer or a consultant. Whew, exhausting! Well, as they say, those were the good old days, and since the FTC required itemized pricing, it has been a tough task to undertake and now requires a computer and a consultant with a computer! Since 1984, funeral home profit has declined from about 15% to about 6% (based on a national accounting firm’s published reports and as computed by […]