May 12, 2014
Published by 
Dan Isard on May 12, 2014
Dan Isard on May 12, 2014Deciding When to Use New Technology Before we had “social media” we had “social drinking” and, of course, “social diseases” – that euphemism for those things only bad people got. While technology has surrounded this profession, the last dose of technology this industry universally appreciated was gravity. Today we talk about the new-fangled technology as if every funeral home in America has actually abandoned their push letter message boards. Nope, I am a cynic. I know better. So, when I have to write about “new technology,” I am going old school. To me, all the technological tools available to this profession are wonderful. Some are more wonderful than others. Those that actually work are really super wonderful. Don’t lump me in a class of those funeral curmudgeons that still brag that…
May 6, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 6, 2014
Dan Isard on May 6, 2014the evolution of our profession Over the course of the past three decades I have written hundreds of articles for this profession. This will be the one most subject to ridicule and disdain from this profession. I will tell you that reading this article is going to upset many of you. I am not going to apologize for this modest proposal. Like most change, you may not like it, but let me be the first to raise this concept. In case you were not an English literature major, the title of this article was intentionally chosen. In 1729 Jonathan Swift, the author of “Gulliver’s Travels,” wrote a satirical essay of the same name I have chosen. It was during the time of the Irish potato famine. Swift’s modest proposal was that the Irish eat their children. While the concept is abhorrent, it was dark humor. I am not proposing funeral directors eat their young, but […]
May 1, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 1, 2014
Dan Isard on May 1, 2014Overhead, a simple component of the profit and loss statement (P&L), comprises every cost your business incurs. In fact, as you will discover, it comprises all costs, whether deductible or non-deductible. In fact, it is really more than the deductible and non-deductible items that represent every cost you incur to operate your business. Of course, overhead doesn’t really include…
March 24, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on March 24, 2014
Dan Isard on March 24, 2014After being around cemeteries from a professional point of view for 30 years, I place them in one of three categories: New Design Historic Design Contemporary Design A New Design cemetery is exactly what the name says: It is a cemetery being created from scratch. We have raw land, we have an idea and we have the risk involved in a new enterprise.
March 24, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on March 24, 2014
Dan Isard on March 24, 2014In this article, I am going to write about ways to enhance sales of caskets, vaults, grave interment rights and mausoleums. I am going to approach this article this way since the ICCFA has both funeral home and cemetery members. I’m aware of the different mentality of funeral director and cemeterians. Frankly, the funeral directors reading this might be tempted to just speed read the material focused on selling caskets and urns. Don’t do this! Cemeterians, you also should not overlook any part of this essay. This article is about increasing merchandise sales, and you can learn from each other.