May 14, 2014
Published by 
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014This is a confusing world we live in. When a funeral home has an advance sale, we call it “preneed,” but when a cemetery has an advance sale, it’s cash money. I am not one to get hung up on semantics or proper spelling, but it annoys me when the word “preneed” is applied to the cemetery business. This world went along well enough for hundreds of years with funeral homes being funeral homes and cemeteries being cemeteries. There have been a few combination properties that were operated for a long time, but they were the exception rather than the rule. In most cases, cemeteries are cemeteries, and funeral homes are funeral homes. Some states even pass laws that forbid the commingling of the two. Black-and-white is order and discipline, but gray…
May 14, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 20147 ways technology can enhance your business I have never consciously done this before in my life. I have ripped off the title of this article from another writer. Not the content of the article, just the title. John Naisbitt used this title as one of his 10 trends he identified in his 1982 book “Megatrends.” If you still have a copy of the book, the words are the same, but I added the slash. It always bothered me that Naisbitt omitted it. Now that you have heard my confession, what does this have to do with technology and cemeteries? In a word: everything. When you first think of technology and cemeteries, what comes to mind? OnStar in the graves? Video headstones? E-mail addresses that end in @heaven? Timesharing mausoleums in vacation resort cities? No, these sensational or wisecrack technology […]
May 14, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014The funeral and cemetery profession has survived somehow, often in spite of itself. I think that memorialization is a perfect example of this fact. Allow me to point out that both the funeral and cemetery sides of our profession have not provided the long-term service that memorialization needs, to the detriment of the emergent services. Can we establish a time period that the funeral home maintains a vested interest in the relationship it has with the consumer? I think there is no doubt that the three- or fourday period from the time of death until the time of interment or cremation is a given. I have long thought that this period is too short as we serve the family when dad dies but then do nothing for the next 10 years, waiting patiently to serve them again when mom dies. […]
May 12, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 12, 2014
Dan Isard on May 12, 2014A Call to Change the Education of Funeral Directors Every decade I get motivated to change another dynamic of this profession. In the 1980s, it was eradicating the guarantee from preneed – and in the 1990s, it was to increase the reasonable profit from operating a funeral home. The advent of the 21st century makes me want all funeral homes to employ aftercare and other outreach marketing offerings. I also have another goal: Changing the educational requirements for licensure of this profession. You might not like what I am about to write here, so if you are happy with this profession having more cynics attacking it, lower profit margins and lower average revenue per call, turn to another article. If you want to join me to oppose these trends, please read on…
May 12, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 12, 2014
Dan Isard on May 12, 2014For almost three decades, funeral homes have coexisted with hospice, and to many, it’s been a symbiotic coexistence. Both are experts in dealing with the dying and survivors of the deceased. Hospice, in general, has been a great aid to our society in recognizing that death is as much part of the life cycle as is birth. Dear Hospice, It is 4:26 a.m., and I am thinking about a phone call I had with a client. The call was identical to many other calls I have had with many other clients over the years. Hospice, you were the topic of the discussion. I hope your ears were burning. My client called to ask how to handle the referrals…