May 22, 2014
Published by 
Dan Isard on May 22, 2014
Dan Isard on May 22, 2014Preneed isn’t just for funeral homes. Cemeteries can certainly benefit from boosting their advance sales – but it’s not an easy task, especially with the rise in cremation. We spoke to Daniel M. Isard, president of The Foresight Companies, and Paul White, vice president of client development and marketing with Funeral Services, Inc., who shared their thoughts on best practices for making advance sales. Click below to see full published article.
May 16, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 16, 2014
Dan Isard on May 16, 2014Isard leads off his analysis by stating, “In the 28 years I have calculated Funeral Service Inflation, this past year showed a number of trends that were totally unpredictable.” click link below to see full Press Release… Press Release on FSI 2013
May 14, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014In 2014, I’m taking readers through a business re-engineering plan, where profitability is looked at on a minute scale. So far, we’ve established the true overhead and itemized pricing. Now let’s take a look at the concept of service packages. Everyone, that is, except New York, which is restricted from using packages. If you‘ve studied funeral service, you know that the concept of packages is not new. In fact, it is very old. Prior to the establishment of the…
May 14, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014Every now and then a public official does something stupid. When President Obama was captured by his press photographer at the funeral of Nelson Mandela posing for a picture with the Danish prime minister, that was stupid. However, “stupid,” when applied to celebrities and our leaders has a different definition than “ignorant or uninformed.” No, “stupid,” when applied to the actions of a celebrity or politician usually means, “just like a common person.” What exactly did President Obama do, other than something that probably occurs in funeral homes throughout the United States hundreds…
May 14, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014If you were to secretly strap electrodes to the frontal lobes of funeral directors, you would be surprised at the brain wave changes when you say words like, “cremation” or “urn.” Funeral directors have learned not to change their facial muscles when hearing those words but the electroencephalograph cannot be repressed. Cremation is a problem for the funeral side of the world. Yet cemeterians have not yet figured out if cremation is good or bad for business. Let me assure you, it is good! I am going to explain why cremation is good for the cemetery business – however, we must modify our business The good news is that the modern-day cemeterian realizes that their master plan is a work in progress. Cremation has made it necessary to revisit master plans to change them from rolling lawns with 27-square-foot interment areas to […]
May 14, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 14, 2014
Dan Isard on May 14, 2014Many cemeteries operate with the same business plan they had hundreds of years ago: Someone dies, and he or she gets buried. But the progressive cemetery has enhanced the business plan: Someone dies, he or she gets cremated, and then he or she gets inurned. Cemeteries are businesses, and they need data to run at their maximum efficiency. We need to be able to use the electronic world to capture the data. The problem is that most cemeterians do not know what data to capture. The data capture is simple when you realize that more than 75 percent of all cemetery sales (interment or inurnment is immaterial) come from people…
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…
May 12, 2014
Published by Dan Isard on May 12, 2014
Dan Isard on May 12, 2014Most small business owners do not understand accounting. You do not have to comprehend the complex intersections of the general ledger, the balance sheet and the resulting income statement. Many think that the reason to do accounting is to file accurate tax returns. Accurate tax returns are important, but the reason to do accounting is to have the data to know what is driving or impairing your business. The bigger issue is that it’s more important to look at business operations than going through the motions of completing a tax return. With up-to-date financials I can see if a business is hitting its budget, and if not, why not. If it is exceeding the budget…