How to Help a Family Design a Grave Marker

So far, it’s been a pretty typical workday. You have had a couple of follow-up appointments, finished up some paperwork, and made a few phone calls.

Just after lunch, a family comes in to purchase a grave marker. You are grateful for the opportunity to work with them and reflect on how to help a family design a grave marker.

The sales process is pretty easy – the family knows what they like and are confident in their decisions. It should be smooth sailing from here.

But when it comes time to design the marker it’s a different story. You quickly learn that the family has no idea what they want it to look like or say.

This, of course, isn’t their fault as most people will only design a marker once or twice in their entire lifetime. But as a sales professional, your job just became more challenging.

So where do you begin? What questions should you ask first? How can you offer suggestions without making decisions for the family?

Does this type of scenario sound familiar? If so, I have good news.

This blog will offer recommendations and explore how to help families create an amazing grave marker.

Let’s get started!

Building Rapport & Gathering Ideas

A grave marker’s design can speak volumes about the person being memorialized and can have a lasting impact on surviving family and friends.

Taking the time to talk about the person’s values, personality, and interests prior to designing the marker is very important.

When a family sees that you are genuinely interested in someone’s life story they will feel more comfortable and will be more apt to follow your lead.

Showing clients product samples, pictures, and referencing graphics are great methods to help them discover their own personal tastes and preferences.

If you don’t have a lot of sales tools at your disposal, encourage families to tour a cemetery’s grounds to gather some ideas. Perhaps you can even join them.

Utilizing Design Tools

If you are anything like me, learning a new technology doesn’t always come easy. I can’t figure out why one TV needs multiple remotes, and I don’t know what half of the controls on my car do.

Although I am not a “techy” person, I realize that digitized design platforms are a wise investment and have a lot of advantages.

With that being said, here is my honest, candid advice. If you have access to interactive automated tools, make every effort to use them. If you aren’t comfortable with them, don’t be embarrassed to ask for additional training.

And if you are looking for an innovative way to help families, check out Trigard’s free Memorials EZ Online Designer. Families can see their selections in real-time and you can place orders on the spot.

Presenting Options

Have you ever walked into a store and gotten so overwhelmed by all the choices that you left without buying anything?

If so, you can probably relate to how someone may feel when they are trying to design a marker. I assure you that clients will appreciate even the smallest way that you can simplify the process.

One way to do so is by having them focus on one aspect at a time. This will ensure they stay on task and keep them from being pulled in several different directions.

Another idea is to put together a list of popular bible verses, quotes, and song lyrics.

And if you have a large binder of emblems, try organizing them into categories such as nature, religion, hobbies, etc.

The Proofing Process

Can you imagine what would happen if there wasn’t a proofing process?

Families need an accurate visual so they can decide for themselves if adjustments should be made to the design.

Reviewing every single detail with every single family is critical. This should include, but is not limited to, layout, spacing, and spelling.

Having a family thoroughly review and sign off on a proof is critical since there are no easy changes once the memorial has been produced.

Offering Guidance

We never want to hear a family say, “I am not happy with how the marker turned out.” And we definitely don’t want a family to request the memorial be changed after it has been produced.

I realize that if you are a seasoned salesperson you have a pretty good idea about which design elements work well together and which ones don’t.

And as much as you probably want to share your opinions, in most cases, it’s best not to do so because it may put pressure on them.

However, by carefully selecting your verbiage you can guide families without clouding their thinking or making decisions for them.

Below are some effective lead-in statements that I have heard successful salespeople use:

• “A lot of families have gone with…”
• “You might want to take into consideration…”
• “Have you thought about…”
• “Let’s compare this design to…”
• “Another idea is…”

Preplanning Pointers

Having a family purchase a grave marker in advance is great but getting them to design it ahead of time is even better.

There are several reasons why the importance of finalizing every last detail needs to be communicated to clients.

Jan Pasco, a Legacy Advisor at Sunset Memorial Park in Danville IL, has found that the most effective way to convey this message is by explaining:

 

“Designing the memorial ahead of time relieves your family of any uncertainty about your wishes. It allows you to design a memorial that fits you and tells the story of how you want to be remembered.”

Jan realizes that it’s neither in your best interest or that of a family’s to work through wondering what the deceased may have wanted. She also knows how hard it can be to get all of the decision makers on the same page.

Thanks for Doing What You Do

My hope is that you can answer the questions that were posed at the beginning of this blog better now than you could before.

I would like to say thank you for choosing to help a family design a grave marker during their time of need. It takes a very special person to do your job and your hard work does not go unnoticed.

If you want to make a comment or wish to offer advice to others in your profession, feel free to do so below.