Long gone are the days of having just one offering to suit all clients. New LifeStyles has always been a leader in the industry with numerous national, comprehensive print guides, one of the first senior living web sites (1995), speaking on online marketing and advertising as well as social media and more. So we have changed our name to reflect all we offer.

New LifeStyles Media Solutions offers numerous solutions to the issues you are facing today: working on a tight budget, need more leads, walk-ins & traffic to your site? We can help you with the following:

1. Well known print guides: New LifeStyles, The Source for Senior Living – 36 nationwide, comprehensive (list all state options in the area covered), >3 million distribution/year, lead options included, free production assistance.
2. Now in digital format. For those in a hurry, all of our print guides are now available online to view anytime, anywhere (even on mobile devices).
3. Comprehensive, national website: www.NewLifeStyles.com – >70,000 views/month, numerous options to drive traffic, generate leads, show off your community and more at very affordable rates.
4. Our latest edition! The New LifeStyles App. Now available at the App Store! If you have an iPhone, check it out!
5. Our complete online services including website design, coding, hosting and maintenance as well as email services, search engine optimization & marketing services, PPC account management, social media packages and more… 
6. Sales training/coaching – monthly webinars focused on topics of current importance. Turn leads into clients!
7. Discounts & special offers thru our network of partnerships on realty services, CRM systems, photography, videography & more
8. Information – check out our blog for links to the weeks most informative (and fun) articles and more. 

No matter what you need, New LifeStyles can help you reach your goals. Let us know how we can help you today!

  Just a few things to look at before the weekend or as you are catching up over the weekend: 

 Motivation for innovation:

http://tinyurl.com/65caovo

 Good advice for using LinkedIn effectively:

http://www.greenbuzzagency.com/connect-on-linkedin-the-right-way 

Garnering referrals should always be in your marketing strategy:

http://tinyurl.com/4t9e2vn

Until next time, keep the positivity flowing. df

Its January, the time of year where the fitness centers are packed, the workload is heavy and the weather is cold (for a lot of us).  We try to start the year on the right foot, getting in shape from both a physical and professional perspective.  Unfortunately, it’s often a challenge to make the two co-exist.  But, making it work will pay dividends in all areas of your life.  It just takes commitment and the staying power to get through those first few weeks of establishing the discipline.  Here are some tips to get you started:

1)      Look at your schedule and commitments.  Where can you fit in your workout?  You may need to get up earlier if your day tends to spiral out of control once it gets started.  If you aren’t a morning person, you will soon find that the gains in energy will offset the reduced sleep.

2)      If you have to work late, take a break for exercise, clearing your head and getting the blood flowing and then get back to the job.

3)      Find something you like to do.  You don’t want to hate your exercise, it won’t work.  There are many options, try them all.

4)      Get others involved.   You won’t sleep in when you know people are waiting for you at the corner or at the racquetball court.

5)      If your day is hectic, use your workout time as an opportunity to get your thoughts together on important projects or upcoming meetings.

6)      Make sure your snacks at the office aren’t just doughnuts and candy.  Once you get your workouts going, you will need to properly fuel for the work day and next workout.

7)      Make changes to your workout program every 3-4 months.  Just as we, as humans, can get in a rut, muscles will respond to changes in routine and fitness can reap new gains when it has new stimuli.

These are just a few tips to get you started or keep you on the right path.  Remember to start slowly and know your physical limitations, if any.  If you have other questions or need more advice, just ask!   Get others in your office involved, start a challenge!  New LifeStyles participates in the Governor’s Fitness program each year and we have over 70% participation, making it fun.

If you have other tips on fitting exercise into a hectic day or week, please share with the group.  We all need the encouragement.  Now, I need a banana.  Cheers!

In today’s edition, we will meet the last of the sales team to be introduced.  We saved them for last for no particular reason that I can think of:

Susan DeVall – Susan is Director of Sales for our Atlanta, Chicago and Kentucky markets.  She is tireless in her pursuit of new clients, so you are much better off just saying yes the first time she calls.  She takes great pride in working hard to help the customer solve their existing needs and even identifying other opportunities.  Susan makes sure she is involved with local organizations, so she can understand the marketplace and bring additional benefits.

On the personal side, Susan lives just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky, raising three children and a husband in Floyds Knob, Indiana.  She has extensive family and roots in the area which helps her relate to the various retirement, assisted living, nursing and dementia care communities in Kentucky.  She stays very involved in the local community.

Jason Gentry – Jason is a New LifeStyles’ veteran, combining his role as Director of Operations with the role of Director of Sales for Orange County/Riverside and Sacramento.  With his knowledge of the publishing, printing and distribution side of the company, he can work with our vast array of customers to provide the perfect solution to their marketing needs.   If you ever have questions regarding these areas of the business or requests for specific distribution locales, he is the man to contact.

Jason is always busy outside the office, spending a great deal of time watching his two boys excel in baseball.  Currently, he is helping his oldest in the always challenging process of selecting a college.  Jason is also very handy around the house and yard, so if he is ever at your community and you need some electrical work or maybe some plumbing fixes, he can help, IF you place some of your advertising dollars with New LifeStyles.

Paid search in your healthcare marketing campaign? Not so fast

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1104220831332-19/BurckhardtWebinarArticle.docx.pdf

Mature Market Experts’ Gem of The Day: Beyond Banner Ads

“Referrals Are the Easiest Leads to Close”

Why just dipping your toe online doesn’t work

Author: Patty Cisco, “Creative Catalyst”

If someone called or walked in to inquire about your services today, after already visiting with two or three of your competitors, who would they remember the most and why? Would it be you? What would make that sales call or tour unique? Let’s face it, all senior care providers tout their horn about “quality of care”, “personalized attention” or “customer service”, so what makes you different?

Regardless of the senior care service you deliver, everyday a lead is lost to a competitor based upon their competitive advantage. The good news is that you can minimize lost leads and close more sales, by identifying your organization’s competitive advantage.

Competitive advantage is what separates you from the rest of the herd so to speak. It’s really about how you differentiate your service in the mind of your lead or inquiry through your sales and marketing messages. Take for instance the Visiting Nurse Association of Florida, a nonprofit organization that provides skilled home health care services and maintained a favorable reputation. They had been around longer than any other home health care agency in the state, and its public relations efforts were very effective in increasing brand recognition. They delivered consistent marketing messages, however their message never addressed the question “Why choose us?”

After customer research was performed on two target audiences, referring physicians and assisted living organizations, two different sets of competitive advantages were identified. As a result of the research, VNA stopped touting its nonprofit status and instead stressed the competitive advantages that their customers cared most about. A few of the competitive advantages they now tout are:

• Patients cared for by VNA are rehospitalized 23 percent less than the competition.
• Patients visited by VNA staff require emergency room treatment 34 percent less often than patients of competitors.
• VNA’s patients improve 34 percent faster than the national average.
• Patient satisfaction with VNA services is 99 percent.

Don Crow, the CEO of VNA shared that VNA’s traffic started to increase almost immediately after it began the new marketing campaign touting its competitive advantages, and they broke company records by increasing their revenues by 40 percent.

The significance of identifying a competitive advantage unique to each target audience is so important in differentiating your services. This is the area where most senior care providers lose traction in differentiating themselves-they try to use the same message to communicate their services to all target audiences.

What if you could have a compelling message or story that you could use consistently in your sales calls and marketing efforts; if it could help you capture just one more lead, and close one more sale would it be worth the effort to create? In today’s tight market, you bet it would!

To learn how you can discover your competitive advantage New LifeStyles is sponsoring a FREE 60 minute webinar on January 27, 2011 at 1:00 EST: Why should I choose your service and not your competitor’s? This complimentary webinar has been designed specifically for home health, hospice, skilled nursing and assisted and independent living professionals by nationally recognized senior care marketing and sales coach Patty Cisco, President of CISCO & CO. Join us and discover how to identify your true competitive advantage and use the six building blocks of value to draft a memorable message that will differentiate your sales and marketing strategies from your competitor’s down the street. Click here to sign up for this FREE Webinar to be held January 27, 2011 at 1:00 Eastern.

What is your competitive advantage?

References:

Creating Competitive Advantage, Jaynie L. Smith, 2006

There are many benefits to low turnover – reduced training costs, familiarity with the company and industry, trust built up over the years and many other things.  However, it is a challenge to keep things fresh, keep new ideas being generated and make sure everyone is challenging each other to think outside the comfortable surroundings of your company.  While I often consider myself “strange”, I’m sure people here get tired of hearing from me and “might” have a tendency to tune me out.  Some even wear dark glasses so they can sleep during my oratories.

There are many ways to combat complacency and “group think”.  One I recommend is bringing in an outside expert to brainstorm with different groups within the company, adding outside opinions and ideas to the process.  This person should be someone you have come to respect over time and someone that brings value to the process.  Make sure they have a working knowledge of the way you do business and your objectives, then sit back and let them lead the process.

I think you will find that occasionally having someone with strong industry knowledge and the ability to lead effective brainstorming sessions will lead to fresh ideas for your company and new motivation for individuals. 

What methods does your company use to keep things fresh and generate fresh, new ideas for the future?

Last, but not least! Our most recent additions:

Ellen Burleigh: Ellen is from Louisiana (who dat?), where she graduated from  the University of New Orleans. She loves running, reading non-fiction, the arts: symphony, ballet, photography, & movies & most of all, her doberman!

Ellen is passionate about writing. She came to us  to from a national seniors magazine where she worked as the editor. Ellen brings knowledge from her time writing for the senior publication to her markets: South Florida, Orlando, Denver, Nevada & Alabama.

David Moore also recently joined our sales force, bringing with him, years of experience in the industry.