Do you remember the last time you visited a nursing home? Have you visited any place like it since?
A nursing home is an amazingly different place. Its residents don't often volunteer to live there. Life's latest turn made that decision for them.
As I walked down the hall of a nursing home just a few months ago, I noticed a very frail, small-framed lady slouching silently in a chair facing a desk. She had a terribly sad look on her face as though she were a 15-year-old dog who was being dropped off at the animal shelter; that totally defeated and utterly sad type of look.
I then noticed a smiling lady, possibly in her 50s, who was talking to a third lady behind the desk. They appeared to have much to talk about. They smiled at the old lady as she sat unresponsive, unsmiling, still. The sign on the door said "admissions."
As I walked on, I couldn't help but think what it must be like to know that this will be her last home. She will probably be sharing a room with another sad face.
I could go on for pages but I think I've made my point. I sell asset-based long-term care policies as part of my practice's focus. There should be a reason behind a financial plan.
For the last three years, I have visited a local nursing home once a week to minister to residents for about an hour. I don't have any relatives there. It's just a good thing for me to do with some of my time. Obviously, it has had a big impact on my passion for chronic care planning.
Maybe that's the impression we need, to be passionate about what we sell. Part of the reason we don't ask people to meet with us is a lack of passion for what we do. If we were more driven by a passion for helping people, instead of being intimidated by an introduction, we would be motivated by our drive to solve a prospect's problems.
