Boost Your Occupancy Podcasts

Episode 6 - Boosting Your Occupancy with Guest Speaker Debbie Harris, Autumna

In this episode of Boosting Your Occupancy, Ali Powell is joined by Debbie Harris, Managing Director of Autumna, to discuss:

The evolution of Autumna and the launch of OpenScore
OpenScore has over 60 data sources – including live customer satisfaction ratings, self-assessed information and regulatory ratings – are aggregated in real time to generate a transparent score between 0 and 10
The critical role online directories play in how people search for care homes and retirement villages
Why a strong directory presence should be part of a wider digital marketing omnichannel – supported by engaging videos, compelling testimonials, and clear, accessible information
Building trust through transparency – and why sharing key details like fees is non-negotiable
The growing focus across the sector on self-funding clients – and what that means for marketing strategy
Why excellent customer experience is more important than ever
Importance of not missing calls out of hours (evenings and weekends) – has a huge impact on missed revenue opportunities
How increasing competition is driving the need to raise the game in marketing and sales to boost occupancy
The brilliant basics that make the difference – from rich discovery calls, capturing key information, excellent personalised tours and timely follow-ups
The vital role of CRMs and sales consultants in enquiry conversion
The rise in customer expectations – and the need for the sector to elevate its approach
Practical, actionable tips to help you increase occupancy

Episode 5 - With Lex Cumber, Sales & Marketing Director for Untold Living

In this session with Lex Cumber, Sales & Marketing Director for Untold Living, we cover:

Lex’s background and experience
Understanding customer psychology in the context of Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs)
The critical role of psychology in the purchase decision • Customer centricity vs. product centricity
The shift towards person- or prospect-centred selling • The complexity and nuance of the customer journey
The fact that over 60% of the purchase decision is driven by trust and emotional factors
Practical tips to enhance effectiveness including spending more quality time with prospects, building connection, untangling obstacles, advancing conversations, and the vital importance of timely responses
The two-part nature of the journey: 95% is about moving away from the family home, and only 5% about moving towards a retirement community
The urgent need to accelerate sales rates
The importance of delivering excellent customer service at every touchpoint – from phone calls to tours to follow-up
Focusing on what really matters: measuring key conversion ratios such as:
- Visit to Move-In (USA: 20%, UK: 15%)
- Lead to Move-In (USA: 10%, UK: 2%)
The UK’s need to stop resisting change and adopt new sales approaches – focusing on controlling the controllables • The importance of capturing and benchmarking the right data
The call for greater professionalisation in sales – robust processes, clear methodology, and having the right people with the right skills (e.g. empathy and active listening)
Learning from international best practices – including extended opening hours, using AI to support marketing and sales, and consistently tracking Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Addressing the perception and knowledge gap around the sector
Being honest with ourselves when something isn’t working
The wish that more people were genuinely obsessed with customer service and experience • A recommendation to read Unreasonable Hospitality
The desire for a consistent, sector-wide way to measure customer experience in IRCs – for the benefit of both operators and customers
The increasing attractiveness of working in the sector

Episode 4 - With host of Care Home Management (CHM) host Alan Rustad

For a care home to remain viable it must maximise its occupancy rates. But keeping occupancy levels high is no easy task.

In our special podcast we look at:

Customer-centered selling
Customer psychology and selling change
Most common challenges to keeping occupancy high
Ensuring the critical foundations are brilliant
Digital marketing to reach families (decision-makers) and residents
Prioritising marketing and sales as the growth engine to getting customers
Techniques and tips to boost quality lead generation and sales conversions
Troubleshooting through my ‘Occupancy Optimiser’ programme and Sales and Marketing strategies
How care homes can ensure they keep residency levels as high as possible?
The importance of sales and marketing
Turning enquiries into residents

Join Ali Powell, CEO and Founder of Commercial Acceleration as she talks to host of Care Home Management (CHM) host Alan Rustad

Episode 3 - With Honor Barratt, Birchgrove's Chief Executive

In this podcast we are delighted to be joined by Honor Barratt, Birchgrove’s Chief Executive. We cover:

Birchgrove
Reasons why Honor and Ali are so passionate about the sector
Impacting loneliness and bioge vs chronological age
Achieving 100% occupancy and a waiting list
The importance of off-plan sales on sales velocity
The lifecycle of fill-up and the different sales skills required
Recommendations for improving sales rates – including follow-up, home visits, try before you buy, call handling
Customer perception and awareness and the time for the UK to reach a tipping point
Importance of data and insights
Key metrics and need for a common language and more benchmark data
Rental growth
Shortage of affordable retirement living
Inspiration from hospitality and intergenerational

Episode 2 - Optimising Conversions

In this session with Margot we cover:

The current occupancy situation
Importance of sales velocity on driving revenue and profitability
The stigma in the UK
The complexities of selling in the retirement living and care sector
Re-thinking
Average sales lifecycle durations
Managing the leads efficiently to convert
The key conversion metrics to focus on
Assessing the customer journey to optimise it
Aligning sales and marketing