Grow Your Occupancy

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Patrick Dooley and Natalie Ross, the Co-Founders and Partners of One Extra Consulting. Patrick and Natalie chat about the challenges they both experienced as senior living operators, their passion for helping the residents of senior living communities and those who serve them, and what inspired them to continue contributing to the...

Dani Merlino, COO of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Aaron Fish, CEO and Founder of Trestle Hospitality Concepts, about creating exceptional resident experiences in senior living communities. The resident experience is more than the calendar of activities, it's the community's spaces, programming, dining. It's also understanding the residents you're serving and the market you're in. Aaron shares h...

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Maggie Seybold, Vice President of Customer Insights at WelcomeHome Software, about their 2023 Year in Review report. In this second part, Julie and Maggie dig into the report to find some surprises in the data, and identify some takeaways that can be used to improve senior living sales outcomes in 2024.

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Maggie Seybold, Vice President of Customer Insights at WelcomeHome Software, about their 2023 Year in Review report. In this first part, Julie and Maggie talk about the key trends that shaped senior living sales in 2023 and some of the observed traits of the most successful communities.

Dani Merlino, COO of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Christie Freeze, Founder of Care By Christie and author of the recently published "Roadmap for Eldercare: A Simple Guide Equipping You with Tools and Resources for Eldercare Ease". Christie shares her purpose in writing the book: to be a resource to families in finding the best eldercare for their older loved ones. Christie's book is available o...

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Jill Berry, Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Country Meadows Retirement Communities, about compensating senior living sales and marketing professionals. Jill shares her compensation strategies for increasing retention, improving sales and move-ins outcomes, and building team member loyalty.

Dani Merlino, Vice President of Strategic Development at Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Tiffany Marino, Founder, Creator, and Host of the Manis With Grannies Podcast, about helping seniors share their stories and the importance of passing them along as part of their legacy.   Check out the podcast here: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/qbijn-2bdfdd/Manis-with-Grannies-Podcast

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Paula Rathgaber-Gomez, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sequoia Living, about how putting people first and leading by the heart has impacted her career and company outcomes.

We hear it all the time: "Outreach is dead." We also see outreach becoming a priority only when occupancy growth becomes urgent. Julie Podewitz, Grow Your Occupancy's CEO and Founder, talks about outreach in senior living sales, the value and results it brings, and why it needs to have an ongoing place in your sales and marketing strategy. She also shares some new ways to approach it that you may...

Dani Merlino, Vice President of Strategic Development at Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Debbie Tedesco, Director of Admissions & Outreach at ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, about outreach in senior living sales the importance of making connections for outreach success.

Dani Merlino, Vice President of Strategic Development at Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Katie Churchill, Managing Partner at Full Spectrum Search Group, about recruiting top talent into senior living sales positions. Katie shares the importance of treating job candidates like sales leads, why culture and training matter, and the cost to senior living operators of vacancies in sales director posit...

There are many valid reasons why it's challenging to grow occupancy in senior living communities today: higher monthly rates, stronger competition, the economy, and the lingering effects of the pandemic are just a few. Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks about why investing in the success of your highly skilled salespeople can be the key to help them make a difference in...

Grow Your Occupancy's Dani Merlino, VP of Strategic Development, and Dresden Cincurak, VP of Training & Internal Development, talk about Virtual Sales Specialists: what they do for senior living communities to warm up cold leads in prospect databases, and some of the results they've produced for our clients in 2023.

Grow Your Occupancy's Dani Merlino, VP of Strategic Development, and Heidi Benard, Senior Living Sales Specialist, talk about the importance of creative follow up and how to build genuine connections with your prospects. Heidi also shares the benefits of teaming up with Grow Your Occupancy's team of skilled and talented Virtual Sales Specialists to meet your senior living community occupancy goals...

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Lori Wimmer, CEO & Founder of Simplified HR. Lori is an entrepreneur and master recruiter who helps her clients fill job openings with her signature recruiting methods. Lori talks about facing her fear of leaving corporate America to start her own company, what benefits are important to today's job candidates, and the importa...

Grow Your Occupancy's CEO & Founder Julie Podewitz and VP of Business Development Dresden Cincurak share some special tips for senior living specialists to stay motivated and keep the leads warm during the holidays and through the winter months.

The will to succeed is within every one of us, but success in senior living sales also requires skill. Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks about the will and the skill, and making the decision to use both to succeed.

What could senior living sales counselors and trial attorneys possibly have in common? More than you might think! Trial attorneys who practice-practice-practice before stepping into the courtroom and commit to bringing their authentic self win cases. Likewise, sales counselors who practice-practice-practice their sales skills, and bring their authentic self to their meetings and calls with prospec...

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Meredith Mills, President & CEO of Country Meadows Retirement Communities, about how the sales skills she learned are also leadership and relationship skills that serve her in her leadership role. PLUS: Meredith shares how Country Meadows successfully grows senior living occupancy WITHOUT using paid aggregators!

Dani Merlino, Vice President of Strategic Development at Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Ryan Galea, CEO of Icon, about the importance of experience management in senior living communities. Creating a high quality experience for the entire senior living community - including residents, families, and staff - involves communicating and engaging efficiently and effectively. Find out how Icon (goicon....

Dani Merlino, VP of Strategic Development with Grow Your Occupancy, had an incredibly insightful conversation about senior living with TV host, author, and downsizing expert Matt Paxton. Here in part 2, Matt talked about the importance of giving storytelling its place in senior living communities. Matt is host of the 2-time Emmy nominated series Legacy List with Matt Paxton on PBS and was a featur...

Dani Merlino, VP of Strategic Development with Grow Your Occupancy, had an incredibly insightful conversation about senior living with TV host, author, and downsizing expert Matt Paxton. In part 1, Matt shared his Oldest Adult Daughter (OAD) Theory, and discussed the part it plays in marketing and selling senior living communities to families of older adults. Matt is host of the 2-time Emmy nomina...

Dani Merlino, Vice President of Strategic Development with Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Brandi Sharp, VP of Sales and Marketing, and Samantha Prinster, VP of Marketing at Allegro Senior Living, about the dynamic relationship between sales and marketing. Brandi and Samantha share ways they collaborate on a daily basis, and the importance of a united front.

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, shares her takeaways from Valorie Burton's keynote address, "Coaching for Leaders: How to Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Others" at the Georgia Senior Living Association 2023 Conference & Trade Show.

Dani Merlino, Vice President of Strategic Development at Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Melisa Jones-Knight, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Elegance Senior Living, about breaking down the department silos and working together in senior living communities.