Using All Five Senses to Sell
Creating a senior community where potential residents feel at home means that everything about your community needs to work together to reflect warmth and a home-like environment. Potential residents and their families will use all five senses as they tour. Learn how you can ensure that each sense is addressed in a positive way to make each visitor feel comfortable and welcome.
Enhance Environment Through Smell, Sound, Touch, Sight and Taste
Taking time to ensure that all five senses are treated on your tour can leave a memorable and positive first impression on touring families. It will not only help separate your community from the competition, but it will help potential residents and their families feel welcomed.
These tips are simple ways to involve each of the five senses on a tour and leave a lasting impression on potential residents and their families.
Smell:
- Use essential oil diffusers in hallways and common areas to promote a calming and relaxed environment.
- Have bread or cookies daily in your community’s restaurant to create aromas we all enjoy.
- During pre-tour preparation, ensure your community is clean and odor-free.
- Open windows where safe, and seasonally appropriate, for fresh air.
Sound:
- Play soft music at an appropriate level in the lobby and model apartments, welcoming visitors.
- During pre-tour preparation, turn down or mute televisions in common areas.
- Encourage team members to greet and welcome prospective residents on tours.
- When possible, demonstrate the vibrancy of your community through team member interaction, resident activities, and events.
Touch:
- During pre-tour planning, ensure your discovery space is clean and comfortable for the next prospective resident and their family.
- Use area rugs to soften the appearance of the model apartment.
- Offer potential residents and family members a pen and paper to jot notes.
- Offer drinks and food for residents to drink and eat during the tour.
- In staged apartments, hang soft towels and robes.
Sight:
- Pick up trash as you see it throughout your community.
- Invite potential residents and their families to join or sit in on community activities during a tour.
- Consider creating a photo gallery of community events on hallway walls.
- Display elegant artwork throughout your community.
Taste:
- Invite families to sample your community’s dining experience.
- Offer warm cookies or popcorn in your lobby with water and tea.
- Display sample menus and photos of your community meals.
- Introduce potential residents and their family members to the chef and your restaurant staff.
While we are all trying to improve our prospects’ tour experience, we encourage you to consider different ways to cater to all of our senses. This list is just a start of the best practices that communities around the country are implementing to help their prospects experience the rich lives that their residents are living.