David Solie explains how enlightened communication with older adults can improve senior sales and marketing strategies

When aging adults enter a new stage of life, the process is often a challenge. Both family members and professionals in seniors housing may find that their attempts to support a senior’s move or lifestyle change can end in frustration rather than progress.

David Solie (http://www.davidsolie.com/) M.S., P.A. has tackled such difficult interactions and offers his insight into the psychology of aging  in his best-selling book, How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders.

(Book details at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0735203806/ref=ase_davidsoliehow-20/102-0454011-7732942?v=glance&s=books)

Solie uses his expertise in geriatric psychology, as well as his own experiences with an aging parent, to approach cross-generational communication. Both professionals and non-professionals who are having difficulties having successful conversations with older adults will find the advice Solie gives in his book an accessible, yet compassionate, approach toward a positive outcome for a difficult situation such as moving to a senior living community.

For professionals who use relationship-based selling (a method championed by One On One [link to training page]), listening for conversation cues and asking the right questions are key elements in making important connections with residents or prospects.

David Solie explains the importance of psychology in senior sales:
Identifying emotional barriers is another important element to effective dialogue. As described in How to Say It, the main obstacle or filter affecting communication is the older adult’s need for control. At old age, an individual may have dealt with the loss of friends, family, privileges (driving in particular), as well as the changes that are taking place with their own physical and mental state. According to Solie, senior adults resist change and hold on to old habits and lifestyles, as detrimental as they might be, in order to maintain the control they still have. In conversation, this process is manifested in one word: “No!”

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Solie addresses the senior resident/prospect’s need for control and how to approach the challenge from a seniors housing perspective:
In order to address issues relating to control, a seniors housing professional must first establish a rapport with the senior prospect. The process takes time, Solie says, but more importantly, conversation must be effective in addressing the psychological needs of the aging adult in order to promote “change talk.”

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Solie discusses the relationship-building aspect of senior sales:
Seniors housing professionals often have to work with family members, and this can be problematic if the seniors themselves are left out of the equation. Unfortunately, stories of salespeople speaking to a family member as if their aging relative is not involved in the process, or even in the room, are common within the industry. The moving process is a team effort, Solie says, and family members may be as confused, angry or ambivalent as the older adults are themselves. Having experienced the process himself from the perspective of an adult child, Solie explains that strengthening a three-way dialogue between professional, adult child and older adult is key in a successful sales strategy for the present as well as the future.

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Solie discusses communication strategies for seniors sales and marketing in relation to adult children
How to Say It to Seniors (link) is an important resource for professionals and non-professionals alike who are faced with the challenge of inter-generational communication. One On One (link) encourages sales and marketing teams to familiarize themselves with the strategies and the skills promoted by Solie in order to better understand the psychology of seniors and to be more effective communicators and influencers. To learn more about David Solie and his work, see the links below.

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Links:
David Solie’s Radio Blog: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/solie/page/1
David Solie on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AgingParentCoach

Books recommended by Solie for professionals:
Mary Pipher Another Country
Tom Brokaw The Greatest Generation
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi From Age-ing to Sage-ing
Mary C. Morrison Let Evening Come