The VA Reaches Out To Funeral Directors – Shouldn’t You?

Would you like to enrich your relationship with funeral directors?

As estate planning and elder care attorneys, we are often called upon to provide our clients with guidance around planning for death. Veterans may have more options available to them than non-veterans. In addition to being buried with honors or placed into a national cemetery, there may be monetary benefits available to surviving family members.

The VA recognizes “Veterans and their families need compassion when they approach funeral directors for help.” (quote from Secretary of the VA Eric K. Shinseki). Thus, the VA has developed an entire website providing resources to funeral directors. The site, http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/funeraldirector.asp, can be very useful for the estate planning and elder care attorney as well.

Moreover, many funeral homes and their directors may not be aware of this new site. This is your opportunity to create or further develop your relationship with funeral directors. By bringing this information and the website to their attention, you are providing value to their business. It can also be used as an introduction to you and the services your firm provides.

What would be a simple process to develop this relationship and market to funeral directors?

First, draft a letter of introduction to the funeral director. Attach to your letter a screenshot of the website above. Inform the director that you will be calling in a week or two to schedule a face-to-face meeting to discuss how you may work together to help veterans in need of pre-planning or immediate funeral services.

Then, follow up with the phone call to schedule the appointment. At the end of the appointment, create a relationship action plan – where will you go from here? After thfe appointment, send a handwritten thank you note within three days of the meeting, noting something personal you learned about them. Most importantly, approximately 45-60 days later, review the relationship to determine if it is going anywhere.

Relationship marketing requires continued communication and contact, like any other successful relationship. Lawyers with Purpose has an entire Relationship Marketing System to make this process easy and natural for its members. The Veterans Administration has now provided you with a way to kick start the introduction!

Victoria L. Collier, CELA, Co-Founder Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, Author, 47 Secret Veterans’ Benefits For Seniors.