To put it bluntly, the funeral industry is an industry that will never truly go away.
Why?
Mortality rates are projected to increase as we march forward into the future. And thus, the cycle of demand for funeral homes will continue to increase as well.
While these numbers are somewhat morbid, they’re also encouraging for someone who is potentially acquiring or buying a funeral home.
Use this simple checklist to help guide you through the process of buying a funeral home.
When buying a funeral home business or looking to acquire one, you will want to consider if the funeral home has a profitable outlook. Here are a few questions that can help provide answers for you:
Finding answers to these questions will help you quickly discover if a particular funeral home is a wise investment.
Next, you’ll want to explore the reputation of the funeral home in interest. Do people in the community have great things to say about their experiences with the funeral home? If so, what are they saying? If there are poor experiences, are there any common denominators that would be a simple fix?
One easy way to measure a funeral home’s reputation is to read online reviews from platforms like Google or Yelp. This insight can help you understand if you’re buying a funeral home that will cause you more harm than good.
But who knows? Maybe buying a funeral home with a poor reputation is the challenge that you’re looking for.
After gauging what a specific funeral home’s current reputation is, you can then paint a clearer picture of the funeral home’s entire story.
Next, you’ll want to plan either in-person or online meetings with the existing staff. This helps you quickly get the lay of the land when it comes to:
All of these insights will help provide more context into the situation you may be stepping into if you buy a specific funeral home.
Plus, with those ideas and insights, you have already built a solid action plan to retain the funeral home’s existing employees and improve the business from the start.
Schedule a 60-minute meeting with the owners and management who are selling the funeral home and ask them for an in-depth breakdown when it comes to managing the funeral home:
Use this meeting as an opportunity to discuss your new ideas and get instant feedback on your ideas. From there, you can develop a solid understanding of where things are currently at with the funeral home, and bring some of your new ideas to life.
For people who are looking to invest in a new funeral home, the initial investment (based on price) can be the main barrier to entry. Regardless of whether it’s your first funeral home purchase or your eighth, you need to have a game plan in place for financing.
Less experienced folks – here are some different routes that can be taken when it comes to financing your new funeral home venture:
In order to determine what type of financing is best, we recommend that you reach out to a local finance professional that is experienced in the funeral industry.
When it comes to appraisal, financing, compliance, and negotiating the purchase of a funeral home, it’s best to align yourself with funeral home acquisition experts or a funeral home brokerage to help you purchase a funeral home if you aren’t experienced.
That way, you’re in safe hands with industry experts who can help you from start to finish.
While the demand for funeral homes will never go away, you still need to establish a positive reputation that will help bring in new business from your communities.
Because of this, you need to consider how you want to brand and market your funeral home. Here are some more questions to consider when going through the process of buying a funeral home:
Your funeral home’s quality of service and reputation are your competitive advantage, so maximize it.
Buying a funeral home is the first step – managing it efficiently is the next step. If you’re looking for a tool or resource that can help streamline your funeral home’s workflow and take your business to the next level, Gather may be a good fit for you and your team.
At Gather, we offer case management, live streaming, and custom website solutions to funeral homes of any size.
Schedule a free demo with our team today and see how you can make funeral home management easier for everyone involved.