Author: Wendy Harris

Preneed remains an important option for funeral professionals and the families they serve. To find out what is the current state of the preneed market, what customers want and where preneed sales are heading in the future, we reached out to Tyler Anderson, vice president of business development at Precoa; Jessica Grann, director of corporate…
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No generation in history has been more analyzed, scrutinized, hypothesized, advertised, and capitalized than the baby boomers. All through my life, economists and business professionals have been studying this anomaly in American reproductive history like watching a golf ball work its way through a garden hose. At the end of World War II, Americans came…
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The term “spring cleaning” can have a presumptive meaning for those that endure inclement weather during the winter months. Spring cleaning can connote many things,but one can infer it’s a time for a fresh start and a breath of fresh air. For those in the northern climates where the weather has been cold for many…
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As the plunger in the syringe slowly pushes the liquid into his veins, he gradually stops breathing. The pain of the last few weeks has drifted off with his last breath, so imperceptible I hadn’t noticed it. I just stare at the plunger waiting for some reaction from Max that this fluid of death has…
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Seriously? You just worked your tail off bending over backwards to make sure every whim of that pain-in-the-butt family was taken care of, why would you want to do anything with or for them “after” the funeral. Rumor has it, if you want to take your business to the next level you need a super…
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While outlining this article prior to attending this year’s ICCFA World Wide Sales (WWS), I had no idea that I had created the precursor to what I would experience. This was my second year at this mind-blowing conference which has given me so many ideas to share with all of you. If you have ever…
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On a recent nine-hour flight I was writing down a few ideas for future articles when the plane hit some major turbulence, triggering people to scream, curse and say a few prayers. Strangely, I giggled and thought, “Wow, what a great premise for another preneed article.” Click here to read the full article…

“I want you to take care of me when I die.” Do I consider this a compliment? Absolutely! When I first started out as a 20-year old funeral director and someone said this to me, it was usually a young man who thought I didn’t get their true meaning— wink, wink. I will never forget…
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“In the Weeds” is a common expression in the service industry. It describes a stressful time in which you have myriad tasks of equal importance that all need to be accomplished immediately. Sometimes we get that feeling in our daily jobs, when we’re putting out fires rather than focusing on tasks that provide for the…
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Everyone has to remember the mantra of my favorite character, “The Scarecrow”. “The Wizard of Oz” opened in theaters on August 25, 1939 based on the book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900) written by L. Frank Baum. Its classic charm and lessons learned can be shared across many industries. As funeral directors, can any of…
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