More Than a Sale: Rethinking the Memorial Sales Experience

Selling a memorial isn’t like selling almost anything else. Families may arrive grieving, uncertain and unfamiliar with the process, making empathy and careful listening essential. Joey Cashmore-Johnson of North Chicago Memorials joins Michael Johns to share her approach to creating meaningful retail experiences, reading customer signals, navigating difficult conversations and collaborating with families. The conversation also explores cemetery regulations, communication between sales and production teams, and the danger of becoming too comfortable with “the way we’ve always done it.” Joey explains why MBNA’s new Sales Module offers valuable perspective for newcomers, experienced professionals and even employees who never work directly in sales. ### Chapters - (00:00:05) - Monument Matters - (00:01:18) - What Makes Monument Sales So Different? - (00:02:40) - Retail Experience - (00:04:26) - Adaptive Selling: Death and Family - (00:09:57) - Grief Counselor: A Salesperson - (00:10:45) - Sales Module: Cemetery Regulations - (00:13:06) - The Importance of Compassion in Memorials - (00:15:57) - When a monument is designed, does the family have a say? - (00:20:35) - The Future of Monument Design: What Can This Course Still Challenge You - (00:22:13) - How the Sales Training Module Benefits - (00:25:07) - A Taste of the Veterinary Diploma - (00:26:06) - Monument Matters: Sales Training Module