FOCUS
Table of Contents
Letter from the President
Financial Services
Choose the right preneed strategy
Get your cash flowing
Focus on capital improvements
Marketing Services
A one-stop shop for all your needs
An end-to-end ecosystem for your funeral home
Get the results you want to see
Sales Services
Choose your team players
Equip your team with the right tools
FDL mobile app
Pipeline CRM
DIGicon® sales system
Passare case management with preneed integration
Provide your team with the best coaches
Give your team the best training
WeCare™ sales system
On the Go Protection
Burial space items
The Virtual Wolfelt Experience™
Wolfelt Hospice Program
Acccounting Services
Get a clear financial picture
Best-in-class accounting
All-inclusive payroll services
Fully automated accounts payable services
Conclusion
01 03 05 09 15 17 19
Letter from the President
In the past year, our clients at Funeral Directors Life (FDL) have seen incredible momentum.
The biggest reason many of our clients are seeing record-breaking success in their businesses and attracting new families is that they have a secret weapon: time.
They’ve regained control of their work lives. They’re no longer feeling overworked, overwhelmed, and stressed.
They are free to do their best work. To take their time with families. To serve each family well, as if they were their only customer.
And all of this is thanks to a simple philosophy our leadership at Funeral Directors Life has taken to heart: We are more than a preneed company.
We understand that it’s harder than ever to run a funeral business. Your todo list is a mile long. Something always has to give. Sometimes, that’s work. Sometimes, that’s family.
We want better for our funeral home partners.
That is why we are committed to helping our funeral home clients with much more than just a great preneed product.
At Funeral Directors Life, we have spent the last decade perfecting a full line of services that help you save time, streamline your business, and eradicate busy work.
We want to free up your time so you can be truly present with the families you serve. Everything else that you do to
keep the business side of things running can now be handed off to a highly qualified team of professionals who are ready and willing to get the work done.
To help our customers reclaim time, we’ve focused on four key areas: financial services, marketing services, sales services, and accounting services. In each of these areas, we’ve invested our time, resources, and heart and soul to deliver our customers the very best solutions in the funeral profession.
Why?
Because we want our customers to succeed. We want you to grow. We want you to be able to step away for a few precious moments with your family and rest. That is what drives us to do more and to be more for our clients each and every day.
Wishing you a happy and successful year,
Kris Seale President and Chief Executive Officer Funeral Directors Life
More
than a preneed company.
Jennifer Jenson Operations Support Specialist
“From preneed, to marketing, to aftercare (not to mention the technology offerings), Funeral Directors Life is the full package. Once we saw everything they offer to help funeral homes, we knew we would be crazy not to work with Funeral Directors Life.”
Jason Wilson Managing Funeral Director Wilson Funeral Home, OH
Financial
Services
If you are like most business owners, you want to make sure your business is financially solid. Yet many funeral homes are plagued by cash flow worries, decreasing volume and market share, and lower funeral averages.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Instead, you could be building the value of your business so that you can be proud to pass it on to the next generation or retire after selling it for top dollar.
Here’s how:
Choose the right preneed strategy
Your preneed program should be an asset, not a liability. But many funeral homes we’ve worked with are hesitant to decide on a preneed program. They may have had a bad experience with a salesperson in the past. They may have a preneed block of business in a trust that generates a lot of work and fees.
If this has been your experience, it’s no wonder you aren’t quite sure whether you should pursue an active preneed program.
But here’s the deal: preneed isn’t the problem. The strategy behind your preneed program is.
Your preneed strategy makes all the difference in the world. When you have the right preneed product and the right approach, you’ll start seeing your preneed program as an asset to your business!
Our sales management team can work with you to get your preneed program on target by selecting the right product and converting any preneed trusts to insurance. This ensures that your preneed program has the proper foundation to grow and add value to your business over the long term.
Get your cash flowing
And the biggest enemy of great cash flow? Slow-moving insurance companies. If you do your own insurance assignments in-house, you are missing out on better cash flow for your business.
Together, we can help you build your dream business with financial services that increase your cash flow, grow your market share, increase volume and averages, and grow the overall value of your business.
At Funeral Directors Life, we take a multi-pronged approach to helping our funeral home partners build a solid financial future.
Why?
Because you have to wait 6-8 weeks (or longer) to get paid for a service, whereas your employees, vendors, and overhead costs have to be paid today.
That just doesn’t make much business sense.
To help our funeral home partners get their cash flowing again, Funeral Directors Life launched an insurance assignment company over 17 years ago called Claimcheck. With Claimcheck, you get paid for a service within 24-48 hours of verification of benefits, which means you can continue to operate your business in the black.
Another benefit? No more write-offs on bad policies. You’ve probably been there. You take on a policy for a family that ends up getting rejected by the insurance company. Or worse, the insurance company mistakenly sends the money to the family! The end result is the same: you are left holding the bag. That’s not good for business, either.
With Claimcheck, we stand behind our verification process 100%, so there is zero risk to you for accepting a policy we have verified. If the verification process brings up any issues or red flags, you have a chance to arrange for an alternate form of payment before the services are performed.
Focus on capital improvements
Now that your cash flow is running smoothly, it’s time to think about the long-term value of your business. When you invest in your business, your business will pay you back.
That is why Funeral Directors Life provides expert guidance on capital improvements and acquisitions. Most banks don’t understand the funeral business. We do. Our experienced team can help you with mortgage lending for updates, remodeling, or purchasing a new location to expand your business.
If you are thinking about succession planning or selling your business in preparation for retirement, our experts can also provide you with a valuation of your business so you know exactly what it’s worth.
“
Working with traditional lenders is a different experience than working with someone who knows your business. FDL knows the funeral profession and is filled with great people who are experienced in working with funeral homes. It’s worth your time to look into FDL.
Robbie Hulme
CEO & Founder Impact Funeral Partners, UT
Shawna Thomas Senior Collection Specialist
Services Marketing
Marketing in today's world is harder than ever. Old methods aren’t as successful as they used to be. Digital marketing is complex and time-consuming. And you have to learn new tools to connect with families and help your funeral home stand out in your community.
Not anymore. With Funeral Directors Life as your partner, you get a comprehensive marketing package that increases brand awareness, generates interest, and provides a clear return on your investment.
A one-stop shop for all your needs
One partner, endless possibilities
Many funeral professionals know the struggle of having multiple vendors work on their marketing. They also know the pain of communicating with multiple providers on updates, goals, and messaging.
With us, you no longer need to work with one company for your website, another for social media, and yet another for preneed and aftercare. When you have a single point of contact for all your marketing needs, you eliminate the back-and-forth with multiple vendors, saving you time and headaches. You get a cohesive plan, engaging content, and a unique message that best promotes your funeral home.
With the time saved on communication, you can start thinking about the endless possibilities your marketing can create.
A plan that fits your budget
Paying for services individually adds up. We want better for our partners.
With us, you have multiple marketing packages to choose from so you can pick the one that best fits your goals, resources, and budget. Our packages are designed to help you grow both the preneed and atneed sides of your business. At the same time, we will help you increase brand awareness, grow and manage your online reputation, and create opportunities for connections with families before, during, and after the service.
What’s included:
When you sign up with one of our comprehensive packages, our expert team gets to work. Depending on your package, here are the services you can expect:
“FDL ensures that all of our digital marketing works together to help us reach families. Whether itʼs our social media, Google ads, videos, or something else, each service coordinates with the others so there are no gaps in our plan.”
Garrett Cooper Family Services Counselor
A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home & Crematory, GA
Our marketing team is passionate about creating content that resonates with families.
“
Our marketing used to be all over the place. But after partnering with FDL,we saw our average preneed event attendance go from 5 to 40 people – a 700% increase!
Seeing those results shows us that what they’re doing at FDL is working and helping our funeral homes.
An end-to-end ecosystem for your funeral home
All services within the marketing package work well together to ensure you get more leads, which is the ultimate goal. Not only that, you get a synchronized ecosystem that tracks activity, progress, and sales from various sources.
That means every lead from your website, Facebook ads, aftercare program, eCommerce solution, Google ads, YouTube ads, and more filters into your customer relationship management (CRM) system so that no lead ever falls through the cracks.
John Davenport Vice President of Sales Service Group of Oklahoma
Kyle Williams Endpoint Administrator
Does it really work?
Yes! We've seen many funeral homes find success and growth with our digital marketing packages. According to an internal review of our customers, here's what we found:
Funeral home customers who signed up for social media management services grew their preneed sales by 22%.
Funeral home customers that added Google Ads and YouTube Ads grew their preneed sales by 60%!
Get the results you want to see
We understand you want to see a good return on your marketing investment. Our team has worked with thousands of funeral homes across the nation to develop proven marketing strategies that get results.
Scan the QR code to learn more!
“The online planning and funding tool is simple and streamlined for funeral homes and families. There isnʼt another company out there that is offering a preneed eCommerce solution that is so wellintegrated into an all-in-one system.”
Kasi Welch Baker Owner & Funeral Director Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral
Home & Crematory, TX
Sales
Services
Now that you’ve chosen the right preneed product and the best marketing solutions, you have your bases loaded, and it’s time to bring your star players to the field to hit a home run.
We work directly with you to understand your needs, the unique challenges in your market, and your goals for your preneed program. Then, we develop a plan that works best for you!
For each client we serve, we combine the 4 key elements you need to build a winning preneed program: star talent, the right tools and technology, great coaches that provide accountability and support, and excellent training!
Let’s walk through it step by step:
Choose your team players
When you work with Funeral Directors Life, you’ll get to choose your team players for your preneed sales program.
Want a turnkey, all-expenses-paid program? We can provide you with a highly qualified, carefully selected sales professional (Select Producer), that reports to our sales management team with an accountability structure that goes from grandma’s kitchen table straight to our President and CEO.
What if you like working with a marketing partner or agency? No problem! We partner with some of the largest, most reputable agencies in the nation.
Or maybe you want to run and manage your own program with an in-house employee or independent contractor. Great! We can help you recruit and train the right person for the job. The choice is up to you!
Equip your team with the right tools
Once your team is assembled, they need to be equipped with the right tools for the job. FDL makes it simple with a variety of tools to help your team get the job done quickly and efficiently.
FDL mobile app
FDL’s mobile app will help you manage your preneed program with at-a-glance business insights, insurance assignments, digital claims process for preneed, scanning capability, and much more. The mobile app makes it easier than ever to manage the preneed side of your business from the palm of your hand.
Pipeline CRM
Next, your sales team needs to be able to stay organized with leads so that no potential sale ever falls through the cracks. That is why FDL has partnered with Pipeline CRM to adapt their customer relationship management software for the preneed profession. Leads automatically flow into Pipeline from direct mail campaigns and Facebook campaigns, ready for a sales professional to follow up with.
“Since starting with the Select Producer program, our call base has gone up. We have people in here almost daily meeting to set up prearrangements. The volume of business we’re doing has definitely increased.”
Scott Kish Funeral Director Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation
Services, WI
Josh Hilliard, Product Marketing Manager (left) Karson Grigsby, Sales Development Representative
DIGicon® sales system
Your sales team also needs the best of the best when it comes to writing contracts. With DIGicon®, preneed contracts are a breeze to write. DIGicon® is FDL’s proprietary preneed sales contracting software, which also integrates with Pipeline CRM and our eCommerce tool. These integrations make it easy to keep up with families as they move through the sales process from lead to sale.
Passare case management with preneed integration
We understand how important it is to save time and streamline your operations as much as possible.
That is why FDL has teamed up with Passare, your funeral home’s best friend. Passare’s case management system is built with efficiency in mind, with multiple integrations with your favorite software systems to eliminate duplicate data entry. Plus, with FDL’s preneed integration, your policies are automatically synced into Passare, so you can easily convert a preneed to an at-need case, communicate with families through the Planning Center, provide updates, write the obituary with help from the AI Obituary Writer, and much more.
Provide your team with the best coaches
No matter which team players you choose to work with, they will need coaching and support from an expert who can guide them every step of the way.
Think of your local sales managers as your team’s coaches! They are there to advise, train, support, and bring home the wins for you and your funeral home.
Our sales management team will work with you to select the right product for your business, the right team for your funeral home’s culture, and get them equipped with the right tools to help make everything run smoothly.
“Funeral Directors Life’s technology offerings are the best. DIGicon® , their preneed sales software, allows us to track our preneed business. We also use the integration with Passare, our case management software, which seamlessly supports our preneed to at-need efforts.”
Michael Capehart General Manager New Hope Funeral
Home, TX
Give your team the best training
Every team needs great training to learn and develop new skills. That is why FDL offers the best training programs in the funeral profession!
WeCare™ sales system
Our sales professionals are trained in the WeCare™ sales system, which helps preneed professionals get to know the family first, uncover needs, and provide solutions that match those expressed needs. Professionals trained in the WeCare™ system immediately start seeing an improvement in their performance metrics and income potential!
On the Go Protection
Sales professionals with FDL also receive training and coaching on how to present On the Go Protection, a cost-efficient travel protection plan, that covers any transportation costs in case of an emergency situation when death occurs 75 miles or more away from home. These travel plans provide an opportunity for preneed professionals to increase their sales and bring in additional revenue to the funeral home. Families also benefit from these valuable tools. It’s a win-win-win!
Burial space items
In addition, sales professionals at FDL are trained in how to sell burial space item contracts. These contracts allow families and individuals to set aside burial funds for immediate family members and their spouses for the purpose of Medicaid spend down, effectively preserving assets for the family that would have gone to the nursing home.
“
We love having a
specialized preneed agent through FDLʼs Select Producer program. Our Select Producer always has meetings scheduled with families, groups, and organizations and is great at keeping us updated on how things are going.
Itʼs a huge asset to
our funeral home.
Louis Salazar Owner & Funeral Director Salazar Funeral Homes & Crematory,
NM
Josh Hilliard (left)
LeAndra Pruett, Concierge
Manager of Professional Education
“I’ve been involved in the funeral industry for nearly 40 years, and The Virtual Wolfelt Experience™ is by far the best training I’ve ever received. Itʼs added a new dimension to how we serve families.
Mike Kosloski Owner & Funeral Director Hamlin-Hansen-Kosloski
Funeral Home, MN
Devin Pauly
The Virtual Wolfelt Experience™
When planning a funeral, many families confuse efficiency with effectiveness. But that means that they may be missing out on the value of a healing and meaningful funeral service. The Virtual Wolfelt Experience training provides your preneed and at-need staff with all the tools, resources, and education they need to be able to share the why of funerals with the families they serve.
Funeral professionals who have gone through the training start to see an amazing transformation in the families they serve. They see direct cremation families making informed decisions after being educated and fully embracing a meaningful ceremony. They see lives changed, complicated grief avoided, and the impact of legacy on their community.
Wolfelt Hospice Program
Have you ever wished you could provide better education to hospice workers in your community about the value of a healing and meaningful funeral? Well, now you can. With the Wolfelt Hospice Program, you can serve hospice families by partnering with community hospice organizations to help them educate and support families during a time of loss. Work with your Funeral Directors Life sales manager to
And they find a renewed sense of fulfillment in the work they do.
Want another way to educate families about funerals? Go to www.FuneralBasics.org, our free online resource library that covers topics ranging from preplanning to grief support. With hundreds of articles written using Dr. Wolfelt’s teachings and principles, you will be able to find helpful resources and information to share with the families you serve.
sponsor a Wolfelt Hospice Program and provide education and support tools, including www.HospiceBasics.org, an informative website with articles specifically for families with loved ones in hospice.
Valerie Canada Digital Learning Partner
Accounting Services
Say goodbye to being your own accountant
You didn’t go to school to be an accountant. You went to school so you could serve families in their time of need. But accounting and bookkeeping are things you can’t do without.
So, you have two choices. Do it yourself, or hire an accountant.
Doing it yourself just isn’t in your wheelhouse. So, you hire an accountant. The problem is that those accountants continually let you down. From poor communication to consistent tax return extensions from year to year and late financials, funeral home owners like you get frustrated and feel that they aren’t getting the attention they need from their accountants to run their business efficiently.
The result? Most funeral home owners have a murky picture when it comes to their daily, weekly, monthly or even annual financial position. What’s worse, they are spending so much time trying to do the daily accounting themselves that they don’t have time to really look at and analyze the results.
Get a clear financial picture
That is why Funeral Directors Life’s Directors Business Solutions (DBS) team partnered with Passare to provide our mutual customers with the best accounting services in the funeral profession.
And because our focus is on the funeral profession, our most important client is you!
Our expert team can take all of the great data within Passare and help you make sense of it through daily account balancing, payroll services, and on-time financial reporting.
When you finally have a clear financial picture, you will be able to make important decisions for your business such as hiring, expanding, or purchasing new vehicles or equipment.
Best-in-class accounting
With years of experience in the funeral home industry, our accountants know what is important to a funeral home owner. We offer our funeral home clients an array of services:
Daily account balancing
Monthly statements with cash flow analysis
On-time financial reporting for annual tax preparation
Consulting services on budgets, business planning, and future expansion projects, and more!
All-inclusive payroll services
Our accounting experts also have the ability to fully automate your payroll processes. We provide services such as:
Direct deposit
Time tracking
Online access to paystub information
Federal, state, and local tax reporting and remittance
Our goal is to save you time, offer convenience to your employees, and keep you in compliance, and we can tailor the payroll services we offer to fit the needs of your funeral home.
Fully automated accounts payable services
On the list of things you like to do, paying bills likely ranks somewhere near the bottom. The process is time-consuming and prone to errors, especially if paper is involved. Not to mention, there are security and fraud concerns associated with sending checks in the mail.
DBS is here to automate your accounts payable process! Here's where you’ll see an immediate impact on your business's efficiency:
Control: Stay on top of your cash flow anytime, anywhere
Time savings: Focus on families while we handle bill management and alert you when there’s a payment to approve
Flexibility: Pay international and domestic vendors however they choose
Security: Experience data encryption in motion and at rest consistent with leading industry practices
“I couldn’t imagine managing our funeral homes without FDL’s accounting services. Our accounting has seen a complete turnaround, and if thereʼs ever a question, I can simply turn to the reports FDL provides us.”
Ivy Hurley Vice President Primrose Funeral Service,
TX
Tiesha Lopez Accounting Specialist
Conclusion
Ultimately, our team at FDL wants to do all that we can to help you achieve your goals for your business. Every one of our services mentioned here came about because our clients expressed a need.
We simply listened.
Regaining control of your work life and feeling less stressed is a possibility when you partner with us. Our experts are here to give you time back so you can spend it doing what you love. Ready to get started? Contact your FDL sales manager about any or all of the solutions mentioned in this resource or request a consultation!
Here’s to building the business you’ve always dreamed of.
Zach Badon, FDL Document Processing Analyst II (left) Makenzi Chaffin, FDL New Business Analyst I
“
Anyone who wants to know more about FDL should 100% do it. They know how to do business and treat people right.
When you partner with FDL, you become involved with people who are passionate about the funeral profession, want to see funeral homes succeed, and aren’t willing to put profits above relationships.
Andrey Semenyuk Chief Executive Officer Caring Service Group, CA
Who we are:
Established in 1981 by funeral directors for funeral directors
Phones answered live by real people who really care
Privately-held
Recipient of numerous awards from Fortune magazine and Texas Monthly magazine for being a great workplace
Dedicated to helping funeral homes grow and succeed in a rapidly changing marketplace
Rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best
$2.29 billion in assets
Over $186 million in capital and surplus
Board of Directors comprised of funeral service professionals
Statement of purpose
To be the best, most-respected provider of service to the funeral profession.
Our story
Funeral Directors Life (FDL) began as the vision of four independent West Texas funeral directors who owned their own funeral homes. They were especially concerned about the fair and proper representation of prepaid
funerals in their communities, as well as the long-term effects that prepaid funerals would have on the value of their businesses. FDL has now grown far beyond the original founders’ expectations. We are currently
licensed in 48 states and are dedicated to being the best and the mostrespected provider of service to the funeral industry.
Licensed in 48 states and District of Columbia
