Grow Your Occupancy

Julie Podewitz

Don‘t sell yourself short. Find ways to optimize sales, improve customer experience, differentiate yourself in a competitive senior living, active adult, 55+ living market. Hear what your prospects, residents, influencers have to say. Learn from sales experts both in and out of the senior living business. Elevate sales processes, shorten sales cycle, become one of the top 10% in a growing industry. With staffing becoming as much of a concern as occupancy, guests who specialize in attracting talent, identifying talent, hiring, onboarding and retention will also be featured. Grow Your Occupancy podcast offers everything from sales coaching, the psychology of sales, the buying cycle, the complexity of the emotional sale, informative discussions, and casual, fun conversations. The senior living and active adult markets continue to explode. Are you ready to GROW? read less

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The Challenges of Senior Living Owner/Operator Misalignment: Julie talks with Greg Anderson

The Challenges of Senior Living Owner/Operator Misalignment: Julie talks with Greg Anderson

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Greg Anderson, Managing Director of Northbridge Advisory Services, about the highlights of 2024 and the challenges he sees with owner/operator misalignment.

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The Challenges of Senior Living Owner/Operator Misalignment: Julie talks with Greg Anderson

The Challenges of Senior Living Owner/Operator Misalignment: Julie talks with Greg Anderson

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Greg Anderson, Managing Director of Northbridge Advisory Services, about the highlights of 2024 and the challenges he sees with owner/operator misalignment.

How a Culture of Trust Is a Pillar of the Success and Growth of Primrose Retirement Communities

How a Culture of Trust Is a Pillar of the Success and Growth of Primrose Retirement Communities

At Primrose Retirement Communities, trust is a key piece of the culture that has allowed for the success and growth of the company. Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with BJ Schaefbauer, President of Primrose Retirement Communities, about recruiting the right people who are genuine, get along, and align with the culture of trust, to join the Primrose family.

How The Aspenwood Company Sustained Occupancy Growth During a Time of Explosive Portfolio Expansion

How The Aspenwood Company Sustained Occupancy Growth During a Time of Explosive Portfolio Expansion

In March of 2024, The Aspenwood Company experienced a perfect storm of portfolio growth, expanding their footprint 63% in a single month through the addition of a number of properties. Despite the many distractions at the home office that onboarding the new communities brought, their existing portfolio grew occupancy in that same timeframe. Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Heather Tussing, President, and Eric Varin, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, of The Aspenwood Company about their secrets to occupancy growth in their existing communities while the company was in a period of tremendous portfolio growth.

Considering Quitting the Lead Aggregators? Find Out How One Senior Living Provider Did It!

Considering Quitting the Lead Aggregators? Find Out How One Senior Living Provider Did It!

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, welcomes back Brooke Saxon-Spencer, Vice President of Marketing at Claiborne Senior Living. The last time Julie and Brooke talked, Brooke shared how Claiborne make the cutting-edge marketing move of eliminating virtually all paper from their marketing department. In this episode, Brooke shares Claiborne's decision 2 years ago to shut off all lead aggregators, and what the company is seeing as a result. If you're considering saying no to senior living lead aggregators, here's some advice on what to do and how to prepare for the change.

How to Use Senior Living Marketing Data to Tell a Story & Influence the Sales Team's Behavior

How to Use Senior Living Marketing Data to Tell a Story & Influence the Sales Team's Behavior

Senior living communities generate a lot of data in the course of their marketing activities to attract leads. How that data is used – or isn't used – can make a big difference in sales and occupancy success. At Primrose Retirement Communities, the marketing team pulls the data together to tell a story, and the sales leadership uses that story to influence the behavior of the sales teams. Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, is back with Jessi Weldon, EVP of Sales & Marketing, and Brandon Christiansen, Director of Marketing, from Primrose Retirement Communities. They share how they use their senior living marketing data to tell a story that can be used to influence their sales team's behavior to improve outcomes.

Can a Focus on External Business Development Impact Senior Living Occupancy Numbers? Find Out!

Can a Focus on External Business Development Impact Senior Living Occupancy Numbers? Find Out!

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Staci Lynn, Chief Operating Officer of Wickshire Senior Living, about Wickshire's focus on external business development in its sales strategy. External business development has had a tremendously positive impact on occupancy in Wickshire's senior living communities. Watch to find out more about this winning sales strategy!

How This Startup Senior Living Provider Is Successfully Competing in the Crowded SE Florida Market

How This Startup Senior Living Provider Is Successfully Competing in the Crowded SE Florida Market

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Chad Carnes, COO of YMP Senior Living and Shelli Webster, Sales Specialist at Grow Your Occupancy, about YMP's entry into the southeast Florida senior living market. Chad shares his tips for competing against much larger and more established senior living providers including tailoring your efforts for the local area and focusing on the 3 Ps: Product, Pricing, and People.

A Closer Look at the Very Successful Collaboration Between Sales and Marketing at Merrill Gardens

A Closer Look at the Very Successful Collaboration Between Sales and Marketing at Merrill Gardens

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with senior living provider Merrill Gardens' Amanda Warren, VP of Marketing, and Corneil Vacirca, VP of Sales. They share the advantages of the collaboration between their different sales and marketing roles, how they use data to inform their sales and marketing strategy and decisions, and when to close out a lead in the database.

What's Stopping Senior Living Prospects from Saying "Yes"? Julie Talks With Maureen Longoria

What's Stopping Senior Living Prospects from Saying "Yes"? Julie Talks With Maureen Longoria

Senior living prospects and their family members often face a variety of emotional and logistical challenges that can prevent them from moving forward with a senior living decision. Vetting movers and real estate agents, downsizing possessions and furnishings, preparing to sell their home, and actually moving are tops on the list of challenges. In this podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Maureen Longoria, CEO and Co-founder of LivNow Relocation, about some recent AARP survey results from seniors considering senior living, the challenges they're facing, and why finding solutions can help you convert more prospects to move-ins.

How to Just Say NO to Lead Aggregators: Julie Talks With Cindy Robinson

How to Just Say NO to Lead Aggregators: Julie Talks With Cindy Robinson

It's a hot topic in senior living sales: saying no to costly paid referral sources for leads. But how do you do it? In this podcast, Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Cindy Robinson, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Capri Senior Communities, about their decision to stop using lead aggregators six years ago, how they did it, and how it's paid off for them.

"We Need to Demystify the Senior Living Experience" - Julie Talks With Dan Hutson

"We Need to Demystify the Senior Living Experience" - Julie Talks With Dan Hutson

Seniors and their family members look to senior living communities for guidance and information to help them make the choice of where to live. While most senior living community websites provide the basic details like services, amenities, floor plans, and levels of care, what the prospects really want is for every aspect of the senior living experience to be demystified. Compelling storytelling about real people's experiences in senior living is vital to meet this want. Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Dan Hutson, VP of Marketing at Priya Living, a senior living marketing thought leader and early proponent of content marketing, about how we can be a resource of help and knowledge for seniors and their families considering senior living.

Leading With Both the Head and the Heart: Julie and Sara Robertson

Leading With Both the Head and the Heart: Julie and Sara Robertson

Julie Podewitz, CEO & Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Sara Robertson, CEO of The Arbors and Ivy Senior Living Residential Communities. Sara tells about their transformation from not being "numbers people" to using data to make decisions, and how it has impacted revenue and sales. Sara also shares her thoughts about women in senior leadership roles in the industry, her journey up through the ranks, and how she is leads by both her head and her heart.

The Movie Matches the Soundtrack: Julie Talks With Michael Morris

The Movie Matches the Soundtrack: Julie Talks With Michael Morris

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Michael Morris, CEO and Founder of Willow Ridge Senior Living. At age 15, Michael first caught the senior living “bug” as a dining room server. Years later, he and his wife invested their life savings to open a senior living community. Fast forward to today when he and his wife now own and operate ten communities. Mike shares his passion for all things senior living.

How You Can Leverage Technology to Streamline Costs and increase Productivity and Outcomes in Sales

How You Can Leverage Technology to Streamline Costs and increase Productivity and Outcomes in Sales

Julie Podewitz, Founder & CEO of Grow Your Occupancy, recently talked with Mona Hilton, Founder of sales and marketing automation software Advantage Anywhere. Mona shared how the right technology can increase your senior living sales teams' productivity, lower costs, and improve sales outcomes.

Are Great Salespeople Born That Way or Nurtured to Excellence? Julie Talks with Dan Fantasia

Are Great Salespeople Born That Way or Nurtured to Excellence? Julie Talks with Dan Fantasia

It's the "nature vs. nurture" argument: are successful salespeople born with their talents as part of their nature, or do their talents require nurturing through training and coaching to bloom? Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy talks with Dan Fantasia, President of Treeline, Inc. about this question. Plus, Dan explains the importance of matching a top candidate with a company based on its culture, and gives his advice on improving how you can identify top talent and attract it to your organization.

Pivot to Profit - Strategies for Overcoming Sales Challenges, Pt 2 - Julie Talks With Sherrie Bebell

Pivot to Profit - Strategies for Overcoming Sales Challenges, Pt 2 - Julie Talks With Sherrie Bebell

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, and Sherrie Bebell, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Columbia Pacific Advisors, LLC, are back for part 2 of their conversation about Sherrie's strategies for overcoming sales challenges in senior living communities.

Pivot to Profit - Strategies for Overcoming Sales Challenges, Pt 1 - Julie Talks With Sherrie Bebell

Pivot to Profit - Strategies for Overcoming Sales Challenges, Pt 1 - Julie Talks With Sherrie Bebell

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Sherrie Bebell, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Columbia Pacific Advisors, LLC. In this first part, Sherrie shares her winning strategies for overcoming sales challenges in senior living communities.

Boots on the Ground Leadership: Dani Talks With Marti Milligan and Diane Macheers of The Ridge Senior Living

Boots on the Ground Leadership: Dani Talks With Marti Milligan and Diane Macheers of The Ridge Senior Living

Dani Merlino, COO of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with The Ridge Senior Living's Marti Milligan, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, and Diane Macheers, Vice President of Corporate Communications. Marti and Diane discuss The Ridge Senior Living's boots on the ground approach to leadership, and give an update on their strategic plan initiative to eliminate paid referral sources (hint: it's working!).

A Passion for Improving the Senior Living Industry: Julie Chats With Patrick Dooley & Natalie Ross

A Passion for Improving the Senior Living Industry: Julie Chats With Patrick Dooley & Natalie Ross

Julie Podewitz, CEO and Founder of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Patrick Dooley and Natalie Ross, the Co-Founders and Partners of One Extra Consulting. Patrick and Natalie chat about the challenges they both experienced as senior living operators, their passion for helping the residents of senior living communities and those who serve them, and what inspired them to continue contributing to the industry by co-founding One Extra Consulting.

Tips for Creating Exceptional Senior Living Resident Experiences: Dani Talks with Aaron Fish

Tips for Creating Exceptional Senior Living Resident Experiences: Dani Talks with Aaron Fish

Dani Merlino, COO of Grow Your Occupancy, talks with Aaron Fish, CEO and Founder of Trestle Hospitality Concepts, about creating exceptional resident experiences in senior living communities. The resident experience is more than the calendar of activities, it's the community's spaces, programming, dining. It's also understanding the residents you're serving and the market you're in. Aaron shares his pro tips for creating exceptional resident experiences in your senior living community.