O’Donnell achieves sustained preneed and at-need growth

Anthony O’Donnell

It takes initiative to turn a vision into a reality.

So when Anthony O’Donnell envisioned O’Donnell Cremations - Funerals - Celebrations as one of the most forward-thinking and progressive firms in the profession, he set that vision into motion. He knew that reaching more families through a proactive preneed program could unlock tremendous growth. He also knew he needed a proven partner to help.

And he found that partner in Precoa.

Preneed Gets Sidelined Before Precoa

Like so many funeral homes, O’Donnell found it challenging to keep preneed active.

Most of their production came from walk-in and call-in business, and it was hard to dedicate the resources or time to move beyond that.

“Preneed was always secondary,” Anthony said. “Someone called and we tried to take care of it, but as we were growing, we pushed off preneed because we didn’t have the focus or the staff. At-need always came first.”

As a fourth-generation owner, Anthony has continued building on a legacy of excellence and service. One of the first things he tells a family when he receives a death call is not to worry, he will help. In fact, that’s part of the funeral home’s unofficial motto: to help families as they walk the path of grief.

But Anthony also recognized that his firm could be helping even more families in his market and growing his premier brand. The secret, he knew, was a proactive preneed program.

“1 and 1A are at-need and preneed,” Anthony said. “The most progressive funeral home owners already know this. And if you don’t already know this, you will see your call volume decrease over time.”

The Choice of Progressive Professionals

You never know when inspiration will strike.

For Anthony O’Donnell, it was when he attended the NFDA International Convention and Expo with his dad and saw the Precoa booth. He and his dad always thought that if you can bring one idea back from a convention and implement it, then it counts as a successful trip. Anthony’s thoughts were focused on scaling up preneed.

When I saw the screens in Precoa’s booth, I saw some of the most well-known, progressive, and successful faces in funeral service. Anthony O’Donnell O’Donnell Funeral Homes

“When I saw the screens in Precoa’s booth, I saw some of the most well-known, progressive, and successful faces in funeral service,” Anthony said. “They looked good. These were some of the leaders in our industry, and I said, ‘I want to be one of those.’”

So Anthony started a conversation, and Precoa came out to visit the funeral home, bringing with them a market share analysis that precisely outlined the potential in O’Donnell’s market.

“Before we partnered, I asked other leading funeral home owners who is the best, and Precoa was always the answer,” Anthony said.

Precoa is the Answer

While each market is unique, standing out and staying ahead of your competitors is an advantage everywhere.

Once Anthony partnered with Precoa, he started to see the benefits of increased community awareness. The O’Donnell name was now out in front of more families, new relationships were being built, and his funeral home was growing.

“Precoa provides the opportunity to build new relationships with people you would have never served before,” Anthony said. “The best providers in our industry just want the opportunity to show more families what they do, and Precoa allows you to do that—to show how great you are.”

Precoa provides the opportunity to build new relationships with people you would have never served before. Anthony O’Donnell O’Donnell Funeral Homes

ProActive Preneed® was built to maximize preneed prospect conversion in markets both big and small. Precoa’s performance-driven marketing started getting O’Donnell more high-quality leads, the Funeral Planning Center turned those leads into quality appointments, and soon the funeral home was prearranging more families.

“ProActive Preneed in and of itself—it works,” Anthony said. “It wasn’t long after partnering with Precoa that I got an anonymous letter from a competitor upset that we were taking his market share. This was on top of the numerous mailings, emails, and phone calls I get from families who tell me what a great thing it is we’re doing here to help them prearrange.”

Growing Preneed and At-Need

O’Donnell’s relationship with Precoa has helped the funeral home in numerous ways. For one thing, it has allowed Anthony to step back and focus on the future of his business.

“Working with Precoa and having a proactive preneed program has changed my mindset and truly changed our company,” Anthony said. “I see growth on the preneed side and growth on the at-need side as well. If you want your advance planning program to succeed, there is no better partner than Precoa.”

Working with Precoa and having a proactive preneed program has changed my mindset and truly changed our company. Anthony O’Donnell O’Donnell Funeral Homes

Precoa also helped to shift the focus within the funeral home about the meaning and value of preneed. Instead of waiting for the phone to ring or for people to walk into the funeral home, they are proactively engaging families and building up the value of funeral service.

“Now we want everyone to preplan because the value is extraordinary,” Anthony said. “Nothing’s going to change if you’re not proactive, so why not go out and ask to serve people? With Precoa as a partner, you can’t go wrong.”