A: NFDA’s Arranger Training Program addresses challenges such as communicating value, addressing budget concerns, becoming more creative plus many others. I cover everything from hospitality to addressing answering the question “Why are you more expensive?” I encourage attendees to share with the class what’s keeping them up at night and what obstacles are keeping them from planning memorable life tributes. If it’s on their mind, I want it to be on my mind. Arranger Training is an interactive learning environment which adds to the overall success of the program. Over the years, I’ve spoken to many funeral directors who truly feel they’re not creative enough and offering unique ideas for remembrance is something they feel they’re not capable of doing. Obviously, some people are born with a creative mind, while others need to spend time mastering creativity. The Arranger Training Program is designed for any funeral director no matter their level of creativity. Funeral directors will learn a simple and practical approach to becoming more creative and receive inspiration with resources to keep handy as they plan memorable services for families. When a funeral director is organized, with right resources and meaningful ideas at their fingertips, reaching a high level of creativity is no longer a challenge. I’m going to make sure that each attendee is not only equipped with effective tools, but knows how to keep everything organized with their team. What would you say to those thinking, 

A: This course has been created for funeral directors and pre-arrangement counselors of all experience levels. Whether an attendee has five years of experience or over 20, I guarantee they will walk away a better communicator and more equipped to meet the needs of the modern consumer. Attendees will be challenged to rethink how they communicate with all consumers including senior adults and women - who are the COO’s of their families. This course addresses all the different aspects of the arrangement conference plus the potential challenges that may occur. As we all know, every arrangement conference is a little bit different because every family is different. I facilitate this course in a “train the trainer” approach, which means I’m giving professional recommendations for conducting productive team meetings, covering topics such as appearance standards and protocol expectations. There are built-in team engagement questions and activities in order for attendees to share this information with employees. This course is perfect for those individuals who find themselves coaching and training new employees. The suggested dialogue, available resources and customizable checklists are all right there making it a very simplified way to share information with employees.

A: Absolutely! You name it I cover it. I give recommendations on everything from designing impactful vignettes using the deceased’s personal belongings to the basics for holographic setups. Not only do I share the creative ideas, I tell attendees how to do it, where to find it and how to present it to families. Funeral directors will be thrilled to learn where to go to create a custom song about the deceased, keepsake souvenirs and collaborative video montages. I want funeral directors to be prepared for working with families that may be a one on that personalization scale, a five or a ten. I give the inspiration, ideas and resources to create memorable life tribute events that guests will be talking about for years to come.

A: The next ten years are going to be a critical period for funeral homes across the country. As Generation X evolves into a more active role during the funeral planning process, they will discover more ways to implement personalization and event details. Funeral directors will need to decide if they’re on board partnering with Generation X or accept their decision of asking for minimal services and planning a tribute a month later without the funeral home’s involvement. The increasing presence of hotels, hospice providers, and do-it-yourself family members in funeral service should be on every funeral directors radar. My hope is that funeral homes across the country expand on the services they offer and work on amping up their creativity that results in life tribute events that are positive and memorable for all guests.