Branching Scenario: The Director Pushback

The Counselor's Study — The Family Service Counselor

Time to step out of The Counselor's Study and into a real situation. This is the kind of moment that makes or breaks the FSC role — and it happens more often than you'd think.

You've just been introduced as the new Family Service Counselor at a well-established independent funeral home. The owner believes in the model. The office staff has been welcoming. But the lead funeral director — the one who's been with the home for fifteen years, the one the families trust most — is standing in the arrangement room doorway with his arms crossed.

Branching Scenario

Interactive Scenario

The lead funeral director looks at you with practiced skepticism. He's seen this before — twice, actually. He says:

"Look, I don't mean to be rude. But the last three salespeople we hired just wanted to grab pre-need business and run. They didn't care about the families. They didn't understand what we do here. They burned through our contact lists, made promises we had to keep, and then moved on to the next job when the numbers didn't come fast enough. So before you start telling me about your outreach plan or whatever — why should this time be any different?"

He's not being hostile. He's being protective — of his families, his team, and the reputation he's spent fifteen years building. How do you respond?

This scenario illustrates something crucial about the FSC role: the first person you need to build trust with isn't a family in the community — it's the team inside the funeral home. If the directors don't trust you, your community work won't matter. If the care team sees you as an outsider with an agenda, every door you open will be quietly closed behind you.

The FSC who succeeds is the one who understands that trust starts inside the building before it extends into the community.

Trust Starts Inside

Before you can be a trusted presence in the community, you need to be a trusted presence in your own funeral home. Shadow the directors. Learn the families' names. Understand the rhythms of the care team. Earn your place at the hearth before you carry the flame outward.

Where Trust Begins

According to this lesson, who is the first person a new Family Service Counselor needs to build trust with?

The families in the community who might be interested in pre-need planning The local hospice liaisons and senior center directors The funeral home owner who made the hiring decision The team inside the funeral home — especially the directors and care staff

Responding to Director Skepticism

When a veteran funeral director expresses skepticism about a new FSC hire based on past negative experiences, what is the most effective response?

Present data showing how the FSC model produces better results than traditional sales approaches Defend your intentions and explain how you're different from previous hires Validate their concern, defer to their expertise, and ask to shadow them before beginning any outreach Go directly to the owner and ask them to tell the director to cooperate

Earning Your Place

What practical steps should an FSC take to earn trust within the funeral home before beginning community outreach?

Immediately start attending community events to build an impressive contact list to share with the team Shadow the directors, learn families' names, understand the rhythms of the care team, and earn your place before carrying the work outward Send the team an email introducing yourself and your outreach plan for the first quarter Focus on meeting your first month's pre-need targets to prove your value through numbers