A visit to a funeral home might not seem like the most obvious CEO site visit for a group of high school seniors. And I’ll be honest, there was a little bit of uncertainty from some of the kids about what the morning was going to be like.
That changed as soon as Kim and Jim Sabella welcomed our students at the door of Wolfersberger Funeral Home. They directed us down a long, narrow hallway in the historic home, where Ann Martin was waiting to greet them with doughnuts, pastries, coffee and juice all set up and ready to go.
From the minute we walked through that door, Kim, Jim and Ann made everyone feel comfortable. It didn’t take long for the kids to relax. Kim is funny and incredibly easy to talk to, and before long they were smiling, laughing and asking questions. There were some of the typical questions you might expect from teenagers visiting a funeral home for the first time. Do you ever get scared? Is it creepy upstairs? Why are funeral homes always so cold?
But what really caught my attention were the business questions.
How do you market a funeral home? How did you build a strong reputation when you weren’t originally from O’Fallon? How do you build trust with families? What does customer service look like in a business like this?
Jim explained that a huge part of their marketing is simply becoming known and trusted in the community. They hold funeral forums, welcome church youth groups, speak at community events and spend a lot of time getting people familiar with Wolfersberger before they ever need their services.
Because nobody wants to need a funeral home. But when someone does, it may be one of the hardest things they will ever walk through.
Kim told us about one woman who chose Wolfersberger because she always noticed the geraniums outside. It was such a small thing, but it was a good reminder that you never really know what someone is going to notice or remember about your business.
Kim also shared a story about Taylor, one of last year’s CEO students. When Taylor’s aunt passed away and her funeral was held at Wolfersberger, Taylor reached out to Kim. She already knew Kim from our CEO visit last year, and having someone familiar to turn to brought her a lot of comfort during an incredibly difficult time.
It was one of those stories that makes you stop and think about the relationships we’re building through CEO. You never really know when someone you meet is going to matter in a way you never expected.
Before we left, Kim and Jim surprised each of us with a Dot Card—a digital business card we’ll use to share contact information, picture, social media and websites. These are going to be incredible for our students when they launch their own businesses. They’ll have a professional way to share their information and start building their networks from the very beginning.
It was such a thoughtful gift, but more than that, I loved watching how genuinely excited the kids were about something that will actually become part of their businesses.
After the students left, I sat down with Kim, Jim and Ann for a few minutes, and Kim told me that our student Nick had shared something with her that morning that I had no idea about. Nick was our CEO of the Day, and his grandfather was a funeral director. His great-great aunt actually helps out working at Wolfersberger from time-to-time.
Nick had never told me.
Our CEO of the Day assignments are random, so of all the days, Nick happened to be the one leading our class into a funeral home where his own family already had a connection.
You really couldn’t plan that one.
Thank you, Kim, Jim and Ann, for welcoming our students so warmly, answering every question with patience and humor, and showing them a side of business that has very little to do with selling and everything to do with people. I’m grateful we got to experience Wolfersberger yesterday.
