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President's Letter:
Associate With Leaders
Carol Caunter
Carol Caunter, ICFA president for 2003-2004, who has 12 years of experience in the cemetery and funeral profession following 12 years of experience in the financial services industry, works for Tobias Funeral Home in Dayton, Ohio. She can be reached at carolcaunter@hotmail.com.
All species develop survival strategies. For creatures in the wild such as dolphins, it may be an acute sense of hearing or vision. For members of the International Cemetery and Funeral Association, it is leadership.
Leadership is what sets our members apart from the pack-not just the courage to change the status quo and to flourish in a demanding environment, but to collaborate for the greater good and to raise the bar. Our members know that in order to lead, they must rise above their competition. To stay at the top of the food chain, they know not to criticize, insult or alienate their competitors, since more often than not their competition is not other firms. They are competing with each family's view of their funeral home, cemetery or other business. They are competing with perception.
Changing consumer demands, economic uncertainty, new competitors, increased government regulation and alternative distribution channels-just to name a few-now more than ever require that ICFA members define and communicate their point of difference in their markets and develop new programs to effectively reach families. ICFA members, like dolphins, have to develop survival tools.
Survival tools are necessary in any environment. For some ICFA members,
membership in the association is one such survival tool. It helps them stay abreast of
new developments, network with others, exchange ideas and adapt their business model
to survive in a changing environment.
Membership is the backbone of the ICFA; we are constantly trying to expand our
membership base. I firmly believe that member recruitment is the responsibility of all of us. I encourage you to tell two business colleagues about the ICFA. We all know that word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising. It has creditability. People often determine what is the best just by asking others what they think is best. So tell the ICFA's story. Tell others what you think is best. Tell them why the ICFA is one of your survival tools. Tell them how you have benefited from your membership in the ICFA. And convince them to join our association!
New members...just one of the ICFA's survival tools.
Copyright ICFA 2003
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