120th Annual Convention Education Sessions

Lori will introduce the keys to running a successful funeral home today by focusing on driving Customer Experience in two parts:

• Part 1: Customer Personas – Who are your Customers? Through our rich history of service, we have developed a picture of who we think we serve, but, more and more, our customers are not always who we think they are. Lori will walk you through developing customer personas and how you can use those personas to improve services.

• Part 2: Customer Journey – What do they want? You will create a customer journey specific to your personas. By the end of the workshop, you will be able to lead a journey workshop for your staff. 

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Objectives: 

This session will introduce the concept of Customer Experience and provide the audience with the first 2 steps of 8 to developing a Customer Experience strategy in their funeral homes. Customer Experience as a business strategy will help leaders understand and adapt to the ever-changing consumer and support more engaged employees - leading to retention and better overall performance.

Disputes over who has the right to control disposition of remains is a leading subject of legal disputes handled by our law firm.  This highly interactive session will provide attendees with an overview of Health & Safety Code Section 7100 and related statutes, how to maximize the potential for compliance, how to professionally and legally handle disputes, and what to do when an impasse is reached.  Multiple scenarios based on actual cases will be presented and discussed with and amongst participants during this program, covering such topics as competency, assignment of rights, Advanced Healthcare Directives/Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care, and pre-need funeral and cemetery arrangements.

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Objectives:

The objectives of this program are to educate attendees on the law governing the right to control disposition and to provide training on (1) identifying possible violations; (2) maximizing the potential for compliance; (3) effectively handling disputes; and (4) and knowing when to seek outside assistance.

Green alternatives provide cemeteries and funeral homes with interesting opportunities to align with current consumer demand and significantly increase revenues. Whether you are a cemetery looking to sell more graves, a funeral home wanting to better serve families or a cremation operator looking to delivery tangible value to increase revenues, greener options can be your path forward. Join Darren Crouch, President and CEO of Passages International and the current President of the Green Burial Council to learn how.

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Objectives:

• Dive deeper into current consumer preferences data, sales and merchandising strategies, products available and how to actually conduct a green burial. 

• Explore the new experiences families are having and how to select, merchandise and sell the products needed to make it happen.

By thoroughly understanding facial tissue and muscle anatomy, the fear of feature building can be left in the past! Using anatomical knowledge along with some tips and tricks, we’ll explore how you can achieve a more accurate and natural definition of facial forms, even when affected by death, gravity, and the embalming process.

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Objectives: 

Attendees will better understand facial tissue and muscle anatomy by gaining a comprehensive understanding of the structure and function of facial tissues and muscles. Through tips and techniques, they will acquire methods to achieve realistic and lifelike results in facial reconstruction through utilizing feature builder. By addressing challenges posed by external factors, they will understand how death, gravity, and the embalming process can affect facial tissues and learn strategies to mitigate these effects and maintain the natural appearance of the face. Most importantly, they will develop confidence in reconstructing facial features by applying anatomical knowledge.

Step into the vault of California funeral service history as we uncover the stories, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped the state’s legal and regulatory landscape. Join CFDA’s longtime lobbyist and two past Legislative Committee chairs—who played pivotal roles in defining funeral service laws—as they share insights from their years of advocacy. Through firsthand accounts, they’ll explore the evolution of key legislation, reflect on lessons learned, and discuss what lies ahead for the profession. This engaging discussion will honor the past while preparing funeral directors for the next chapter in policy, regulation, and industry advancements.