When I joined the Covenant Woods leadership team in 2021, I walked straight into a situation of transitions and challenges.
The marketing director had retired, the CEO announced his retirement and a lot of underlying issues needed to be addressed. By the end of 2022, we had dropped to 85% as a lack of strong sales leadership led to challenges amongst a team that worked partially remote during COVID—handling tours virtually and occasionally in person. Despite having strong salespeople and history of success as a team, we yielded only 12 sales that year.
Within this setting, I was named corporate director of marketing and sales in 2023 and charged with rebuilding occupancy. And I knew things needed more than incremental change; we needed a complete reset.
Drawing the Line—and Rebuilding the Foundation
One of the first things I did was untangle sales from marketing. Salespeople were helping plan events and edit content. That had to stop. I told the team: “You focus on tours, building your funnel and connecting with prospects. Let the marketing team do marketing.” It wasn’t about control—it was about clarity and performance.
I also changed marketing agencies, who weren’t working out in a variety of ways, with a small creative firm that I knew and respected. They were helpful in some ways—they redesigned our website beautifully—but they lacked the infrastructure and strategic depth we needed. No reporting (literally). No data-driven insights. No lead generation plan. Just content.
As good as their content was, I needed more than a creative partner who could make a pretty website—I needed a marketing partner who could help drive census.
A Wake-Up Call
In September 2023, I attended the LeadingAge Virginia/Maryland marketing symposium. That day changed everything.
Love & Company presented, and as I sat in that room, I realized we were missing nearly every piece of modern marketing infrastructure. I had a talented team doing good work, but we weren’t tracking the KPIs that mean the most. We were relying on traditional advertising and direct mail, as we always had, and not asking ourselves important strategic questions.
It was a moment of clarity. We’d been coasting on reputation alone.
So, as we entered annual budget time, I asked my CEO, “Please keep our marketing budget open. I want Love & Company to assess us and tell us what we need—before I commit to anything else.” And I’m so glad I did.
Hitting “Reset” With a Comprehensive Assessment
Love & Company’s assessment process was unlike anything I’d experienced. They didn’t just meet with the marketing team and pitch ideas. They engaged our leadership, our staff and even our residents. I intentionally stepped back to give them room to speak honestly—and what came out of that was powerful.
This approach made the operations team feel part of marketing for the first time. Facilities staff, dining staff—everyone started to realize how their roles supported marketing goals. We’d been working in silos for so long that we didn’t even realize it wasn’t normal.
Sales and marketing became a shared mission.
And truthfully? I thought we were too small for a national firm like Love & Company. As a small single-site, I didn’t think we were large enough to be “worth it.” But they worked with the budget we had—and made it work really well.
Now the Story Gets Told—Beautifully
Two things in particular changed.
First, we had a clear marketing strategy. Prior to Love, we had no real marketing plan—just a list of what ads we’d placed and what we thought they’d done. They brought us data-driven guidance. Suddenly, I could see real ROI. We had reporting. We had visibility. And best of all, my emails always got answered the same day. That alone is priceless.
Second, and maybe more importantly, our unique message was finally getting out. Before, our story was stuck in the past—Richmond Home for Ladies, Civil War era roots. We’re proud of our rich past, but we have so much more to share: our extensive farm-to-table garden, our Woodhouse Catering business and the real community life that makes this place special. We’re doing incredible, innovative things—and none of it was being shared. Love & Company helped us tell that story in a way I didn’t think was possible.
Marketing that Makes the Sales Team Better
To help us tell our new story, Love & Company brought in a topic-based content strategy, introduced digital campaigns and created a bundle of videos so vibrant and authentic that it literally gives me chills. Suddenly, people started showing up to tours already knowing what makes us special. They come in informed. They ask the right questions. They know who we are before we even shake hands. That’s huge.
The result? Our sales team is doing more, shorter tours. They’re spending more time in the “selling zone,” not doing admin or chasing down basic info. Our time spent in Sherpa’s (now Aline) “selling zone” has jumped by nearly 50%. Love’s best practices sales training was a big part of this improvement, too.
It’s funny; I recently gave a presentation to our residents explaining the workflow that goes on behind the scenes, and their jaws dropped. They had no idea all that goes into leading prospects through the sales journey. They thought you just come in for a tour and you get a hug at the end!
Marketing Is an (Operations) Team Sport—And Everyone Feels It Now
We’re not just seeing results in sales. The entire community feels different.
Directors are proud to be part of marketing. Line staff take ownership of how they contribute to the experience.
And here’s the real shift: My partners in operations now know that marketing isn’t just postcards and events. It’s a system. It’s data. It’s storytelling. And when that system works, we all win.
Why I’m Successful Today
I’ve always believed in this community. But it wasn’t until we partnered with the right marketing team that our potential truly started to shine.
The volume of leads? The highest it’s ever been.
The quality of those leads? Better educated, better qualified and more engaged from the start.
And census? We were at 87% in October 2023, when I asked Love & Company to do an assessment. And now we are holding strong at 95% with a waiting list that has doubled in 2 years.
We’re working smarter, not harder—and it’s all because the heavy lifting of marketing is finally happening behind the scenes. And it’s being done well.
The best way I can put it is this: “Love’s got that, so I can focus on this.” I can focus on my team, on census, on growing our wait list and on coaching and strategy and resident engagement—because I trust Love & Company’s knowledge and talent to deliver great outcomes on the marketing side.
And trust like that? That’s everything.
