Congratulations on the extraordinarily well-organized and enjoyable 2019 release party. Amy Schmidt is due even greater appreciation for her tireless efforts to connect those in the aging services realm in Southern Oregon via S.O.N.A.R and for publishing such a helpful directory for older adults and their family members who are trying to navigate the complex world of supports for elders. Her values around community connections and improving the lives of seniors are admirable. It is refreshing to encounter a business founded on “doing good” and operating its multi-faceted services so well that it not only generates revenue for the business but also income for a growing number of staff who get to work in a mission-drive enterprise. You have used the Retirement Connection print guide or website to help refer people to services or communities listed in the guide

I find the Retirement Connection Guide to be very organized without a lot of fluff in between and easy to follow. I have heard nothing but great things from some of the consumers who came in and asked for them. It’s a great reference tool of things in our community that otherwise may not have been known about . Thanks for working so hard on putting together such a great resource guide.

Even before I started working for a senior care agency I knew Retirement Connection was something special, because my mother passed last year and we found Retirement Connection to be an invaluable “go to” resource for locating critical information/contacts/services/programs. But now I realize that Retirement Connection is as valuable to its sponsors as it is to its readers.  For example: Retirement Connection is one of our biggest and most successful referral sources, in terms of prospect numbers, prospect to conversion rates, and average revenue per client.  Retirement Connection’s service “spreadsheets” are particularly helpful, as they allow prospects to self-screen, meaning that the calls we receive from RC readers are likely a good fit. Retirement Connection is a wonderful “icebreaker.”  Instead of approaching prospects with tons of sales literature and paperwork, I offer them a free (but invaluable!) tool that helps educate them about the continuum of care and provides tools for handling their life transition. RC makes cool calls feel a whole lot warmer! Retirement Connection helps us turn online leads into confirmed clients.  How?  When we get a lead from a search engine, we know that many other firms get the same contact information at the same time.  By reaching out by phone (AND sending an Email about free local resources like Retirement Connection, Northwest Senior and Disability Services, etc.) I demonstrate that customer service is important to us.  So guess who impresses the prospect?  When we started using Retirement Connection to support our online leads our conversion rate QUADRUPLED.  Wow. Finally, Retirement Connection is also an excellent educational tool for me, a new employee, to learn about the other services/programs on the Willamette Valley continuum of care. We are lucky to have a resource like Retirement Connection that we can share (free!!!) with our prospects and clients.  It makes our job, and their transition, easier.  The ultimate win/win!