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!

It wasn’t all that long ago (February 2018) that my 92 year old mother – a 7 time cancer survivor, indelibly independent, feisty female – passed.  It was a difficult time for our family.  Although my husband Joe and I lived only a few miles away we couldn’t provide Mom with all the assistance she needed and she “absotively, posolutely” would not consider leaving her home of 35 years.  We were so stressed, panicked, and desperate that my daughter had to temporarily leave her grad school program in Minnesota and live with Gamma for almost a year.  We didn’t know what else to do. Then one of Mom’s doctors gave us a copy of Retirement Connection and everything changed.  For example, Mom insisted on an attorney who truly understood seniors and thanks to Retirement Connection we were able to find an elder law specialist who specifically reached out to, and focused on, her age group.  Thanks to Retirement Connection we found a hospice that had a pet care coordinator – who even knew that was a thing? – to place her incontinent cats, Asia and Australia.  Retirement Connection even helped us find non-medical senior care providers who patiently and graciously provided Mom with cognitive, behavioral, functional and social support (Mom described her primary caregiver as “the second daughter I never had”).  Without Retirement Connections’ clear, concise (but complete), easy-to-access info we could not have found the exceptional people and programs that made Mom’s last few months a positive-as-possible experience.  Thank you from the bottom of our less-stressed heart muscles.

When I moved here 8 years ago, I didn’t know Salem from Keizer. I was told to call Amy Schmidt and she would give me a place to start. WOW! Amy not only took the time to introduce me to key people in this area but also shared her guide with me. I use the Retirement Connection Guide faithfully- it is my resource Bible. It is such a wonderful tool to grab and help loved ones or a prospective mover that is working to figure things out. And what a great place to advertise…. I get leads from the guide throughout the year. Amy has set up education pieces for us to learn from and she herself is a wealth of knowledge … this is very motivational for me. I can call her or one of her team members and I am treated with respect and they always take the time to assist. The customer service is impeccable and very much appreciated. THANK YOU AMY AND YOUR TEAM AT RETIREMENT CONNECTION!

The Retirement Connection Guide is such a wonderful resource. I pick it up almost daily to reference information. Thank you for the information compiled . Also, thank you for getting the guide in the hands of so many people throughout our area.

It was open enrollment and my mom’s plan was dropped from the Oregon list of Medicare carriers. She wanted to stay with Healthnet however we (her girls) did not know which plan would allow her to remain with her current provider as well as cost. My company Homewatch Caregivers, attended the Marketing party a month before and we picked up box of referral books. We were able to, with the help of SHIBA, who referred us to another source, find the perfect plan for her. What could have taken forever only took a couple of hours and we had lots of help from people who are truly committed to seniors. This is an awesome resource!!