Written by Ric Myers, sales consultant
What changed after COVID—and how executive teams can reposition healthcare offerings to meet external demand, provide clearer value and achieve sustainable census.
For decades, many Life Plan Communities could count on a predictable continuum pathway—Independent Living residents transitioning to Assisted Living/Personal Care (AL/PC), which ultimately led them to Skilled Nursing. Internal demand made AL/PC simply part of the continuum—until COVID, that is.
COVID didn’t just disrupt operations; it reshaped consumer behavior, hospital discharge patterns and the timing of moves across the continuum. The result is a structural shift that directly impacts AL/PC census, revenue predictability and sales strategy.
What many executive teams are experiencing:
In practical terms, many communities are discovering that AL/PC is no longer filled primarily through internal continuum referrals. Winning census now requires a shift in mindset, messaging, pricing fluency and sales competency.
1) The new reality: AL/PC is now an external sale
In the past, AL/PC sales benefited from established resident trust , community familiarity with the campus , limited price sensitivity and internal referrals from care teams . Now, Life Plan Communities must sell AL/PC to outside prospects , adult children with no existing relationship and families comparing their experiences with for-profit, freestanding competitors
As a result, this is no longer a “next step” process—it is a first-impression sale.
2) The competitive shift: for-profit operators set the market tone
Freestanding AL/PC operators often have clear, simplified pricing , aggressive marketing , shorter decision timelines and strong emotional messaging .
Meanwhile, non-profit Life Plan Communities often offer deeper care stability, stronger staffing models , continuum access and most importantly, a non-profit mission and reinvestment .
The problem is not value. The problem is how that value is explained and compared.
3) The pricing challenge: complexity is the #1 sales risk
One of the greatest barriers today is pricing structure. Typical Life Plan AL/PC pricing may include entrance fee implications , prior buy-in or refundable components, tiered care levels , bundled services and predictability compared to à la carte models.
Meanwhile competitors often present base rent + care add-ons and clear monthly numbers. As a result, fewer long-term explanations are needed upfront.
The Risk: If sales teams don’t fully understand competitor pricing, families will assume Life Plan Communities are “more expensive,” avoid pricing complexity and choose clarity over long-term security.
4) The sales strategy shift: from price defense to value translation
The goal is not to make pricing appear the same. The goal is to help families understand what they are actually buying.
Effective reframing
Instead of: “Our costs are structured differently.”
Say: “Many families initially think in monthly terms. What matters long-term is cost stability, care continuity and protection from future increases.”
Key concepts families care about:
Life Plan Communities often win here—but only if sales teams can articulate it simply.
5) Selling AL/PC requires market-level pricing intelligence
To compete effectively, teams must know local competitor base rates , understand care level pricing bands , know what is included vs add-on, compare annual increases historically and translate pricing into long-term cost scenarios.
This is not optional. It is foundational. Sales counselors who cannot confidently explain pricing lose credibility instantly.
6) Repositioning the sales role
Today’s AL/PC sales professional must be market-educated, financially fluent, emotionally intelligent and comfortable with complexity. They are no longer simply explaining a move—they are guiding a family through a high stakes financial and emotional decision.
This requires:
7) What must change organizationally
To succeed in this new environment, Life Plan Communities must treat AL/PC as a competitive external product , invest in local market intelligence, simplify how pricing is explained (not necessarily the pricing itself), train teams to sell outcomes, protection and stability , stop assuming mission alone differentiates the product.
The Bottom Line: COVID ended the assumption that Assisted Living and Personal Care in Life Plan Communities would “fill itself” through the continuum.
For executive teams, the implications are clear:
Life Plan Communities remain uniquely positioned—but only if they can explain why that matters in a crowded, for-profit marketplace with speed and simplicity.
Executive next steps (30–60 days)
Audit your AL/PC buyer journey: response times, handoffs, tour readiness, and decision-path friction.
Build a competitor pricing matrix for your primary market (base rates, care bands, add-ons, and typical annual increases).
Standardize a simple value narrative that translates complexity into outcomes: stability, advocacy, fewer moves, and cost predictability.
Re-skill the sales team with pricing fluency, scenario modeling, and family-decision coaching.
Align operations and sales on occupancy goals, move-in speed, and what “ready to admit” means every day.
If your AL/PC model was built for internal continuum flow, you’re not alone—and you’re not stuck. The executive opportunity now is to treat AL/PC like the external product it has become, and equip your teams to sell it with clarity and confidence.
Need help? We’d love to walk along side you. Contact us today for a no-obligation conversation about how ForgeWorks can help you increase occupancy and improve your bottom line by rethinking the way you approach sales for Assisted Living and Personal Care.
Over his 40-year career, Ric Myers has worked in the retirement living and hospitality industries with non-profit and for-profit organizations across the country. He brings extensive experience in leadership, operations, customer service, sales, marketing and real estate.