For prospective owners exploring Caring Transitions, a franchise specializing in senior relocation, downsizing and estate sales, one of the most important questions is also one of the most practical: Where do the clients come from?
The answer, according to longtime franchisees Carolyn Doerr and Jared Erfle, is not a single channel but a system that blends relationships, digital marketing, brand tools and consistent community presence into a reliable engine for growth.
For Caring Transitions franchisees, trust is the starting point for growth. Much of that trust is built through relationships with senior living communities and local professionals who regularly work with families preparing for a major transition.
Erfle points to these partnerships as the foundation of his growth, explaining how they evolve over time into consistent referral pipelines.
“My wife, Victoria, one of the main things she does is marketing to senior living communities,” he said. “That is really the key — the relationships we’ve built with those communities through the years. For example, a new community is opening this summer with 400 units, so building that relationship will be very important. We’ve met sales reps who may move to other communities, but they stay with us because we deliver value: we solve a problem. Oftentimes, downsizing is the roadblock for the residents. They can’t imagine leaving the home that they’ve lived in for 40 years. We take away that roadblock and provide that solution to the senior living communities.”
For Doerr, who has been in the business for more than a decade, that same approach starts as early as possible, even before officially launching.
“The most important part, when you start out, is to get to all the senior communities in your territory and outside your territory if they are unowned by someone else,” she said. “Go on all of those tours and provide as much info as possible to your community so they can refer you to others. They want to know that there is something in it for them as well.”
That mindset extends beyond senior living communities into a broader ecosystem of referral partners. “It's also important to connect with real estate agents,” Doerr said. “Once they use our service, we’ve found that it is a good way to get extra business. Funeral homes, financial firms and elder care attorneys have also been helpful. Even churches have been a great resource for us.”
Franchisees who actively engage in their communities through networking, partnerships and visibility tend to build trust faster and generate more referrals. And that trust is reinforced by the brand itself.
“The Caring Transitions brand gives us a lot of credibility and that is really the key,” Erfle said.
A major differentiator in how Caring Transitions franchisees generate demand is CTBids, the brand’s proprietary online auction platform. Unlike traditional marketing tools, CTBids actively brings new customers into the ecosystem, particularly through estate sales.
“Probably about 75% of our business is through CTBids or a move with CTBids,” Doerr said. “That is really what gets us the attention and makes us different as a business.”
Erfle echoes that impact, particularly in how CTBids integrates with digital outreach efforts. “A lot of our energy on social media with digital marketing goes to CTBids as well,” he said. “We have a lot of customers that come to us through the estate sales angle.”
While relationships and CTBids create a strong base, digital marketing ensures franchisees are visible when families begin searching for solutions.
For Erfle, search visibility has become one of the most important drivers of inbound leads. “The other significant lead source is Google and pure SEO,” he said. “The home office has put in a lot of work to position our websites. Interestingly, over the last six months, another big lead source has been ChatGPT. We’ve had four or five clients come in because they found us through AI.”
That visibility is reinforced by corporate-led marketing systems designed to capture and nurture leads over time. “At the corporate office, they have a safety net for nurturing leads. They have those email campaigns going out to support us. We do some email follow-up, but the team really has that on lock,” Erfle said.
Doerr has seen similar results from those systems. “We get a lot of leads through the website and through corporate,” she said. “We also get a lot of leads through the email blast.”
What ties all of these elements together is the structure behind them. Franchisees are supported by a system that includes coaching, shared best practices and ongoing marketing support.
Doerr highlights how that support evolves over time. “Whenever questions arise, you have a coach who can answer any question for you,” she said. “They are pretty experienced in doing the same thing. There are always new ideas and new best practices coming in.”
For prospective franchisees, the takeaway is clear: Caring Transitions provides a model where lead generation is not left to chance.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/caringtransitions/info.
Caring Transitions
SPONSORED
The brand offers a growth engine built on strategic relationships, referral networks, a proprietary CTBids platform, robust digital marketing and corporate support/coaching.
For prospective owners exploring Caring Transitions, a franchise specializing in senior relocation, downsizing and estate sales, one of the most important questions is also one of the most practical: Where do the clients come from?
The answer, according to longtime franchisees Carolyn Doerr and Jared Erfle, is not a single channel but a system that blends relationships, digital marketing, brand tools and consistent community presence into a reliable engine for growth.
For Caring Transitions franchisees, trust is the starting point for growth. Much of that trust is built through relationships with senior living communities and local professionals who regularly work with families preparing for a major transition.
Erfle points to these partnerships as the foundation of his growth, explaining how they evolve over time into consistent referral pipelines.
“My wife, Victoria, one of the main things she does is marketing to senior living communities,” he said. “That is really the key — the relationships we’ve built with those communities through the years. For example, a new community is opening this summer with 400 units, so building that relationship will be very important. We’ve met sales reps who may move to other communities, but they stay with us because we deliver value: we solve a problem. Oftentimes, downsizing is the roadblock for the residents. They can’t imagine leaving the home that they’ve lived in for 40 years. We take away that roadblock and provide that solution to the senior living communities.”
For Doerr, who has been in the business for more than a decade, that same approach starts as early as possible, even before officially launching.
“The most important part, when you start out, is to get to all the senior communities in your territory and outside your territory if they are unowned by someone else,” she said. “Go on all of those tours and provide as much info as possible to your community so they can refer you to others. They want to know that there is something in it for them as well.”
That mindset extends beyond senior living communities into a broader ecosystem of referral partners. “It's also important to connect with real estate agents,” Doerr said. “Once they use our service, we’ve found that it is a good way to get extra business. Funeral homes, financial firms and elder care attorneys have also been helpful. Even churches have been a great resource for us.”
Franchisees who actively engage in their communities through networking, partnerships and visibility tend to build trust faster and generate more referrals. And that trust is reinforced by the brand itself.
“The Caring Transitions brand gives us a lot of credibility and that is really the key,” Erfle said.
A major differentiator in how Caring Transitions franchisees generate demand is CTBids, the brand’s proprietary online auction platform. Unlike traditional marketing tools, CTBids actively brings new customers into the ecosystem, particularly through estate sales.
“Probably about 75% of our business is through CTBids or a move with CTBids,” Doerr said. “That is really what gets us the attention and makes us different as a business.”
Erfle echoes that impact, particularly in how CTBids integrates with digital outreach efforts. “A lot of our energy on social media with digital marketing goes to CTBids as well,” he said. “We have a lot of customers that come to us through the estate sales angle.”
While relationships and CTBids create a strong base, digital marketing ensures franchisees are visible when families begin searching for solutions.
For Erfle, search visibility has become one of the most important drivers of inbound leads. “The other significant lead source is Google and pure SEO,” he said. “The home office has put in a lot of work to position our websites. Interestingly, over the last six months, another big lead source has been ChatGPT. We’ve had four or five clients come in because they found us through AI.”
That visibility is reinforced by corporate-led marketing systems designed to capture and nurture leads over time. “At the corporate office, they have a safety net for nurturing leads. They have those email campaigns going out to support us. We do some email follow-up, but the team really has that on lock,” Erfle said.
Doerr has seen similar results from those systems. “We get a lot of leads through the website and through corporate,” she said. “We also get a lot of leads through the email blast.”
What ties all of these elements together is the structure behind them. Franchisees are supported by a system that includes coaching, shared best practices and ongoing marketing support.
Doerr highlights how that support evolves over time. “Whenever questions arise, you have a coach who can answer any question for you,” she said. “They are pretty experienced in doing the same thing. There are always new ideas and new best practices coming in.”
For prospective franchisees, the takeaway is clear: Caring Transitions provides a model where lead generation is not left to chance.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/caringtransitions/info.
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