Brandon Orr
Owner, Funeral Director, and Embalmer
Milner & Orr Funeral Home and Cremation Services
Arlington, Bardwell, Benton, Paducah, and Wickliffe, KY
Average call volume: 1,100 calls/year
As a funeral professional, you work hard to earn the trust of every family you serve.
Your preneed provider also has to value families' trust as much as you do. Because when families place their money and future plans in your hands, your preneed partner should protect your business and help you give families the best service possible.
For Brandon Orr, that kind of partnership is non‑negotiable. With Funeral Directors Life (FDL), Brandon has seen firsthand how the right preneed partner can support both his families and his business.
“FDL’s level of integrity and ethical decision-making is ultimately why we would never consider partnering with another company,” Brandon said.
Keep reading to hear more about Brandon’s experience working with FDL.
Why did your funeral home decide to partner with FDL for preneed?
Previously, my parents worked with a different insurance company. Unfortunately, they stopped investing in their product, so there was little to no interest to offset inflation in their policies.
Because of that, it was very important to my parents to work with a company they trusted to always make the right decisions. They wanted a company they believed was in good hands, that would continue to grow those policies, so they wouldn’t end up back in the same situation. They believed in FDL’s product and in Kevin Gaffney [FDL Sales Manager], who’s been my parents’ sales manager and a mentor to me for years. Our connection is as deep to Kevin as it is to FDL.
How has partnering with FDL for preneed impacted your funeral home?
When I first started, I was told the best way to predict at‑need success is to look at preneed success, and I’ve found that to be true. When I first started at the funeral home, we noticed a shift in market share. But through our preneed program, we’ve seen our market share shift back in our favor.
We believe in preneed, and we believe the process on the front end helps create a better solution on the back end. Through our partnership with FDL, we’re able to offer families flexible financial options, like multi‑pay plans, that wouldn’t be as available if all those funds were tied up in a trust.
Can you speak a little more to your relationship with your FDL sales manager?
FDL is unique in that we’ve gotten to know Kevin, Kris Seale [FDL President and Chief Executive Officer], Drew Seale [FDL Chief Marketing Officer], Todd Carlson [FDL Chief Sales Officer], and the whole team very well. In my opinion, those relationships are of the utmost importance. As funeral home owners, we’re entrusting a lot of money to our preneed provider year after year, so it’s important to build those relationships and establish that trust.
We’ve always believed in FDL’s preneed product because of the relationships we’ve built. But our trip to FDL’s Home Office really drove home why we’re with FDL. It was such an incredible experience. Seeing the people who make decisions, the conviction with which they make those decisions, their faith, and their dedication to keeping faith a pillar of the business further aligned us with FDL. When a family trusts you with their money and you, in turn, trust someone else with it, it’s very important that you know they’re always going to make the right decision. Not only for their company, but for our company, and the families we serve. We’ve found that with FDL.
You’ve held a few preneed seminar events with FDL. How was that experience?
Our attendance was always strong, and we almost always had appointments set up immediately afterward. Even when an appointment wasn’t set, we felt we were doing our job by educating our community. We felt that if even one person left with more knowledge and understanding of what preplanning looks like, we considered the seminar a success.
I tell our staff all the time that our community gives us a lot. They support us tremendously, and part of our role is to turn around and support them. It’s simply part of our responsibility to the community that supports us so well.
You’ve been on a few incentive trips with FDL. Can you tell us about that?
My wife and I have been on two trips, to Cabo and the Bahamas. Incentive trips are always a lot of fun. There’s something special about having dinner with Kris and his wife or Drew and his wife. In a relaxed environment, away from work, you feel like you really get to know someone.
Why has your funeral home chosen to partner with FDL for as long as you have?
It’s the integrity with which the company is run. When you know the CEO and the integrity with which he leads, it makes all the difference. This is especially true when you compare that to a corporation or a private equity or venture capital group, where you have no idea who’s making decisions, pulling the strings, or what their ethical guidelines are.
We’re confident that our relationship will continue seamlessly into the future. That level of integrity and ethical decision-making is ultimately why we would never consider partnering with another company.
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