Cordwainer Memory Care operates a dual-system CRM stack: Eldermark (full ERP covering sales/marketing, care, and billing) and Further (website chatbot that captures and routes inbound leads). A discovery call with Bodo Liesenfeld (Director of Sales) surfaced a set of critical automation gaps that create lead risk, manual overhead, and fragmented data. This article documents the current state, identified gaps, and proposed automation strategy.
Related client record: [1]
| Source | Auto-populates Eldermark? | Volume (est.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website form / Further chatbot | ✅ Yes | ~3/week (0–10 range) | Primary automated channel |
| A Place for Mom | ❌ Manual entry | ~3/month | Increasing recently |
| Professional referrals | ❌ Manual entry | ~1/month | Handled directly by Bodo |
| Facebook Ads | ❌ Manual entry | Low / test mode | Lead quality poor; many unqualified |
| Caring.com | ❌ Manual entry | ~0 (contract active) | No leads in months |
The core operational risk. When Further pushes a lead into Eldermark, the record is created but no follow-up task is automatically generated. Bodo's daily workflow is driven entirely by the "Overdue Communication" queue on his dashboard — if no task exists, the lead does not appear there and can be missed entirely.
Current workaround: Bodo manually opens each new lead record and creates an initial follow-up task. He also maintains a physical notebook as a backup.
Impact: Any lead that arrives outside business hours (e.g., 9 PM) or during a busy period risks falling through the cracks before a task is manually created.
Proposed fix: Trigger automatic task creation (type: Call, due: same business day or next morning) whenever a new inquiry record is created in Eldermark via the Further integration.
Facebook Ads leads currently bypass the website form entirely, entering through a Meta-native lead form that emails Bodo directly. This breaks source attribution and prevents unified tracking.
Proposed fix: Route all Facebook Ad clicks to the website contact form with UTM parameters (utm_source=facebook, utm_campaign=...). Further will then capture the source automatically and pass it to Eldermark as a secondary source tag. Mark to audit current FB ad configuration and coordinate with Sebastian on UTM implementation.
Bodo's sales cycle is highly time-sensitive for hot leads (memory care decisions are often urgent), but a meaningful segment of prospects are 1–3 months out. These "lukewarm" leads currently receive only manual outreach — Bodo personally schedules calls every 3 weeks and invites them to events — which is unsustainable at scale.
Current lead temperature system in Eldermark:
- Hot — ready to move within ~30 days
- Warm — engaged, visited, on waitlist or close to it
- Cold — in database for years, minimal contact history
- Lost — marked unable to reach after sustained outreach attempts
The definitions are subjective and inconsistently applied.
Proposed nurture strategy:
- Define a clear trigger for enrollment in an automated nurture sequence (e.g., prospect has toured but not deposited, or is flagged Warm/Cold with a move timeline > 30 days)
- Sequence content: community updates, event invitations, resident life highlights — content that builds familiarity without pressure
- Cadence: suggest monthly touchpoints with event-specific sends layered in
- Bodo retains ownership of post-tour personal emails (he considers these relationship-critical and highly personalized); automation handles the in-between touches
- Bodo must have visibility into what automated emails have gone out before he contacts a prospect — lack of coordination was a pain point with the previous agency
Professional referral contacts (case managers, real estate agents, hospital discharge planners, etc.) exist in two places:
- Eldermark — properly tagged by type (case manager, real estate, etc.), usable for targeted outreach
- Legacy Excel sheet — inherited from Bodo's predecessor; contains email addresses only, often without names or role data
For every professional e-blast, Bodo manually combines both lists and sends the merged file to Sebastian. Duplicates are handled ad hoc. Bouncebacks are manually reviewed and cleaned in Eldermark over time.
Proposed fix:
1. Bodo sends the Excel CSV to Karly and Mark
2. Karly runs data hygiene (validate emails, remove invalids) and list enrichment (recover names, roles, organizations where possible)
3. Enriched records are imported into Eldermark under the Professionals tab with correct type tagging
4. Single source of truth going forward; manual Excel list retired
These are platform limitations that cannot be directly automated but are worth documenting for vendor conversations or workaround design:
Understanding Bodo's workflow is essential for designing automations that complement rather than conflict with his process.
Inquiry → Prospect → [Tour] → [Deposit] → Reserved → Assessment → Lease Signed → Resident
At resident conversion, the record transfers to the Care module; Bodo loses edit access (by design).
| Owner | Action | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bodo Liesenfeld | Send professional contacts CSV to Karly and Mark | ⬜ Open |
| Karly Oykhman | Run data hygiene and enrichment on professional contacts CSV | ⬜ Open |
| Karly Oykhman | Draft CRM/automation write-up summarizing discussion and proposed actions; send to Bodo and Mark | ⬜ Open |
| Mark Hope | Audit Facebook Ads setup; redirect leads to website form with UTM parameters; verify Further/Eldermark source attribution | ⬜ Open |
| Asymmetric Applications Group | Propose solution for auto-task creation on new Eldermark lead records | ⬜ Open |
| Asymmetric Applications Group | Develop automated nurture campaign strategy for lukewarm leads | ⬜ Open |
| Asymmetric Applications Group | Investigate importing enriched professional contacts into Eldermark | ⬜ Open |
| Name | Role | Org |
|---|---|---|
| Bodo Liesenfeld | Director of Sales (primary contact) | Cordwainer / Liesenfeld International |
| Erica Lathrop | Internal stakeholder | Cordwainer Memory Care |
| Maria Lastoria | Internal stakeholder | Cordwainer Memory Care |
| Tamilyn Liesenfeld | Stakeholder | Liesenfeld International |
| Karly Oykhman | Account lead | Asymmetric |
| Mark Hope | Strategy | Asymmetric |
| Sebastian Gant | Digital / email | Asymmetric |