Austera Group is excited to announce its sponsorship of the 2026 One on One Sales Summit, taking place September 14 through 16 in St. Louis, Missouri. As a Platinum Sponsor, Austera joins a distinguished group of senior living leaders committed to advancing the sales practices that shape how families experience the transition into community life.
The One on One Sales Academy, is a nationally recognized program built on Prospect-Centered Selling®, a disciplined, human, evidence-based approach grounded in change psychology, Motivational Interviewing, and the Stages of Readiness that shape a family’s decision to move. Best Performers who sell this way convert inquiries at more than twice the industry median, keep residents in the community roughly sixty percent longer, and free their operators from the paid-referral cycle that quietly erodes net operating income.
The Summit is a centerpiece of the Academy’s year-round learning community. Each September, sales professionals, executive directors, operators, and owner-operators gather for three days of keynote sessions, live workshops, peer forums, and group coaching. It is one of the few gatherings in the industry where every conversation, from the main stage to the hallway, centers on the human side of sales.
Kristin Kutac Ward Joins the Summit Speaker Lineup
Alongside a lineup of respected voices from across senior living, Austera Group President and Co-Founder Kristin Kutac Ward will take the stage. Her session draws on more than three decades of experience leading sales strategy in senior living, combined with a perspective she did not expect to add to her professional resume: that of an adult daughter walking her own family through the decision.
In her talk, Kristin will explore why filling a community is only the beginning. Sustaining that success, she argues, requires a sales culture that continues long after occupancy goals are met. She will speak candidly about what families truly experience during the search and move-in process, and why authentic human connection remains irreplaceable in an increasingly AI driven world. Technology can surface demand, prioritize inquiries, and give counselors more Time in the Selling Zone®. What it cannot do is read the family dynamics in a living room, sit with a prospect’s ambivalence, or walk a frightened decision-maker toward readiness. That, she will remind the room, is the work of a skilled human, and it is where every meaningful occupancy gain begins.
Meet Austera Group at the Summit
If you are planning to attend, we would love to meet in St. Louis. Reach out to schedule time in advance at info@austeragroup.com, or find Kristin onsite September 14-16.
Learn more about the 2026 One on One Sales Academy Summit: Register here.
