María Suárez, 43 years old, worked for more than 15 years in the sales sector. She had to market women’s perfumes, makeup or clothing, among other products. He went door to door offering different items. She admits that she was not the best at her job, but at least it was enough to support herself. However, when it was his turn to “sell death,” the doors always closed in his face. He says that a woman of about 40 years old even scolded him and shouted “I don’t want to die!”, while throwing what looked like a small bottle of holy water at him. Years later he understood that his approach had not been ideal. In the business of offering funeral services, according to different marketing specialists, it is not about offering a product, but rather a “tribute” and solutions to the unexpected. Cristian Infante, 45 years old, has worked for Jardín de los Pinos, in Monterrey, for almost two years. He admits, via telephone, that it is not a simple sector and he is precise: «98% of people are going to reject you. There are still many taboos. People who tell you ‘I don’t want to die’ or ‘Stay away, death calls’. There is a lot of rejection that you face, so you have to find a way to overcome it.» According to data from the Ministry of Economy, the workforce of workers in funeral services during the first quarter of 2025 was more than 15,000 people, whose salary averaged just over 7,000 Mexican pesos (almost 400 dollars) working around 47.4 hours a week. The average age of employees in this sector was 44.5 years. The workforce was distributed in 42.7% men with an average salary of 9,400 pesos and 57.3% women with an average salary of 6,360. It is for this reason that Infante emphasizes two previous steps that are important to sell any type of product, especially this type of services. The first, overcome the shame of offering your product. The second, knowing how to overcome rejection. Experience and expertise in sales has taught him to know how to capitalize on that minute or two to get a person to listen. “I think you can achieve a lot to sow that little seed or that little worm in the awareness that this [el servicio que ofrecen] It is completely necessary. That’s more than anything, convincing the client with advice, instead of jumping in with the product. Because our product is scary,» he explains. Infante affirms that in this business the key, when you know how to do it well, is to offer solutions. One of the approaches that this seller makes with potential clients is to «solve problems.» Offering the person who is interested in hiring a funeral service the peace of mind that their family will face minimal problems in a time of pain. That they have the possibility of saying goodbye, «whether with sadness or affection», without financial conflicts, in peace and under each person’s terms. «No one he wants to die. The joke is that we are all going to die, but you can’t say that. So, you go that way. You tell the client ‘I don’t want him to die either. On the contrary, I want you to live a calmer life, knowing that the inevitable is already covered,» he says. Like every industry, Infante explains that they have high and low seasons. For funeral services, according to him, it is every year between the second half of October and the first half of November, coinciding with a very Mexican tradition such as the Day of the Dead.Residents of Tláhuac, in Mexico City, visit and clean the grave of a relative on the Day of the Dead, in the San Pedro pantheon. Nayeli Cruz»These dates are when people remember most that this is inevitable and that they must prepare. Tradition makes it more obvious. People visit their deceased. Or if they don’t visit them, Coco is being shown on television. [una película famosa sobre esta festividad] and everything related to this date in the stores makes people think: ‘Oh, I don’t have anything prepared for my family!’, says the sales specialist. Although he also admits that they have low periods. Statistically, he says, when fewer sales are recorded it is during the return to school, between the end of August and the beginning of September. According to data from the company where Infante works, adults between 35 and 60 years old are the segment that most acquires or considers acquiring this type of services. However, another factor that is Intruding among the numbers is trauma. Some experience between life or death, whether it be his own or that of a family member or acquaintance. Infante says that one of his youngest clients is 20 years old because of an experience of that type. Another of them, following the previous logic, is a delivery person for the Didi application. “He told me: ‘Yes, I’m interested in buying a little piece of land. Last time I flew about 15 meters and I only remember that I woke up in the hospital with my arm and shoulder broken. I’m in this and it’s what I live off of. Yes, I am interested in being prepared so as not to leave the burden on my father,» says Infante. The sales agent at Jardín de los Pinos affirms that this job also comes with its peculiarities. He says that a client, with whom he could not close the sale, asked him to be watched over at his house, which is not something unusual, he explains. However, his request was that while he is watched, his relatives can carry him in his coffin and take him for a walk around the block so that his neighbors can say goodbye to him. “We had to make some recommendations about the weather conditions, when it is not done in one of our chapels, about the risks of how the decomposition of the remains can be accelerated when the air-conditioned spaces that we do offer in our spaces are not taken into consideration. The sale was not achieved, but it is the strangest order I have received so far,” he concludes.
