Marketiing Fiinanciiall Serviices to Seniiors by Beryl Gomez

Marketing Financial Services to Seniors

Why Prospect Seniors?

People over age 60 control 77% of the assets in the U.S.

Who Has The Assets? $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $0

Motor Vehicles Interest- Earning Financial Accounts Home IRA/Keogh < 35

35 to 44

45-54

55 to 64

65 and older

Stocks/ Mutual Fund Shares

Age There are other reasons, too. Seniors are available during the day, they are concerned about their finances, and their money is in their control.

How Seniors Buy Seniors don’t want to be razzle-dazzled with figures, fancy charts, and other tools you may use. And seniors do not have an expectation of high returns and like conservative investments.

They Buy You!

How to Attract Affluent Seniors If you want to be effective at marketing to seniors, show them you’re actually interested in them. What is your firm’s name? Does the name tell seniors that you’re the expert to work with people like them? If your company is “Jones Insurance and Investment,” forget it. How about, “Senior Benefits.” Your seminars, direct mail pieces, and brochures must focus on seniors’ concerns if you want to reach them. Make your marketing “Senior Friendly.” There are many designations out there, but none as persuasive with seniors as the Certified Retirement Financial Advisor (CRFA) designation. If you are serious about the senior market, become a CRFA graduate and position yourself far above the other advisors in town (http://www.crfa.us). Communicate with seniors using direct mail. They like to read and can do so at their own pace. They also find that an item in writing is credible.

Position Yourself as an Expert among Seniors Seniors have spent most of their adult lives receiving information from newspapers, magazines and the radio. So the more you can get into print with booklets, books, and articles, the more credibility you will have.

And it’s easy to do. You do not have to write a word. There are plenty of people who will do all of the writing for you. So if you want to be perceived that your information is truthful, valuable, trustworthy, credit worthy, and credible, put it in print. Your reputation will take a huge jump because seniors believe what they see in writing. It’s their psychological makeup to do so. ©2014 All Rights Reserved Brokerville www.brokerville.com  888-893-2990

They Want to Check You Out Seniors like seminars. It gives them a chance to look you over while they stay anonymous. They’re hungry to learn about their options, and they have the time to attend. Some pointers that you should keep in mind when planning your seminars:  Don’t invite people under the age of 60  Have it during the day  Use direct mail  Make your topic emotionally compelling  Don’t educate. Seniors do not absorb content, they will listen to who you are  Close appointments at the seminar

Direct Mail & Advertising The most powerful thing you can offer with direct mail and advertising is a free booklet

or report about a senior issue (subscribe at https://www.advisorbooklets.com/introduction.php )

They get to see your picture and biography and feel like you’re not a stranger anymore. And if the copy is good, it will get a very good response. ©2014 All Rights Reserved Brokerville www.brokerville.com  888-893-2990

Pitfalls of Working with Seniors Seniors want comfort, not the results of your Monte Carlo simulation. They don’t care much about technical things or reams of data and spreadsheets. Those are not great tools to convince seniors to take action. You must work on your self-confidence, eliminate jargon, and remember that they buy you, not the products you sell. Be aware that seniors’ time expectations are different that other clients’. Whenever you tell seniors that you will call them, be very specific as to when. Don’t leave it openended since they can be very demanding. Seniors think that bigger is better. If you don’t work for a major firm or have wellknown products, emphasize the names of the companies within the portfolio of the annuities or mutual funds you propose. Never present anything new. Seniors want what’s proven. New is very unsettling to a senior because new to them means unproven, untested, untried, doesn’t work, or risky.

Seniors Buy You! Don’t give seniors choices. You will confuse them. They’re coming to you because you are the expert. They’re depending on you. So when you do give a recommendation, it’s just “here it is, here’s the best one for you”, they want you to have asked them enough questions so that you make the decision. That’s what they want from you. The expert’s opinion. For powerful marketing tools for the senior market, visit www.brokerville.com