50Communications. Working with Aging Boomers. Plus. Sponsored by: William Blair & Company, L.L.C. Consulting

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Hilda Lambert
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Copyright 2006. 50- Communications Consulting, Glencoe, IL. All rights reserved.

2 Working with Aging Boomers: Sponsored by William Blair & Company L.L.C. William Blair & Company has partnered with 50- Communications Consulting, experts on the physiological and psychological behavior of Baby Boomers and older consumers to provide you with sales tools and skills that can help you: Understand 50+ investors needs how to differentiate them from other clients Implement simple strategies in your sales approach to cater to Boomers Foster and build better relationships with Boomer clients Capture assets and produce more sales with Boomer clients

3 Working With Aging Boomers: Presented by: Richard B. Ross 50- Communications Consulting Glencoe, IL

4 Facts about 50- Investors 67% of wealth* $28 trillion* Aging Boomers average net worth is $727k # Better educated, more broadly knowledgeable Most complaints are from older investors -- and their heirs, Boomers 50- adults are DIFFERENT *Wall Street Journal, April , Federal Reserve Board 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances

5 By 50, You Are Not The Same Person Physically Psychologically Emotionally 50Communications Consulting

6 Boomers Are Different from Older and Younger -- Clients! Live Young Take Control Change the World 50Communications Consulting

7 A Look at Some Boomer Differences Don t trust anyone under 30 Make love not war With a little help from my friends The answer is blowin in the wind Turn on, tune in, drop out Hell, no, we won t go 50Communications Consulting

8 A Look at Generational Differences Boomers: Focus on themselves Distrust authority Stressful lives that beg for simplification 50Communications Consulting

9 The First Sales Challenge Not persuasion But, rather, reception -- being heard and understood accurately

10 People pay attention only 50% of the time Source: J. Wonder and P. Donovan, Whole-Brain Thinking, 1984

11 Tip: Meet in the Morning Older minds are at top performance Best for a complicated explanation Best time for a sale Best time for a referral Older minds are equal to that of 18-year olds who have had three beers!* *Source: Reaction Time Begins to Slow Down at 40, British Psychological Society, Reuters Science News, December 20, 2000

12 Physical Change

13 Biological Changes Physical Issues Mobility Strength and stamina Shift in cognition process; the central nervous system slows Slower metabolism reduces speed and accuracy in mind s ability to process information

14 Tip: Slow Down Still chewing on what you just said Pause before next point Look at client s face as a cue for questions

15 Vision Percent of Functional Capacity Retained Age Clear vision over a range of distance. Source: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Aging

16 Hearing Percent of Functional Capacity Retained Male Female Hearing loss is gradual but more pervasive. Source: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Aging

17 Fluid Intelligence and Crystallized Intelligence Today s s communications styles are based on how younger minds work. Older minds work much differently. Fluid Intelligence is how we learn in school. It is semantics (words and numbers), logical, linear, analytical. Crystallized Intelligence relies on experience and culturally acquired information. It is impressionistic, intuitive and experiential.

18 Information Processing 100 Change in learning performance with age 90 Performance Crystallized Intelligence Fluid Intelligence Source: The Aging Mind: Potentials and Limits, Paul B. Baltes, Ph.D., The Gerontologist Magazine

19 Who Do You Want Managing Your Money? Or The smartest 28- Year Old Portfolio Manager?

20 Experience Counts 18-year olds process information much faster and more accurately than 50-year olds But, they also have many more auto accidents per mile driven They don t have enough driving experience 50- substitute experience (crystallized intelligence) for fluid intelligence

21 W/O Experience Connection 50- might not comprehend what you say Less accuracy, completeness, quickness with lowered fluid intelligence And, they WILL use their experience to figure it out But it might be the WRONG experience Not appropriate, not accurate, not relevant

22 The Experience Called YOU W/O relevant investment experience Investors struggle to connect to life experience The life experience they have the most of is judging other people They rely on their ability to judge people: YOU So, they accept, reject or object to your recommendation because of YOU, not it! 50Communications Consulting

Improving the Experience of You As people mature, cognition patterns become more rightbrain oriented -- where memories and emotions reside Memories and emotions are the mind s access to experience

23 Improving the Experience of You As people mature, cognition patterns become more rightbrain oriented -- where memories and emotions reside Memories and emotions are the mind s access to experience "Rational thought is great in a lot of circumstances where you have time and latitude to do it. But emotions provide rapid, immediate guidance, a gut reaction." Dr. G. V. Bodenhausen, Northwestern University social psychologist.* *The New York Times, April 20, 2004

24 Hemispheres Source: Michael P. Sullivan in The Excellent Investment Advisor, authored by Nick Murray Left Brain 1. Logic 2. Sequence 3. Linear 4. Semantics: Words, Reading 5. Analytical 6. Yes; No = Right/Wrong Black/White 7. Order 8. Time Oriented 9. Definite Plans 10. Precise Corpus Callosum Right Brain Problem Solving IMAGES Wholeness Perception demonstration patterns faces networks fantasy concepts Whole Picture Creative HUNCHES music tones COLOR

25 Tip: How to Access the Right Brain Minimize the use of left-brain numbers and hard-to-understand charts Use short, simple, positive sentences in the present tense Use analogies

26 Understand the Emotional Language Autonomy or independence Connected to family, friends & society Altruism or giving back Personal growth - spiritual/mental Revitalization - R&R, change of pace, hobbies, travel Source: David B. Wolfe, Serving the Ageless Market

27 Independence for Matures Continue to live like I do now. Make my own decisions. Not be dependent on Government or my children when I get older.

28 Independence for the Boomers Live the way I want to live. Do the things I want to do. Independence as aspiration Tip: Give them options and let them decide. A key attitude is they want things simplified but they don t want to lose control.

29 Connected to Family Parents are emotionally attached to their children and grandchildren. Adult children are emotionally attached to their parents. Doing something for the other provides great emotional satisfaction.

30 Simple Example The emotional need to be connected to family Leads to interest in grandchildren Which can lead to investing for the future, gifting and estate planning Therefore, understanding the importance of being connected to family lets you propose financial solutions to emotional needs

31 Tip: The Grandparents Market 70 million grandparents 10 million new grandparents by 2010* 82% of everyone 60 and older* Ask: Do you have grandchildren? Ask: What are their ages? Ask: Have you made any plans to help them grow up successful and happy? *AARP, 2002

32 Funding Grandchildren s Education Develop a strategy for your client, the grandparent Then say, before we finalize things, we should talk to your children. They may have some strategies of their own that we should co-ordinate with. Guaranteed: the adult children will likely meet with you.

33 Giving Back Altruism strikes a responsive chord with Boomers. Probe to learn if giving back to the community, church or some organization is a hot button. Understand their causes. Part of the shared experience of Boomers in their formative years relates to social consciousness.

34 Personal Growth Notice their expressions of need for selffulfillment, i.e., changing careers, living differently, residing elsewhere, pursuing avocations. Ask, What do you want to do in your next stage? For Boomers the what is usually significant and very individualized. How can you help them do it? Understand their search for relevance. They need to be needed. They want to feel a sense of mission. Can you become an enabler?

35 Acknowledge Client Needs Client says, When I retire I want to be able to have enough money so that I can work with disabled children. You say: Let me see if I understand you. When you retire you want to have enough money so that you can work with disabled children. Clients are not clairvoyant.

36 Play It Back You told me you want to have enough money so that you can work with disabled children. Ask: Is that right? I m recommending this approach because you said you want to be able to have enough money to work with disabled children when you retire.

37 Ask, How Does That Feel? Not, Does that make sense to you? Which calls for a left-brain, rational response Ask for a right-brain, experience-based, intuitive response feelings, not analysis.

38 Don t Give Up Beginning in their 50s, investors take more time for decisions Think about things longer No hurry to get things done From their experience, they know quick decisions are often regretted And remember, they are constantly evaluating the experience called YOU. 50Communications Consulting

William Blair Regional Sales Director: Chuck

39 Thank you for your participation! If you have questions, please contact your William Blair Regional Sales Director: Chuck Miller Midwest Scott Silverman, CIMA West Ask your William Blair Regional Sales Director how you can obtain a complimentary book: 101 Easy Ways to Increase Business with Boomerplus Clients!

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