Centers of Influence in the Mature Market

By William L. Willard, CLU

Unfortunately, the bad experiences some older people have had with investment scams and product pushers misrepresenting themselves as financial advisors have tempted many to try managing their own retirement funds. This trend is causing reputable financial advisors to cringe.

Observes nationally syndicated mutual fund columnist, Charles A. Jaffe, whose book, The Right Way to Find Financial Help, has been published by MIT Press ($25): "We have an entire generation that has more money than it knows what to do with...Many people realize they need help but don't know where to find it."

Jaffe believes financial advisors should be hired as one would any other kind of help: by getting references, checking credentials, and interviewing several candidates, including those recommended by other professionals or professional organizations, before making a decision.

Thus, one way to build your profile and expand your client-base in the Mature market is by developing other professional advisors as centers of influence. And one of the best ways to do that is by becoming genuinely proficient with issues that are important to older Americans…and letting the right people know about it.

Example: By working through other professional advisors who have retirement and financial planning clients--the usual suspects: trusts and estates attorneys, CPAs and accountants, bank trust officers--you can be introduced to this marketplace under the most favorable circumstances. But these other professionals will only seek you out if it’s clear you bring a lot to the table.

How to be seen as someone whose ideas and services can benefit their clients? Basically, by building name recognition and establishing your credibility as often and in as many ways as you can. For starters…

• Network, starting with your own CPA and attorney. Over breakfast or lunch, describe what you do and how you do it. Remind them you all have clients who have to deal with the same basic financial security issues, and that the power of third-party centers of influence can be a two-way street, with traffic moving in both directions. When you're comfortable with that, find out which legal and CPA firms are big-hitters in the Mature market (or want to be), and deliver the same message.
  
  
• Offer your services to other professionals as a seminar or workshop presenter. In many places, the best legal and accounting firms are in the seminar business in a big way, and Matures are ground zero for their marketing efforts. But according to insurance agents who’ve done this, don’t be put-off if you’re expected to do most of the grunt work in these relationships, including putting seminar packages together, developing content and handouts, arranging for and filling the room, and following up with attendees.

Look at it this way: other professionals may feel more comfortable discussing their clients’ financial situations with you than their own. So the more involved you become, the more positive, high-energy effort you demonstrate, the greater acceptance you will have, and the more other professionals will come to depend on you. In fact, the more you do, the better you’ll look.

• Be a joiner. Sign up with the Chamber of Commerce, charitable organizations, political groups and service committees whose work you genuinely support. You'll often find other professionals in your community are members too…as will be quite a few Matures (especially those under 70 who still pretty active). Again, high-effort, high-energy commitment will pay all kinds of dividends.
  
  
• Write articles about the financial security issues Matures need help with, and submit them to professional journals or local news outlets and consumer-oriented publications. Big-name professional journals, like Trusts & Estates, will give you the greatest prestige, but unless you’re an experienced writer and have a lot of time on your hands, it might be smart to hire a ghost.

Typically, articles in professional journals run 8,000 to 10,000 words (with lots of footnotes), the text must be approved by an in-house editor as well as an editorial board, and the subject must fit the publication schedule; allow three to six months from initial editorial contact to placement. Definitely a buyer’s market, but it can be worth the effort.

• Don’t wait for prestige to happen! Published or not, mail, e-mail or fax copies of completed articles to other professional advisors (as well as clients and selected prospects). This is a proactive way to get your money’s worth from your articles and direct them to your target audience. Your cover letter should mention that "this article appeared [or has been submitted for publication to] XYZ Journal."

Local publications targeted to Matures may be easier to crack and can have more impact on other professional advisors or potential clients in your immediate marketplace. This tends to be a seller’s market in most places, since ads are the main event with these efforts, and editorial staffs are small.

Articles will vary in length from a few hundred to a few thousand words and the range of topics is wide. Your library will have copies of the publications you may want to approach; a thumb-check of back issues will give you a sense of their target audiences, content and treatment, editors’ names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

If a publication already has a financial services professional writing for them, check out these articles. Could you do better? What topics are not being covered? Then, call the editor to offer your services. Be prepared to succeed. The other advisor/writer may be on the way out, and the editor may soon have a big hole to fill. Have a sample article ready to send as an e-mail attachment. Even if a publication already has a regular financial columnist, the editor may want to use your submission now or later.

Here’s a short list of topics of general interest to Matures, but the more specific the article and more directly the title speaks to the audience, the better:

• Pre-retirement planning
• Investing lump sums during retirement
• Pre-need long-term care planning
• Crisis-care management
• Estate protection (wills, trusts, life insurance)
• Charitable gifts and bequests

Create one-page bulletins. Each bulletin should zero-in on only one concept or innovative idea practitioners can share with their own clients. Note: With different cover letters, the same bulletin you send to non-insurance professionals can also be sent to your own clients and selected prospects. Want to know more? For a sample bulletin, go to Search This Site and key in "Bulletin."

Whether you write articles, put on seminars or send client bulletins, match your message to your audience. "It’s a simple idea that many professionals skip over, assuming they know the audience," says Larry Klein, CPA, MBA. "For example, let’s assume you want to market a seminar to people age 60 and over. To develop a winning invitation, you need to know how these people think. You cannot assume that your market thinks like you do. If you’re 40 years old, you probably want to know about opportunities to make money. But people over 60 (in most cases)…care about preserving capital…You could triple your attendance with the right title, such as "Six Ways Retirees Ruin Their Finances." (Source: "Prospecting With Seminars," Larry Klein, Financial Services Journal Online, July, 1998)

By first getting up to speed with the issues that are important to older prospects, then proactively positioning yourself in the Mature market and developing centers of influence, you'll be able to capture the so-called "Senior" Boom, which still has plenty of life left in it.

Want to Know More?

Financial services representatives who want to know more about Generational Marketing should not miss these Marketing Guides available from Pelican Island Publishing:

1. The Mature Market - A Generation at the Crossroads

2. Boomers! - Marketing to the "Me Generation"

3. Marketing to Generation X - New Ideas in a Changing World

(Each is available for $25. per single copy)

These publications offer profiles of key generational "markers," a review of the expectations each age group has of financial services advisors, plus cohort-specific prospecting tips and hands-on approach techniques. Interested? See William L. Willard, CLU below and address inquiries to Bill at w.willard3@knology.net.

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