Why They’re Important

Generation X is just now entering their peak earning years. They tend to be less trusting than the generations before them, but once their trust is gained, they’re loyal.

What They’re Like

Gen X’ers are tech savvy, so make sure you’re using a variety of media to reach out to them. They can be skeptical and often want to know “why.” Make sure you are forward thinking and anticipate the types of questions they may have. They will focus on trust and transparency. This should come as no surprise since Gen X’ers were young adults during many of the worst financial scandals in history.

Generation X is a self-educated generation that likes to be in the driver’s seat. They trust their friend’s referrals, so once you have the loyalty of one Gen X’er, others are sure to follow. The younger generations have a fear of missing out, so good advice of when to make a financial move will often be considered and appreciated by this generation.

How They’re Doing Financially

Generation X has lost the most in net worth. They are still regaining their footing from the Great Recession, and are falling behind in their retirement savings. These unfortunate circumstances may cause them to shy away from traditional investment instruments.

How to Earn Their Business

When connecting with a Gen X’er, focus on the facts. Be transparent and don’t pressure. To earn their trust, you need to prove that you can do things right and on time. Generation X is a generation that wants to be involved in the decision-making process, so provide them with options and back up plans.

Since this generation is tech savvy, be prepared to do business over the phone and through email. Ask yourself how you plan to compete against robo-advisors as well. Being tech savvy, Generation X wants to know all the information that is available to them. Ask yourself if there is any information that has traditionally been held back that you can provide.

Their tech savviness also means Gen X’ers need to see up-to-date information on your social media profiles and website. They will use your website very differently, as they are interested in who you are as a person, more so than the previous generations. Information such as organizations you support, what you do for fun and information about your family are all good connection points with Gen X’ers.

About baby boomers

The baby boomer generation controls over half of the net household wealth because they grew up at peak levels of income. They have been in the workforce for most of their lives, and they are beginning their transition into retirement. Baby boomers were fortunate to have good pension options, and they bought houses when they were more affordable. They will have a longer life expectancy today than any of the generations before them.

Baby boomers are competitive and optimistic. They believe hard work is rewarded and rightfully so, as the economy overall has done well throughout their working years. Many baby boomers feel young at heart and their life expectancy will surpass the previous generations.

Postponing retirement

Although some have retired early due health issues, many baby boomers are healthy and plan on working past a traditional retirement age. Some baby boomers are short on retirement funds due to financial reasons such as supporting their adult children who entered the workforce during a less favorable economy and their now dwindling inheritance. Although this isn’t ideal to anyone, baby boomers are especially self-reliant, and do what they have to do when it comes to achieving their goals.

How to connect

Baby boomers were born before the technology craze hit and still value face-to-face communication. Traditional sales techniques work well with this generation, and they appreciate service that makes them feel rewarded. To connect with baby boomers, conduct yourself as a team member and be cheerful. Be prepared to share your story, work with them on succession planning, and offer to do business with their children as well.

Like matures, baby boomers are interested in your history, as well as your background. They are also interested in information such as awards, designations and other qualifications. It is essential that you publish this information on your social media pages, website and in print materials. Baby boomers are more likely to offer their business to you when they see these qualifications.

Characteristics

Matures were born between 1927-1945. They are patriotic and are rule followers. They respect hierarchies, but also demand respect back because of their life experience. They have a strong preference for loyalty and traditional values. The men often dedicated their whole career to one company. Women of this generation were part of the pre-feminism movement. They usually stayed home to raise their families, and if they worked outside of the home, it was for very particular roles such as a teacher, secretary or nurse.

Why They Matter

Matures are frugal, and they have solid portfolios. They can see the value in your services and will be loyal clients for life. As matures now make up the majority of the older generation that is still living, they need your help to plan their wealth transfer.

Financial Traits

Few matures are still in the workforce. Most are facing health issues and disabilities. They are willing to seek out and listen to expert advice.

Ways to Connect

Before meeting with a “mature,” make sure your office is accommodating to the disabled. Ask yourself if you have any generational biases that will conflict with them. Be sure to make their comfort a top priority, stick to formal titles, and follow their rules of engagement.

Building Relationships

Matures are interested in your history as well as your background. Information such as awards, designations and other qualifications are important to them. They want to ensure you are a true industry expert before they offer their business to you.

Basic Account

The Basic (free) account allows you to do everything we have discussed so far in previous blog posts. You can build a great profile, connect with people, find second degree connections and send connect requests. You can also post content such as articles, SlideShares, and blogs.

Premium Business Account

Any of the paid account types come with a free month trial. The Premium Business Account will cost you $47.99/month^*, billed annually. It allows you to see all the people who have viewed your profile over the last 90 days (as opposed to just seeing the last 5 with the basic account).

You can browse in “anonymous mode” and still see who is looking at your profile, and you can see which search terms they used to find you. Premium Business also allows you to send 15 InMails per month to reach out to potential prospects you’re not connected to. This account type is best for people who are not cold prospecting on LinkedIn, but want to use it to communicate with existing connections and get introductions to prospects.

Sales Navigator Account

The Sales Navigator Account starts at $64.99/month^*, billed annually. This account type allows you to use LinkedIn’s advanced search setting, giving you premium filters (such as “engineers in Phoenix over 50”). You are also able to make private lead lists and see their activity, such as job changes and updates. This account also allows you to input data from Salesforce so you can keep all your leads together in one place and locate potential prospects with “suggested leads” and “suggested accounts” features. It also allows you to use the “Notes & Tags” feature, which is great if you’re doing heavy prospecting. You will be notified when one of your leads gets a new job with the “Job Change” feature, and you can send 20 InMails per month to reach out to potential prospects you’re not connected to. This account type is best for people who are planning to use LinkedIn very aggressively to cold prospect and/or people who go after specific niche markets with offers like attending seminars.

Critical Privacy Settings

On any social media platform, one of the first things you want to do is select your level of security. You have the option of being “transparent” to other users or “anonymous.” The transparent setting allows anyone to see your profile and notifies them if you have viewed their profile, too. Use this if your goal is to visit a lot of target market profiles with the goal of getting them to look back at your profile out of curiosity. An added reward of using transparency mode is being able to see who has looked at your profile as well. Anonymous mode is a better option if you are using LinkedIn before meetings or functions to profile people, or if you’re using it to get introductions from current connections. You can switch back and forth between the two settings at any time.

The next setting you need to choose is deciding who can see your connections. Showing them is good for social proof and allows people to see the power players and mutual connections you know. Showing them can also hurt if you aren’t connected to a lot of people who are in your target market segment, and it could lead to client poaching. Deciding which way to go really depends on who you’re connected to and whether or not you’re concerned with competitors trying to steal your clients.

Turn On/Off Your Activity Broadcasts

Your activity broadcasters let your contacts know when you have made changes to your profile or joined a group, for example. Toggle this on and off depending on what you’re doing, but leave it off as default. Turn it on when you add a new interest, award, organization you’re affiliated with, or a new address if you’ve moved offices. It’s also a good idea to turn it on when you update your headshot. This simple way of putting you in front of your contacts can lead to a casual conversation that closes business for you. Turn it off when you’re updating positions, titles, and headlines on your profile because you don’t want to give a wrong impression and seem unstable.

Set Revenue-Related Goals

Before you actively use LinkedIn, ask yourself one question: “What do I want to achieve?” An example of a good goal may be to generate revenue by meeting new people you do not currently have any connection to, or you may wish to generate revenue by increasing lines of business with current clients. Lastly, your goal may be to generate revenue by getting referrals from your current connections.

Thoughts on Connections

The more quality people you are connected to, the more powerful everything you do will be and the faster it will all work. Do connect with all clients, centers of influence, and friends/family who don’t make you look bad. Don’t connect with competitors, strangers trying to sell you things or people who present themselves in an inappropriate way.

One way to get connected with people is to invite your email contacts. It only takes a few minutes, and the payoff is huge. The requests can be sent to all of them, or just the ones you select. LinkedIn will also give you many connection requests and suggestions. To find them, click on “My Network” at the top of LinkedIn. You’ll see suggestions for people you may know. They are based on who you are already connected with, so a lot will be from your target market segments. Request to connect with the people you do actually know, and check back often.

The Law of Reciprocity

When you do something nice for someone, they will have a deep-rooted psychological urge to do something nice in return. Are you permitted by compliance to give and receive endorsements and recommendations? If you can, this is a great way to build up social proof, increase existing lines of business, and attract referrals. Give endorsements and recommendations to your connections on things you personally know or have experienced. They are notified and will often reciprocate by endorsing or recommending you.

Posting “Pulse” Content

People see your content two ways: when vetting you or in their LinkedIn news stream. Make sure everything you post shows your target market that you understand them and have your finger on the pulse of what matters most. Share links to blog posts or new information on your website. Share interesting articles with your two cents added in the post. You don’t ever want to be off-putting by sharing too much about your business that seems salesy, so follow the 4:1 rule of sharing non-industry and industry related posts.

Samples of “Pulse” Content

What are some good examples of pulse content? Here are a few examples if your target market is business owners:

• Share an article with tips to help business owners motivate their people better
• Post a quote about success from John Rockefeller
• Share a picture and something “behind the scenes” from your office
• Share an article about how the new tax laws are impacting local businesses
• Post a link to a blog post you wrote about succession planning secrets

Interacting with Other People’s Content

Interacting with other’s content is just as important as what you post yourself. Spend a few minutes each day commenting on or liking content posted by your connections, but be careful with compliance rules about liking/endorsing financial and investment topics. Look for personal things to comment on such as someone sharing they’ve won an award, hired a new staff member, or gotten a job promotion. When you do this, it gets your name in front of them.

Use professional photos

You are a professional and you should have a photo that shows it. It is worth the time and money to have a professional photographer take a headshot for you. After all, it can be used not only on your LinkedIn profile, but your website, advertisements, other social media profiles and sent to the press should you have an opportunity to share thought-leadership. Do not use a personal photo that is more on the casual side, blurry or that you have to crop yourself out of.

Choose a background/cover photo for your profile that is within the theme of your business and website. Do not choose a background image just because you like it. If your website has photos of cityscapes, go with that. If it has pictures of rural Vermont, choose something within that theme.

Put some thought into your headline

Your headline is the first thing people see when they search for you on LinkedIn. It is also displayed every time you post on the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIn gives you a default headline consisting of your title and company. Write a custom headline that describes what you do and who you do business with.

This may sound simple, but it is probably a little more difficult than you might expect. First of all, you only have 120 characters to use. It is not much to make you stand out among your competitors and attract potential clients. Jot down a few words that are important to you and what you do for clients to get ideas flowing and see what you can fit into that character limit.

Personalize your LinkedIn URL

If you ignore your LinkedIn URL, LinkedIn is going to assign you a random one that is your name followed by a long string of numbers that will not be memorable. You may wonder why it matters when you can always provide a link to it on your website, email signature, etc. What about your business card though? Or what if you get the chance to mention it to someone in conversation? Take a second and make it something you can remember. You never know when you might get an opportunity to mention connecting with someone in nonconventional ways.

Make reaching out to you easy

Different people have different preferences when it comes to contacting you. Putting as many options as you are comfortable with on your LinkedIn profile is the best way to ensure you are contacted by a potential client. Some will send you a message via LinkedIn, but others will prefer to give you a call or send an email.

Make your summary reader friendly

Your summary is the most important element of your profile. It is the most personalized section and the one area most people will not skip over. It should be written in first person and describe what you do in a professional way, but don’t be afraid to include some personal details as connection points as well. Think of your summary as your elevator pitch. It should describe what you specialize in, who you work with, and what your specific skills and accomplishments are. Be sure to use language clients will understand and explain what designations mean as well as use the complete name for acronyms such as MDRT or NAIFA.

Keep paragraphs short and use bullets when applicable, such as to outline what services your business offers. Refrain from putting your disclaimer here unless it is the only option allowed by your compliance.

Make it educational

Don’t be too salesy on your profile. It is ok to be direct about what you do and prove you are good at it, but leave some information that is educational for potential clients. Proving you can make a positive impact on their life can be done by offering them useful information rather than going on and on about what you do. LinkedIn has a field to add presentations and video. This is a great place to put those digital “leave behind” pieces to boost your credibility.

Add your volunteer experience

Not only does it show you are a leader and actively involved in your community, but volunteer organizations you have worked with and support may be just the connection point you need to win over a new client.

Don’t forget your awards and achievements

We understand that when you become one of the top producers in your industry that you may not think your awards are all that important anymore, but to clients they matter. Awards show that you are the type of person they can trust and be comfortable working with. We have had clients miss out on opportunities because they choose not to highlight these achievements.

Find over 500 connections

When you connect to more than 500 people, LinkedIn shows this to others as “500+”. Naturally, people want to connect to well-connected people. Having many connections boosts your credibility. This does not mean you have to accept just any connection request you receive, but finding 500 people you know is probably not that difficult.

Get some recommendations

There are three ways to go about this. Think of a few people that are clients but are also a friend, and ask them to take a minute and write one for you. Also, think of a few people you have recently done business with. Message them and tell them again how thankful you are for their business, and ask them if they would mind writing a recommendation.

Create a company profile

If you are an independent advisor or you have a DBA, you should create a company profile as well. After all the time spent setting up a personal profile, you may be reluctant to do this, but it does not take near as much time to create a solid company page.

Company pages can be very helpful because they improve your SEO (search engine optimization) and allow you to list your specialties. We recommend about ten solid services you provide as opposed to watering the list down with a ton of services. Having a company page also allows your company logo to display next to the company name on your personal page and will allow you to link your employees to the page as well.

Interests

Interests in LinkedIn are not geared toward your personal interests necessarily, but towards other organizations and companies you are connected to. Select your alma mater, charities you support and the companies your clients own or work for, to start with.

Start it off Right

Start with a compelling statement that lets the reader know from the get-go who you are and what you stand for. Your role as principal of your company should be clear right away, as well as your passion for what you do.

Experience

Once you let the reader know who you are and what your position entails, explain how you got there. This should include things such as work history, professional memberships, degrees and designations.

Work History

Your entire work history is not relevant. For example, if you are a former restaurant manager, most people wouldn’t see that as an important detail in your bio as a financial advisor. Unless you are going after other people in the restaurant industry as potential clients, something like that isn’t really essential. Stick to the positions that specifically prove your knowledge in your current industry or are rather prestigious.

Degrees and Designations

There is nothing wrong with getting a bachelor’s degree in art. However, if it is not relevant to your position, do not mention the subject specifically. Having varying interests and knowledge is great, but disclosing everything can make you seem a little wishy-washy in your bio. If you are a financial advisor, demonstrating your expertise by listing designations and describing what they mean can certainly put someone at ease that is on the fence about doing business with you.

Professional Memberships

Whether it is something local, like a chamber of commerce membership, or national, like NAIFA®, memberships prove your commitment to professional growth and credibility.

Be Personal

Lifting the veil and showing who you are, as much as you are comfortable, is always a good thing. Are you involved with a local charity that benefits the homeless? Do you watch your kids play soccer every weekend? Do you spend all your free time studying martial arts? Not only do these things make you more human to those who don’t know you, but they increase the chances of someone identifying with you based on shared similarities. If nothing else, they can be talking points that open the door to becoming more personal with your clients.

Know Your Audience

All marketing decisions start with the same question: “Who are you talking to?” Many of the details of your bio will be the same, but how you present them in different industries and for different clients will vary. There are different facts you may need to make known if the goal of your bio is having more opportunities to speak at events, to earn new clients or to prove your expertise in an interview with the media.

Credibility Boosts

Sometimes we hear from clients that are particularly accomplished that they don’t want to take the time to list out every industry award. We think this is a big mistake. Your clients are outside of your industry. If we show them two bios and the only difference between you and your competition down the street is that your competitor lists his awards, who do you think the potential clients will choose? Even the simplest, most easy to achieve of these accomplishments are important to someone that isn’t educated in the industry. Don’t sell yourself short by not taking the time to give someone the full picture of your achievements.

Consistency

We look at countless websites, and there are always a few things that pain us to see. First of all, it can be off-putting when your team’s bios do not match in style. It seems haphazardly thrown together, and of course that is not the kind of message you want to send to prospective clients. Also, as principal of your company, ALWAYS make sure you have a bio and that it is longer and more thorough than the other members of your team. Nothing is worse than having no bio at all, or having an executive assistant that appears more accomplished than his or her boss. Decide what voice everyone’s bios will be written in as well. For most businesses, third person makes more sense, but for your business, maybe a more casual first person approach is better.

Current

We write our bios in a way where they will age well. If you tell us you have been married for 24 years, we will write “more than 20.” Your nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter are your “young children.” Although it is ideal to review your bio every year and make necessary changes, make it easy to edit year after year.

A Final Tip

Designating one person on your team to write your bios is a great way to start if you have someone particularly skilled in writing. This keeps a certain style and consistency throughout all your team members’ bios.

1. Be genuine

You may have to change your company culture to attract millennials. Sales pitches simply don’t work as well as lifting the veil and letting them see inside who you really are and what you stand for.

2. Educate

Since sales pitches are not as popular, focus on educating and doing so in an effective way. Creating e-books, podcasts and videos are more likely to get you noticed over traditional materials like brochures and sales sheets.

3. Keep it short

Millennials are always on the go, and they are used to technology and a world that moves at a faster pace than the generations before them. Shorter attention spans mean you have less time to effectively get your message across. Don’t use paragraphs to explain what you can with a few sentences.

4. Make use of technology

Technology is a powerful tool to keep your audience interested in what you have to say. Use a variety of tools such as webinars, podcasts, infographics and videos whenever possible.

5. Visuals are a must

Use images, interactive graphics and videos to make your message interesting and prove your point over just using back-to-back paragraphs of text.