MichaelSullivan
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Jul 17, 2009, 9:31 AM
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Five Hot Buttons to Increase Boomer Sales
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By Michael P. Sullivan
50-Plus Communications Consulting: www.graymoney.biz
We train sales associates to use five hot buttons to complete retirement housing sales when selling to Boomer-age prospects. While they will vary with each individual, they are associated with five major categories of emotional drivers or motivational values. Here they are: 1.) independence or autonomy, 2.) connections with family, friends, and society, 3.) personal or spiritual growth. 4.) renewal – rest, recreation and relaxation and 5.) altruism or giving back.
To find out which drivers have emotional power with an individual prospect, all you have to do is ask. If you get a buyer talking about what is important, he or she will tell you. Then, make sure your sales presentation is clearly related to what the person has said.
1.) Independence or autonomy. For Boomers, it means freedom; having choices. They’ll say, “When I retire I want to do the things I want to do, and live the way I want to live.” By contrast, their parents will say, “When I’m older, I want to be able to make my own decisions. I don’t want to be dependent on the government or my children.” For Boomers also interpret the need for independence as control. They need to feel empowered.
Whenever possible, offer Boomers alternatives. Give them enough information so they feel comfortable making the housing decision. Educated, affluent Boomers are information junkies. View yourself as their partner and mentor, not their instructor. They prefer that.
2.) Connections with friends, family and society. More than any other generation, Boomers believe in causes. They created the environmental movement. They are the generation that created organization after organization to fight diseases. Causes are a fundamental characteristic of the Boomer generation because they express the emotional connection with society we all crave.
Acknowledge their causes. At a minimum, express your belief that their cause is important. If possible, provide them with examples in your community to participate in a cause: join a group, contribute time and/or money. It will make your Boomer prospects feel you are like them. And you’ll meet new Boomer prospects. People want to work with people who are like themselves.
3.) Personal and Spiritual Growth. We all have this need as we get older. Boomers have had it from the beginning. They have been described as being on a perpetual voyage to the interior. They have an overwhelming need for self-fulfillment. It is part of the Boomer DNA. It is a quest to find the meaning of life – their own.
Pay close attention when they verbalize their need for self-fulfillment. It is what makes the Boomer generation so individualistic. They may say they really want to work with disabled children when they retire or go back to school or … you name it. They aren’t just blowing smoke. It really is something they want to do.
Acknowledge their desire, as soon as possible after they express it. Connect your housing recommendation to the need when you get the chance. Use their words, not yours. Their words have emotional power.
4.) Renewal – rest, recreation and relaxation. Boomers turned exercise into fitness. They turned vacations into exotic adventures. They are the “forever young” generation. They will turn traditional retirement rest and relaxation into a quest for renewal. Going back to college is one approach. Getting cosmetic surgery is another.
Retirement must accommodate each individual’s version of renewal. Find out what that version is. Show them as specifically as possible how your recommendation will help achieve the renewal they want.
5.) Altruism or giving back. Boomers connect giving back to their causes. They are big contributors to charities. It’s another – but distinctive -- way of connecting with society.
Almost everyone has this emotional driver. Find out if your prospective buyer has an urge to give back to some particular organization or type of organization, or if it is just a generalized desire. Suggest how he or she might do so, even if only in a small way.
By Michael P. Sullivan, President, 50-Plus Communications Consulting, Charlotte North Carolina, (704) 554-7863. Mike consults and trains staff at retirement facilities, home care living firms, financial services and health care organizations. His book, “101 Easy Ways to Increase Business with Boomerplus Clients” is available on his website, www.graymoney.biz. Contact him at mps50plus@aol.com.
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(This post was edited by MichaelSullivan on Aug 11, 2009, 7:08 AM)
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