How to Speak so Gen Y Will Listen

Who are the four generations?

Traditionalists: Born between 1924-1945
Baby Boomers: Born between 1946-1964
Generation X: Born between 1965-1980
Generation Y: Born between 1981-2000

Each of these generations was influenced by certain events that shaped their psyche during their formative years. The formative years tend to take place 10-20 years after a person was born, so let’s look at the events that shaped Gen Y during their formative years.

Generation Y
Born between 1981-2000
Formative years between approx. 1992-present

Gen Y is also known as Millennials, Echo-Boomers, and the Net Generation. No matter what you call them, they are a powerful force of 79+ million (almost as big as the Baby Boomer generation). They were wired from day 1; consequently, they are called Digital Natives, while the rest of us are known as Digital Immigrants. This generation was born with a mouse in its hand and studies are showing that as a result, they process information differently than the other generations. What does this mean? Not only are they tech-savvy, they also expect everything to be “downloaded” immediately. They believe in instant gratification; if they can download a song, book, article or video immediately, why can’t everything come as instantaneously?

Studies are showing that a 10-year old Gen Y has the maturity level of a 16-year old Boomer. Why? Because of globalization and instant, streamed news. They saw the planes crashing into the Twin Towers again and again. Any global event, both positive and negative, is online in seconds. Consequently, this generation is as diverse as the globe. When it comes to food choices, politics, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion, this generation sees itself as diverse as possible.

Not only did 9/11 impact Gen Y, but this generation also saw AIDs kill their friends and family. They were the first generation to have safety laws enforced…bike helmets, car seats, seat-belt laws, and strong drunk driving laws. The message from this was “You are special. We value you.” Consequently, this generation value connections. They want to be part of a community…at home, at work and at play. They will work with their friends at the same company, if they feel it’ll allow them more time with their community. So when someone complains “Why does Gen Y have to text me 10 times a day?!”, I remind them that Gen Y values connection, and since they are hardwired, texting is their form of communication.

The .com boom and bust showed them that the corporate world can be unreliable. So this is a generation of entrepreneurs. They had a voice at “family meetings” from the age of 5, so they have the confidence to articulate their vision, the tech-skills to create their vision and the community to support them in their vision. So welcome to a generation of entrepreneurs and creative collaborators! Work and life balance is vital to a Gen Y; they saw their parents in the go-go 90′s of the Internet boom and want more balance. So this entrepreneurial career path lets them do yoga at 4PM and work at midnight; it’s all a continuum to them.

Now that you understand which events shaped this generation, and how Gen Y view the world, how can you best connect with them? You use key words that resonate with them. When you do this, they then feel understood and are willing to listen to you. You build rapport, so they will engage with you more willingly. If you continue to use their key words, you will have an effective conversation with them, simply by using their own language.

Key Words for Gen Y

*”Text now for…”
*Balance
*Diversity
*Community/connections

So if you’re trying to convince a Gen Y’er to launch a new website, you would say something like “This will bring together our different stakeholder communities. This feature will allow our members instant access to the information they need. It can be built in stages, so we don’t have to work 80 hour weeks for the next 2 months.”

You wouldn’t use the same language when trying to convince a Gen X, Boomer or Traditionalist to launch a new website. They have their own key words that resonate best with them. Yet using the Gen Y key words, and understanding the Gen Y psyche, will help you bridge the cultural gap.

Remember, you will not succeed when trying to change a generational perspective. You will only succeed when tailoring your pitch to each generation. In other words, speak their language. When you do this, they feel more connected to you and more willing to answer your questions. This then helps you overcome their concerns and move forward.

Retaining Your Assets Through the Generations – Part 2

Did you miss part 1 of this blog? Click here to read it. If you already read Part 1, read on for Phil’s solution.

How Could This Information Have Helped Phil?

We can’t know how Phil’s doctor client would have reacted to the idea of succession planning.  (After all, even doctors can be squeamish about facing up to their own morality.)

But we do know that — by discussing the future, and creating a multi-generational dialogue — Phil would have stood a much better chance of retaining this account when his client died.

Here are 4 tips to help you create succession plans that will keep your clients’ assets in-house, across several generations:

1. Do Your Homework

First, identify your client’s generation.  He or she may be a Baby Boomer, or a “Traditionalist” who fought in World War II.

Now find out who the successor is, and what generation they belong to:  Are they from nose-to-the-grindstone Gen X?  Or from environmentally conscious Gen Y?  Are they a legacy-oriented Boomer?  Or a conserving Traditionalist?

The answer will give you a surprising level of insight into their priorities.

2. Meet the Successor — and Make It Social

Now it’s time to begin establishing a relationship with your client’s successor — and, even in today’s digital age, the strongest relationships grow from face-to-face interactions.

So based on your client’s and the successor’s interests, invite the family to an elegant dinner, or a show, or a casual community event.  Eventually you’ll want to have an intergenerational meeting that leads to a succession plan.  For now, though, plan to keep things strictly social; bonds of trust will develop with time.

3. Prepare to Meet with Both Client and Successor

Let’s imagine your client is Marie and her son, the successor, is Marc. You may need to meet Marc socially a few times, before he agrees to a financial business meeting. At the actual meeting, it is your duty to make recommendations based on what is in Marie’s best interests…or at least make sure she knows what is and isn’t in her best interest and let her decide from there.  One of her goals might be to preserve as much of the nest egg as possible for Marc, in which case their interests would be aligned.  However, if her goal differs from Marc’s on estate gifting strategies, they can be in conflict. In addition, Marc may not be interested in learning about Marie’s financial details. Alternatively, Marie may not want Marc and the other relatives to know all her financial details. Family wealth can be challenging to discuss, so be patient and take your time before inviting Marc and Marie to an intergenerational financial meeting.

Once you’ve scheduled this multi-generational meeting, add one more task to your usual preparation:  Review your product offerings — and your client’s existing portfolio — in light of each generation’s values, priorities and investment time frame.

Ask yourself things like:  Will 36-year-old, Gen X Marc want to discuss retirement options?  And what’s most important to a Marie, as a Baby Boomer who may be thinking about her legacy?

Write down and practice specific phrases, stories or value propositions that speak to each of these generations’ concerns. Be sure that you understand which argument or supporting evidence works best for each generation.

4. Hold the Intergenerational Financial Meeting

When you meet with Marie and Marc, areas to discuss will include assets, inheritance plans, timing, and long-term health care.

Even when presenting basic financial information, you may find it necessary to state things differently to each of them.  You may even need to make certain points twice — once, with regards to the concerns of Marie, and once with a focus on what’s most important to Marc.  By speaking to each generation on its own terms, you’ll build the trust and credibility that allows everyone to reach their goals.

Mastering a New Approach

Mastering these ideas may seem like a large mental shift, but you don’t have to do it all at once!  This week, take 15 minutes to learn about the generations. Next week, ask 2 of your clients about their successors.  By the end of 6 weeks, you’ll be far along in creating succession plans for your clients…   in building cross-generational relationships…   and in meeting your goal of retaining assets.

Ready to learn more about the generations? Feel free to contact me at anne@anneloehr.com for my generations ‘cheat sheet’, which will help you learn the key words to use with each generation.

Retaining Your Assets Through the Generations

Is the average age of the clients in your book 65?

Are you confident that all of your assets under management will remain in your hands when your older clients die?

Are you willing to bet your business on it?

Successful FAs always look for net new assets. But what happens when high net worth clients pass their reins to a younger successor?  More often than not, the successor will find a new FA and the CSA has to do an ACAT out, reducing the FA’s assets under management.

You don’t want this to happen to you!  And fortunately, it doesn’t have to — when you learn how to retain your assets through the generations.

You already know how to create deep relationships with your mature, established clients; that’s what makes you a high producing FA. In this article, I’m going to show you how to create deep client relationships with theyounger generations, too.  This will allow you to maintain your assets as they are transmitted through the generations of a high net worth family.

It’s All About Relationships

Last week, I spoke at a lunch for high-producing FAs in Philadelphia.  During my program, I noticed that one man — let’s call him Phil — was nervously smoothing his tie whenever I talked about cross-generational selling strategies. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he had just lost a $5 million dollar account. Phil had been working with this client, a successful doctor, for years. Unfortunately, the doctor died unexpectedly.

Phil went to the funeral and gave his condolences to the wife and grown children; he assumed that business would go on as usual. Within a few weeks, though, he was told that the son was moving the account to a competitor.

“I never saw it coming,” Phil said, shaking his head woefully.  “I wish I had taken the time to create a succession plan with my client, years ago.”

Just Who Are These Generations?

To create deep relationships, it’s important to understand what shaped each generation. We all know there are different “generations” — but few of us can identify the three groups that dominate today’s workplace.  According to demographers, they are:

• Baby Boomers — born between 1946 and 1960, this group is 82 million strong
• Generation X —a smaller group at 59 million, with laser focus on results and benefits
• Generation Y (or The Millennials) — The under-30s, a large cohort (80 million), that holds the key to how we’ll live and work tomorrow

Each of these generations was shaped by the unique political, technological and societal events that occurred during their formative years. Consequently, each generation has its own values, personality, language and buying habits.

Not surprisingly, each generation also has its own idea of “the perfect FA,” and its own goals for that relationship.

How could this info help Phil? Read next week’s blog to find out.