Millennial producers can be successful at selling to baby boomers. (Photo: iStock)
Forget that they're your parents or grandparents. If you're a millennial selling insurance, baby boomers are your best prospects.
They're older and well-established. Because 70% of the nation's disposable income is theirs, they spend more and have more assets than any other generation. They're the primary owners of high-value homes. They drive nicer cars. Over the next 20 years, they'll inherit $15 trillion. Baby boomers need more insurance than any other generation.
If you're not successfully selling to them, it's probably because of disconnects between our two generations. Millennials and baby boomers have different values and histories, so they think about life and process information differently. They communicate differently. Throughout the insurance transaction, baby boomers require different kinds of help than millennials do.
To gain the loyalty of baby boomers, you must first understand them as a generation. They require a standard of communication you might not be used to or feel comfortable with when dealing with your peers — but they're worth the effort.
The 'Me Generation'
Today's 74+ million U.S. baby boomers, born between 1946-1964, were raised on the promise of the American Dream. They witnessed Earth's first space travel, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and the Cold War with Russia.
They're better educated than their forebears. They were the first Americans of the middle class who had the time and means to think about self-actualization. Nicknamed the "Me Generation," they have been perceived as greedy, materialistic and ambitious. As employees they're hard-working, goal-oriented and independent, but good team players. As consumers, they do their homework.
Baby boomers spawned the Digital Revolution. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and British-born Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the internet) all are baby boomers. However, the revolution left some of its generation behind.Often empty nesters, baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011 and won't stop until 2029 — when more than 1 in 5 U.S. citizens will be over age 65, projects the U.S. Census Bureau. Because they're living longer than their predecessors, they must fund longer retirements. At the same time, their health costs are higher and their need for health insurance greater.
7 Tips for Capturing Baby Boomer Business
1. Never hesitate to make an appointment in person. People under 40 prefer to get things done through email, text or on the phone. They want a hands-off, remote experience. Most baby boomers, on the other hand, appreciate in-person meetings.
2. Develop a relationship. Baby boomers buy based on relationships, not price. They'll respect you if you demonstrate your own respect by taking time to get to know them and their insurance needs.
3. Provide service after the sale. Millennials producers are always looking for their next sale, but the baby boomer who has bought is still a customer. It's a major disconnect between the two generations, and younger producers can overlook the service aspect of the relationship. Baby boomers — especially those who are older or less tech-savvy — value having someone they can call if they have a question or need to make a change.
4. Remember the little things. If they haven't retired, they're in the middle of their career or toward the end of it. They have a lot more assets to protect and they want the best possible insurance protection. Tell them about those available endorsements on a homeowners' policy to protect them, for example, from their homeowners' association for loss assessments. Explain how a personal liability umbrella policy will protect them in case they ever are involved in a situation where they could be sued, or if their assets could be threatened. That's something that millennials don't always think about because we haven't been working for many years to build up our assets.
5. Understand the baby boomer buying process. It's not going to be an email transaction, and it won't happen overnight. Millennials will buy on price, but for boomers, it's a much more calculated, drawn-out process. They need time to research and weigh their options in order to feel confident about the purchase. But the inverse is that they are very loyal customers. They have a higher retention rate, and they're also more apt to recommend you or refer you to their friends and family if you do right by them.
6. Be empathetic and patient. Millennials come from a mindset of instant gratification. We've been conditioned to expect everything to be quick, easy and painless. Empathizing with baby boomers — showing that even though you're generations younger, you can put yourself in their position — will go a long way toward building trust in your relationship.
7. Ask questions and listen. To develop a relationship, to understand individual needs, to build trust, and to be able to determine the best coverage, you need to listen before you advise so you'll have to execute a different a transaction.
Millennials are missing the potential in the baby boomer market. Sure, they're mom, dad, gram and gramps, but they're also the richest generation with the greatest insurance needs. Harness that channel.
Kevin Michael Patterson is a millennial insurance sales professional with American Family Insurance. He can be reached at kpatters@amfam.com
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