Diane Hutchings, a financial planner with the Prudential Insurance Company of America in Jacksonville, Fla., offers this advice about selling to women:
I have built my financial services business by targeting the women's market. Fancy charts or graphs do not impress women. What women want is for the producer to listen to their dreams and provide them with services that will help them bring those dreams to reality through sound financial advice and proper planning. When the producer works with women, forming a one-on-one trusting business relationship is a critical component.
Everyone has financial needs and insecurities. Most women, however, believe they have not adequately taken care of their individual or family finances. They either believe they have done little to protect themselves or think they need a huge amount of money to begin planning for retirement.
Recognizing this, I develop each prospect's plan with the following factors in mind.
First, I base financial projections to include all the various components the prospect assumes will be in her future (home ownership, dual income, children, college tuition, aging parents, and so on) and discuss some she might not have considered. Second, I view each prospect's personal information through a fresh lens.
