With the uncertainty of 2017 lingering into the spring, insurance agents and advisors everywhere continue to take stock.
The way forward may be closer than you think.
Look in the mirror. Then, think about your client base. Notice any similarities?
Many financial professionals find that their clients look a lot like themselves. It's easier and often more comfortable to work with people who we have more in common with – age, gender, background, etc. But when we consistently build a practice this way, we miss opportunities to vary our business and grow with the changing times. Consider refueling your book of business through inter-generational planning.
Today, the average age of a financial advisor is 50.9.1 The average age of a client seeking the advice of a financial professional is over 60.1 What will happen if you don't diversify? Inter-generational planning, starting with your current clients' children, could provide you with just the opportunity you need. Develop new client relationships, serve more people and increase your assets under management.
There have been misconceptions that millennials and younger generations aren't interested in financial advice. They'd rather "go it alone." However, study after study has shown that these groups want the advice of a professional if that professional is willing to foster a relationship built on respect for their life goals, communication, trust and education.
Interestingly, 65 percent of millennials in a recent Merrill Lynch study preferred to follow in their parents' footsteps when it came to investing, and 59 percent of millennials in the same study already used a financial advisor in some capacity.1
