Selling to Baby Boomer & Older Consumers

No One Sells Anything Directly
To The Conscious Mind

Why Our Training Programs Are Essential

On January 1, 1996, the first of the babies born during the baby boom turned fifty. In 2000, more than 50% of adult Americans were forty-six years of age or older, and over the next decade the over fifty markets will increase by approximately 50% while the under fifty markets will increase by only 1%. For each of the next decade another 4 million Boomers will cross the half-century mark. The boomers are progressing first into their fifties and then sixties and seventy's marking a revolution in the size and purchasing influence of baby boomers and older consumers. Data shows, discretionary income rises and reaches its peak in the fifty-five to sixty-four age brackets.

To be successful in baby boomer and older consumer markets, companies should not only provide sales personnel "tried and true" training methods to sell, service and retain these rapidly growing consumers. The behavioral and perception changes caused by the aging process demands significantly different sales and service delivery approaches and techniques than currently provided to sales and service personnel.

Selling & Servicing Baby Boomer & Older Consumers

Our approach to sales and service delivery training incorporates revolutionary new findings in brain/mind research. We all process information in approximately the same way. Knowledge of these processes provides a dependable map to guide sales and service delivery personnel in shaping their approach and transmitting messages to these rapidly growing markets. Research has shown that consumers' final decisions are not the direct product of the reasoning process; in fact, emotions drive boomers and older consumers in their purchase decisions. The reasoning process will confirm their decision, but it doesn't start there.

Go with the Grain of the Brain - Effective Selling & Servicing Baby Boomer & Older Consumers

Emotions are one of the most powerful influences we have. Think back for a minute and try to think of anything that you've purchased where your emotions haven't played a major part in the decision process. We use our emotions to help visualize ourselves benefiting from the purchase of a particular product or service.

Research also tells us that purchasing patterns are altered based on the developmental life stage reached by consumers. Mixed with individual personalities and experiences, these dynamics create consumer purchase motivations. Understanding the factors that determine purchasing behavior will help your company's sales and service professionals better respond to what this groups' wants and needs.

Our training programs include elements and principles of better communicating with baby boomer and older consumers. Our revolutionary approach will provide participants tools and techniques to increase sales and consumer satisfaction. We will provide on-site customized train-the-trainer and interactive seminars and presentations to meet the needs of management, sales and service delivery associates.

"Winning the Sales Battle for Baby Boomer & Older Consumers"

This interactive and very cost effective program is designed to train your trainers to present the program to sales or service associates. Participants are exposed to potential sales or service opportunities and reasons for the ineffectiveness of "tried and true" sales strategies and tactics, and typical customer satisfaction programs on baby boomer and older consumers. The program will address: Why baby boomer and older consumers are critical? What makes them different and what makes them alike? What drives maturing consumer attitudes and behaviors? Why are customary marketing, sales and service delivery approaches less effective? How can communications to these markets be improved? How can a better understanding of the maturing consumer lead to increased sales, and improved communications and customer satisfaction? What are the Do's and Don'ts of effective sales and service to maturing consumers? How can participants apply insights gained?

Method: Interactive power point presentation. Material includes a power point presentation, trainer's guide, and associate training workbook.

Support: We will provide participants no-cost telephone consultation for ninety days following the program to assist them in conducting training. We will also be available to conduct the training programs as desired by management.

Benefits: Training costs per participant are dramatically reduced. Participants will be better prepared to conduct training programs seminars for sales associates on increasing sales or improving service. The training will provide sales and service associates with increased awareness and better understandings of the physiological and behavioral changes caused by the aging process. Participants are provided principles, techniques and tools to increase sales and improve service to baby boomer and older consumers.

The following programs are typically provided in short presentations, 2 to 3 hour segments, or a one to two day combined topic program. Programs are provided on site or company selected locations.

Designed to expose sales professionals to potential sales opportunities and to avoid failures, participants learn the principles of effective selling to these markets. Participants also learn how to develop supporting sales approaches and programs designed to increase sales in baby boomer and older consumer markets.

Telephone Selling to Baby Boomer & Older Consumers: How to Avoid Typical Mistakes

Participants learn basic telephone techniques for selling to maturing consumers. Typical mistakes are discussed and appropriate approaches examined.

How to Improve Customer Service & Increase Baby Boomer & Older Consumer Satisfaction

Customer contact associates learn about the unique characteristics of maturing consumers and learn how to apply insights gained to improve operations, policy development and customer service and satisfaction.

Participants will understand: The critical nature of the 50+ adult markets. What makes maturing consumers different from younger markets? What drives maturing consumer attitudes and behaviors? How to deal with burn out? How to effectively serve an irate consumer. Why customary customer service techniques may be less effective? How participants can improve communications to maturing consumers?

What Board & Executive Leadership Must Know about Sales in Baby Boomer & Older Consumer Markets

Participants learn the business dynamics of a rapidly growing maturing consumer population. Participants also learn how the physiological and behavioral dynamics of aging influences product/service development, marketing, sales, service delivery, operations and customer satisfaction.

What Management and Supervisors Must Know about Baby Boomer & Older Consumer Markets & How They Can Support Sales and Service Personnel

Participants learn the management and supervisory techniques necessary to support successful sales and services to maturing consumers.

Tools to Transform Your Company into an Integrated Sales Organization

Participants learn how leadership and management can adapt to work environments in constant transition. Participants learn why the greater the commitment to integrated sales, the more resources, like time, money, endurance, self-control, and ingenuity, must be invested to achieve the desired outcome. Given these characteristics, participants will understand why commitment is so important to effectively executing integrated sales. Participants learn also that there can be a significant price to pay to maintain their commitment.

Through exposure to the concept of Pain Management, participants learn the need for the creation of a compelling case for sustained change to occur. They will also learn the nature and importance of key players, e.g., advocates, sponsors, agents and targets in the process. Participants learn the impact of company culture and the elements of resistance and how to effectively implement integrated sales.

How Sales and Service Management can Successfully Develop & Execute Strategies . . . The Commitment Necessary and the Price to Pay

Participants learn the dynamics and process of successful major sales strategy development and execution. They also learn how to avoid the typical mistakes made by many companies. Participants learn: principles of strategy development and execution; key players and roles in the strategy development and execution process; the notion of pain management; synergy and its effect upon strategy development and execution efforts; how frames of reference and communication styles affect the process; the price of commitment; skills needed; sources and types of resistance and the impact of organizational culture.

Method: Interactive power point presentation with handout material.

Training programs provide management, sales & service associates:

• Knowledge of why baby boomer and older consumer markets is growing in significance and why myths and stereotypical thinking are false, misleading and harmful to sales and service improvement efforts and effectiveness.
• Knowledge of the typical concerns of maturing consumers.
  Knowledge of how the physiological and behavioral dynamics of aging affects marketing, sales, delivery and customer satisfaction.
• Knowledge of how the mind process communications.
• Knowledge and skills in communicating and selling to maturing consumers.
• The Do's & Don'ts of selling to these markets.
• How to create effective sales collateral.
• Ways to remove obstacles to the effective achievement of leadership goals and strategies.
• Business development opportunities.
• A road map to create an Integrated Sales company.
• Opportunities to increase web sales.
• The ability to identify facility, organizational and cultural changes needed to achieve increased profit in baby boomer and older consumer markets.