This document provides information on marketing to millennials, or "Waldo", including how to find, close, and get referrals from them. It defines millennials as those aged 16-36 and notes they are tech-savvy, practical, and like to see the big picture or "why". The document recommends finding millennials through partners and parents, using technology over paper, having an easy process, communicating authentically, and getting referrals through their many online social connections. The goal is to develop new business models that use things like mobile apps and strategic partnerships to attract more millennial customers through lower costs and margins.
1. Waldo the All Star!
How to Find, Close, and Get
Referrals From Millennials
2. Agenda
• Why Marketing to Millennials is important
• What is a Millennial?
• New Models Selling to Millennials
• How do you Find Millennials?
• How do you Close Millennials?
• How do you Get Referrals from Millennials?
3. Generation Definition
A group of individuals, most of whom share
the same approximate:
• Age
• Ideas
• Problems
• Attitudes
• etc.
5. Why It Matters
1. Fortunes at the bottom of the Pyramid
2. They will be running all the companies
shortly
3. 3 out of 4 Workers in 9 years will by Gen Y
4. Gen Y is bigger than Boomers
6. Best Gen Y Joke Ever
“Stop Stereotyping Us Millennials”
-Huffington Post September 2014 Headline
7. Common Names For Waldo
• Millennials
• Echo Boom
• Gen 9/11
• Generation ME
• Boomerang Generation
• Net Generation
• Latch Key Generation
• Generation Frustration
• Invincibles
8. Waldo Statistics
• More people turn 26 each day than turn 65
• 39% have Tattoos
• 43% of Y’s are non-white
• Y’s carry an average of $45,000 in debt
• 16.3 Million Y’s are unemployed
• 58% of hiring managers have no plans to hire
recent college graduates
• 63% of Y’s have a friend that lives at parents home
9. Waldo Statistics Cont.
• Most educated generation ever
• 87% donated to charity in 2013
• 56% wont work for a company that bans social
media
• 53% believe online colleges are reputable
• 50% don’t believe Social Security
• Talk to mom on average 1.5X per day
• 50% recommend interesting products to friends
• 4 out of 5 Daily Tasks are completed on Cell Phone
10. Baby Boomers Experience
• Parents
• Size
• Vietnam
• The difficulty of leaving home and fighting for
everything you got
12. Generational Differences
Baby Boomers Millennials
Self Fulfillment Fun
Journey, Potentials, Searching Already There
Change the world Follow your dreams
Protests and group sessions Video games and social media
Abstraction Practicality
Spirituality Things
Philosophy of Life Feeling good about yourself
13. Billboard #1 Songs
1970 1990 2010
Bridge Over Troubled
Water
Hold On Tik Tok
Simon & Garfunkel Wilson Phillips Ke$ha
“I’m on your side
when times get rough”
“Don’t ever let anyone
step all over you”
“Tick Tock on the clock
but the party don’t
stop”
14. Business Books
Baby Boomers Gen X Millennials
In Search of Excellence Built to Last Start With Why
The 7 Habits The World is Flat Linchpin
E-Myth Revisited Innovator’s Dilemma Fish!
15. Commercials
Baby Boomers Gen X Millennials
Change the World Cynical Special
Protest/Peace Disruption Practical
Fun
21. Strategies For Profits
• Down Market
• Lower Cost
• Lower Margin
• More Customers
• New Business Models $$$
$$
$
22. New Model
• Use phone and Internet
• Simple products
• Easy applications
• Easy underwriting
• Fewer wet signatures
• Strategic Partners
23. Math
Old Model
• Investment Accounts: 2/Week $5,000 GDC
• Protection Products: 2/Week $2,000 GDC
New Model
• Investment Accounts 10/day $600 GDC
• Term Life Policies 10/day $15,000 GDC
25. The Marketing Challenge
Waldo is Hard to Find
• TV, Radio, Newspaper, Yellow Pages, Magazines
• Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club,
Photography Clubs, Masonic Lodges, Churches.
• Won’t buy unless they know you (fraud, viruses,
online scams, identity theft, Catfish) .
• Everything is checked online (Online reviews are
crucial).
26. Keys to FINDING Millennials
Parents!!
• Partners
• Fun
• Practicality
• Love Big Brands
27. Keys to Closing Waldo
• Easy if you are referred
• Use Technology, not paper
• Process has to be easy & practical
• Waldo is a Special All Star
• Brand
• Experience
• Age of staff
• Dress
• Style
• Authentic
• Communication
28. Secrets to Communication
• Authentic
• Big Picture (Why not What, social impact)
• No Long Emails: they only read subject lines
• Return texts right away (nights and weekends)
• Phone calls (reserved for mom)
• Communicate to parents
• No US Mail
• No Formal texts
29. Keys to Waldo’s Referrals
• 649 Connections
• Social Networks
• Selfies
• Text
• Short homemade videos
30. I’m all grown up! Just got my first life policy!!
#CheapandEasy
Insta/LI/Snap/Tweet/Etc.
Waldo is an All Star. Waldo is Special. Waldo likes adventures. Waldo has a beenie, skinny jeans, and thick rimmed glasses. Waldo was the very first person from The Millennial generation. Every Millennial was patterned after him. Doesn’t Waldo look like a Graphic Designer or some other cool job a Millennial would have?
I’m going to make fun of people from all generations, especially Waldo’s, but this presentation isn’t meant to bag on Waldo’s generation and make them feel bad because they are soooo lazy. It is meant to help you know how to sale to Waldo. My hope is at the end you will realize why I work with Waldo. In fact many of these ideas are my most treasured competitive advantages. A lot of these things are controversial and are absolutely backwards to how you do things in your business today. I promise you that the main points in this presentation are GOLD and have the ability to set your business up for success for the next 20 years. If you don’t learn these key points you will miss out on this huge generation that is taking over the world that has very little competition for now.
There used to be rights of passage that were very important in peoples lives. Name a few:
*Your First Job
*Drivers Licenses
*First car
*Graduation
*Going away to college
These rights of passages don’t mean the same thing to Waldo: What is the most important right of passage to Waldo? You guessed it! Their first cell phone. Cell phones stand for Freedom from parents, socializing, fun, games, and even dating!
This is just one example of differences in thinking that you have to know to be able to sale to Waldo. In this session we will talk mostly about the differences between generations and then give you some hints of how to position your organizations to take advantage of the huge opportunity that Waldo presents.
I learned about Waldo when I worked for Prudential as a Sales Manager and they brought in several experts to teach us about this. I listened to them and then studied everything I could find and I became one of the top 5 in the company in my first year. I then started a health insurance business to take advantage of the ACA and was able to recruit 1,500 agents in just a few months. Most of them were Millennials.
We then spoke with hundreds of prospects a day in my call center in Salt Lake City as well as got feedback from our agents across the country and we found some amazing trends in financial services and I was able to sell thousands of insurance policies to Millennials.
When we talk about Generations we are talking about differences between large groups of people with similar ages, ideas, problems, and attitudes. We are not using a model to explain each individual. You can use personality and MO tests for that. We are trying to position ourselves in the best light to communicate and act in ways that a target audience will most likely accept. The Millennials do not speak the same language as the Baby Boomers and Gen X and you will miss out on their patronage and labor if you can’t adapt.
Let me give you the first example……
Jim and Debbie had six kids. They were all perfect. Great grades, great musicians, good looks, good friends, and very obedient. Their kids were so perfect that they often were asked to speak on how to raise the perfect family. One of the keys to success for their family was that you were not allowed to get your Drivers License until you got your Eagle Scout. It worked great for a long time and then their youngest son was born. What was the problem with the youngest son? The problem is that the youngest son was born in 1984! He was in a new generation! He was a Millennial! Jim and Debbie never raised a Millennial before and the old Gen X playbook didn’t work. Did the youngest son care about a DL? NO!! Did he become an Eagle Scout? NO!! What did the youngest son want? A cell phone! How did he get one? He stayed out all night with friends and his parents could never find him, so they bought him a cell phone so they could locate him. He got what he wanted and he didn’t even have to do any service projects! Jim and Debbie should have said, you can have a cell phone when you get your Eagle.
Does anybody get my joke? The most important thing that you need to know about Millennials is that they think they are special, that they are All Stars. If you don’t believe me, just ask their moms. She will tell you all about it. If you are special that means that you are unique and if you are unique, you are the only person in the world just like you. I find this so funny because every single millennial thinks they are special. Remember that!
The first example of why they are so specials is because we have given them so many names! How many names do Baby Boomers have? They have two: Baby Boomers and Boomers. Gen X isn’t special at all, they don’t even have one name!
How come Gen X is not special like Waldo? There are not very many of us. We don’t control the jobs, spending, culture, nothing!
By looking at these names you can find out a lot about Millennials.
(explain each name).
Key statistics to understand how many Waldo’s there are and their key experiences that help define their thoughts, attitudes, and views.
If you look deeper at these numbers you find out that there are some great things about this generation, and that they aren’t the generation of being lazy, out of touch, godless losers.
Brad Hartley story about Facebook signing
To understand Waldo, you have to first understand their parents. What defined Baby Boomers? That is right, their parents! What was unique about the parents of Baby Boomers? They grew up in the Great Depression and then fought the ugliest war in the history of man kind.
When the Baby Boomer turned 18 the mom and dad called him in and said, “Son, we love you. We are so proud of you. You are going to do great things in this world. Grab your stuff and get out.” What was their job advice? “Work hard, pay your dues, show up early and stay late. Find a good company and be loyal to them.” That experience of getting out on your own made you tough, it made you smart, it made you successful. It defines you!
When you went out in the world Vietnam was raging, you had no money, you worked hard, got married had kids and banded together in groups to make it through.
So what did Baby Boomers tell their kids on their 18th Birthday? “Son, we love you. We are so proud of you. You are going to do great things in this world. We want you to have it easier than we had it so don’t hurry to move out.” So when the kids of Baby Boomers turned 18 what advice did they give? “Son when you get your first job…..(that was funny)……Make sure you find something that you love, something that you like so much, you would do it for free.” In addition, they were told, “Get as much education as you can from the best schools you can get into. Don’t Settle.” How has that worked out for them? What do you think they are going to tell their kids?
What else is unique about the Millennials? What did they get trophies for? Everything! Whether they tried or not. The most important thing is self esteem and fairness.
Waldo is Tech……Dependant, not Savvy. They never had to fix a computer like Boomers and Gen X. Computers just work. If something doesn’t work, you download an app to fix it.
Let’s talk about the differences between how Boomers and Millennials see the world.
Bank Accounts and writing checks.
“Mom why are you on hold for an hour? Just go to the Internet!”
Here is the number #1 songs 10 years after the last member of their generation was born. So this is the time when that generation are in their teens and early 20’s and music represents what their generation stands for. It is sooooo funny how accurate these songs are!
Boomers, “Bridge over Troubled Water.” Is all about “I’m your friend you can count on” and “I’m on your side when times get rough” “I’ll be your bridge that takes you across all the difficult waters.” Does that sound like how Boomers viewed themselves while they were raising their kids?
Gen X: The sceptics, the cynics, the Generation that nobody cared enough to give a name to. “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips. I guarantee that nobody in Gen X will say Wilson Phillips is there favorite group but this song is very representative. “Don’t let anyone step all over you.” And Hold On, things will get better.
The Millenials song is the most funny. Tik Tok is spelled wrong! So is Ke$ha! This song is all about feeling good, not worrying about time while they are partying and having boys blow up their cell phones with text messages.
Here are the most popular and influential business books while these Generations where young and starting their careers.
Boomers: These books are all about managing, systems, controlling, and planning.
Gen X: These books are about new things, disruption, new models.
Millenials: Start with Why. This is about the importance of the feeling, not the what. The Why You Do It, Not the What You Do. Linchpin, all about being very important to your company. About being special, being so important that they company can’t let you go. The most important clue to how anybody thinks on this chart is Fish! This book was so widely read amoung Waldo, that most of them read it in 2nd or 3rd grade! What is the message here? If something is fun, it doesn’t matter how much you make or how bad the working conditions are. A fun, world famous culture will overcome anything!
What has Waldo been trained to do? Work for free as long as it is fun and it can make you famous!
Here are the last comparisons before we get into selling to Waldo.
What is the most important and definitive commercial that defines these generations. I left the name of the commercials off but you can probably guess what they are by the messages.
Boomers loved the thought of meeting on a hilltop in Italy, singing about love and peace, drinking coke and saving the world.
Gen X is very skeptical and looks to disrupt all current business models.
What is this Ad?
Waldo is the All Star. Everything is about him and about having fun. Music, Dance, Watching me.
Waldo is practical, cheap, loves big brands and is tech dependent. They will buy quickly over the Internet before letting you sit down in the evening and do a 16 page fact finder and then return during a second meeting to spend 45 minutes filling out applications. That system is not practical or fun.
Waldos control an incredible amount of wealth and it is growing fast. But to get to them you have to change your model and work with them on their terms. You are going to have to go down market, sell lower cost, lower margin products to more clients. To do that, you are going to have to implement new models and think differently about the business. If you do this now, you will own them down the road when they actually do have money.
These are some of the things to take into account when putting your model together.
If you notice, these are all things that companies such as eTrade, Fidelity, Health Markets and ShareBuilder have. AIG has their Rapid Rater and Quick Ticket application. Crump has a similar term product process.
Oxford University published a report stating that 58% 0f Financial Advisors are going to loose their jobs to automation. That is because Waldo won’t buy from you if you are too paper intensive and don’t sell they way they wan to buy.
To see what I mean you have to go down market and do higher volume. If you automate correctly then you will make much more. If you could do 10 sales per day, then why not 20? I know this is possible because my top people did 35 policies per day. My personal best was 28 in a day.
If you are going to sell in higher volume, then you need to know where to go to find Waldo who is notoriously hard to find and market to. Waldo is everywhere, but just can’t be found.
Traditional marketing doesn’t work on Waldo. FINRA compliance rules were invented with grandmas retirement in mind and not a Millennial.
My health insurance found the secret when we were working in 40 states answering the phone hundreds of times a day as well as a sales force nationally talking to people all day. Because of the exposure, we found the most ingenious way to market to Millennials. That always works. This is my most treasured and valuable secret. If Madison Ave understood this, marketing would change as we know it. If there is one thing you take away, remember this gift from me to you.
I found Waldo!!
There are 2 kinds of Millennials:
The kind that mom tells to buy products from you and to call you
The kind where mom calls you and buys the products for her child and pays for it
I once had a 26 year old Waldo call me and said he needed insurance. When I asked him what he needed he said, “Whatever is cheapest and fastest.” I then heard in the background, “D--- It! You do not! Give me the phone.” The mother then outlined what her son “wanted” and then handed it back to him to buy. When we completed the application over the phone, he then handed the phone to his brother who said, “My mom says I want the exact same thing as my brother.” I sold three policies in one phone call in about 40 minutes.
If you have been in business awhile, then you probably know how to contact your book of business which is filled with Baby Boomers. Your messages should be about the importance of life insurance and investing for their adult kids and that you want to meet their adult children even if they don’t have a lot of money. Something about you being an expert in protecting their future and knowing how special there kids are.
You have to have a brand, but your Age, Dress, and Style don’t matter as long as they are authentic. Don’t try to copy a Waldo, be yourself. Many advisors have told me that they want to hire Waldo’s to sell to Waldo’s because they can relate to them. Studies and my experience show that the best person would be a Pre-Boomer or a Mature. That would be somebody in their 70’s. Waldo’s respect our Elders a lot!
Tell Waldo something like this. Have you ever seen a Go Fund Me request for somebody you got sick, had financial troubles, or died and needs money? That isn’t going to be you. You are going to be the one to donate money to those causes but nobody will ever have to donate to you!
Or, John Hancock thinks you are worth over a million bucks we better get you insured for that.
I hired my first Millennial and I put him to work on a project 200. I made him commit to getting it done in a week. We came back 30 minutes later with a spreadsheet of all his social media contacts. There were almost 1,000 on the list.
Waldo’s will refer you to all their contacts if you do a good job and give them the tools to do it.
Remember that Waldo is an All Star and wants to be a grown up. Take a selfie with Waldo signing his paperwork and text it to him. If you do it correctly, then he will send it out to all his connections. Out of 649 connections, how many of them do you think have an advisor? If you can get 5% to respond, then you just landed 33 new clients in one day! What is 33 new clients times 649 connections? That would be a whopping 21,417 people. And 5% of those are 1,070 new clients. That’s how you do 10 or 20 or more accounts per day!
I work with Waldo because they are the most fun, smart and giving generation in the history of the world. If I want to go to work, I want to work with fun, smart, and giving people.