Selling to Baby Boomers & Gen X

Bridging the Generation Gap

Young entrepreneur Amanda Jephtha recently attended a workshop with social researcher Mark McCrindle and is here to share the knowledge from that session.

Fact: everyone loves to hate Gen Y.
Fact: the future is not created by an economy, but a demography.
Fact: Gen Y is here to stay – and rule!

So how can we shake off our bad rep as demanding, fast-moving, selfish kids and get our message across?

How can we more effectively work with and sell to the older generations?

The key is to first UNDERSTAND them, and then modify your actions.

Check out these insights and tips on how to bridge the generation gap.

Why there are SO many oldies…

Since we’re not having as many babies and we’re all getting older (and living longer), soon there will be an explosion of older people. Actually, by 2020, there will be more than 3 times the amount of 65-69 year olds compared to 1978! A staggering statistic.
So whether we like it or not, we have to learn to communicate effectively with the older generations if we’re going to run successful businesses.

Thinking with the head versus thinking with the heart.

Typically, Gen Y decides with their emotions. Never mind reason; if we’ve absolutely fallen in love with something because of it’s looks or how it makes us feel, we simply buy it.

Gen Y engages emotionally as:
Seekers – someone who doesn’t know too much about a product, but is blindingly faithful, and
Embracers – someone who will trumpet your horn with full product knowledge and is in lurve with your product.
However, the older generations will first rationalise the purchase. Does this fit my needs? Is it value for (my heard-earned) money? Is the product guaranteed?

Generation X and the Baby Boomers engage cognitively as:

Hecklers – someone who doesn’t really understand the product and isn’t particularly attracted to it, and
Agree-ers – someone who understands the product is a good fit to their needs, but feels indifferent to the product.
Our aim is to convert all clients in to Embracers.

Image thanks to McCrindle Research

How to Sell to the Older Generation

Firstly, we need to satisfy the older generation’s need to rationalise. Answer their questions, even if you think they’re basic or repetitive – but don’t make them feel stupid!

Slow the pace down if you’re discussing new concepts.
Once we’ve ticked this box, only then can we successfully move them to the emotional quadrants, ultimately ending up as Embracers.
By then, the older generation will be your most powerful sales force. And considering the Baby Boomers own the majority of the wealth and spend more on technology than any other generation, who wouldn’t strive to achieve this?
What NOT to say
Generation X and the Baby Boomers just don’t use our vocab. Some even blame us for the downfall of the English language! But what do they particularly dislike?
Clichés.
We all love to hate clichés! So much so, McCrindle Research set out to find the top 10 clichés Gen Y use that Generation X and the Baby Boomers hate. So when you’re chatting with the oldies, avoid using:
1. My bad
2. Random
3. So hot right now
4. Fully sick
5. So over that
6. Oh my gosh
7. Whatever
8. Totally
9. Chillout
10. Whassup
Check out this full list of clichés that should best be avoided, no matter who you’re communicating with.
Remember…
Each generation operates differently. By being mindful of these differences, not only can we grow our businesses – we can make the richest and most abundant generation our biggest advocate!

Key Questions to Ask to Truly Test Your Idea

Is your business start up idea a GO-ER or a FIZZER ….good or not?

We asked a group of highly successful entrepreneurs…….”What are the 5 Questions you ask yourself or get answers to when deciding on whether a business idea is a good idea that you will proceed with (a new direction for your business, a brand new business venture, an innovation with your existing business)?”

Here are the answers – straight from the entrepreneurs themselves…..

FRANK RESTUCCIA – FreestyleMedia

1. Will the business generate annuity or recurring (ongoing) revenue? If recurring (regular & ongoing) revenues make up a big proportion of total revenues then the business will prosper.
2. Is the business in a industry/sector of the economy that is growing fast? A fast growing market makes sales growth far easier.
3. Is the Lifetime Value of the customer high (will they over time spend a large amount with you and your business)? If yes, this means that you can afford to acquire customers at a higher rate than otherwise. This in turn, allows you to aggressively market the business/product/service.
4. Do you personally enjoy working in the business? There will be times when things aren’t going so well, but if you believe in the idea, you will get through difficult periods.
5. Is the business idea unique or at least rare/non-competitive? If the answer is yes, then you will enjoy super normal profits. If there is a chance you can be No.1 in your market as a result, then you’re on a winner.

SCOTT FARQHUAR – Atlassian

The two things with any business idea that I look at

• Would I personally use this?

You can build products or services for other companies, or for unknown markets. However, it is an order of magnitude harder than building something you would use yourself.

• Do I get excited about the possibilities of this idea?

If I’m not excited about something – the potential financial upside becomes meaningless. There are only so many hours in a week, and I want to spend them doing things that I’m truly passionate about.

There is also a pragmatic reason. Someone else who is truly passionate about your particular good or service will come along, and steal your market, because passionate people will always do a better job.

JESSICA SCHEBESTA (KIELY) – The Frank Team

- How does the idea make me feel? Am I excited by it? What does my gut tell me?
- What is the target market saying about the idea/possible product? If I don’t know, ask em!
- What are the start up costs/investment involved? How will I cover that?
- What are all of the revenue streams possible? There must be more than one revenue stream.
- Is it in line with my current goals, personal and professional?

MATT WILSON – Under30CEO.com

1. How much time/effort will the idea take to implement?

Most business ideas are “good ideas” but are they easily to implement with the least amount of time and effort possible? I’m a huge believer in Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Work Week and how he breaks down Parretto’s 80/20 rule; 80 percent of your profits come from 20 percent of your efforts. If you want to run a business you’ve got to prioritize where you put your time/effort and forget the little things that don’t get you closer to your goals.

2. Is the idea profitable?

Business is about the bottom line. How does your idea effect your profits? Many ideas don’t affect the bottom line directly, but will benefit profits somehow in the long run, whether it’s customer relations, branding, human resources, etc. While all these business units are critical to running a successful business, these type of ideas need to revisit question #1–is it worth implementing?

3. Does the idea fit your businesses long term strategy?

Always know your company’s direction and always consider whether your new ideas fit with your businesses culture/strategy. Think about getting your business from Point A to Point B; from where you are to where you want to go; does this idea, get you to Point B? Now, consider trying to plan getting from Point A to Point B in as few steps as possible. When you get to Point B it’s time to re-evaluate your strategy and find a new Point B; set new goal and plan your route to get there.

4. How will the public view your idea?

Your customers, the media, your competition and the general public all need to be considered when testing your idea. Think about Heinz and their Green Ketchup–this took thousands of dollars in market research to be sure the public was ready. Launch an idea like this and it flops? You lose serious credibility in the market. Launch an idea like this and it sees incredible success? Everyone remembers your name.

5. How will your employees view your idea?

Great leaders learn quickly that pushing your ideas onto the people who are supposed to execute them without their consent is a death sentence. Great leaders let their team come to their own conclusions and do more listening then talking. Sure, share your ideas with the team, but let them run with them–especially if it’s them who will be implementing it! Everyone loves to execute their own ideas, so let your team rally behind the idea and expand upon it themselves. Put your ego aside and let the team feel like their executing their own agenda.

JOE OLEJNIK – Australian Small Scale Offering Board

The quality of a new business idea will significantly contribute to the success (or other-wise) of your business. The following 5 questions will assist you in identifying the potential ‘diamonds’ and rejecting less suitable business ideas.

1. Is There An Unmet Need For The New Idea?

Your new idea must fulfil an unmet need in a sufficiently large (and ideally growing) market. If you have identified an unmet need with an easily accessible path to access that market you may be onto a good idea.

2. Can You Access The Resources To Turn The Idea Into A Reality?

To make the idea a reality you must firstly identify and then be in a position to access and manage the necessary resources required. Some of the resources required to turn an idea into a reality include time, money, management skills and specialist knowledge. Many inventors have brilliant ideas however they often are unwilling to bring on board the resources (usually investors) for fear of losing control of their idea. As a result unfortunately their idea stays just that – an idea and never sees the light of day. It is often said that it is better to have a percentage of a multi-million dollar business that has grown rapidly by using investors to fund the development of the idea rather than owing 100% of an idea.

3. How Does The Idea Fit In With Your Overall Vision And Strategy?

Are you genuinely passionate about the idea and the industry? You also need to consider if the idea will assist you to realise your long term vision and goals. Time and time again, often against all odds it has been shown that a good idea backed by vision, passion and unrelenting determination will succeed.

4. Does The Idea Contribute Positively To The Business?

The idea needs to contribute positively to the business – you can access the resources and you may be passionate about it but this doesn’t mean that idea will be commercially viable. As a result you need to consider what your revenue model for the idea is and what is required for it to become profitable. In asking these questions it is important to consider the costs of all stake holders in getting the idea to market, these include suppliers and distributors. Often an idea may not be a viable commercial proposition in its current form after factoring these costs in.

5. What Is The Sustainable Competitive Advantage For Your Idea?

To be a truly great idea you need to consider how to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Some competitive advantages may relate to patents and other Intellectual Property (IP) owned by company, another may be a secret processes or ingredient, however simpler measures such as how you deliver the idea to market may be just as effective (eg distribution methods, level of quality or even branding). If the idea doesn’t have a robust sustainable competitive advantage to protect it then it needs to be rapidly scalable so that it can be rolled out before a whole bunch of “me-too” competitors think your idea is just as good and copy it.

Finally, whatever your new idea, the use of external funding to assist research and develop the concept can ensure the process of getting the idea to market occurs much faster and more comprehensively than would otherwise be the case.

So now you have all of THE BEST questions to use to test your business idea – hopefully it has helped you to be more sure about whether to pursue the idea or not!

For more advice check out our Testing Your Idea article.

Researching a Product

researching a product