Milestone Birthday Marketing for Financial Planners & Advisors -

Milestone birthday marketing is a cost-effective way for financial advisors, stock brokers and estate planners to reach out to new prospects with on-going campaigns that mail small, affordable quantities each month and generates a tremendous lifetime value in return.

These are the 3 key milestone birthdays for financial planners and advisors:

• ·          Turning 59 ½
• ·          Turning 65 and
• ·          Turning 70 ½

Each of these milestone birthdays gives the Financial Advisor a chance to show off their expertise and show how their services can make a big financial difference in someone’s retirement life.

Age 59 ½

We know that Age 59 ½ is significant in that it is generally the earliest that withdrawals can be made from certain retirement plans without incurring the 10 percent “early withdrawal” penalty on investments.

This is the kind of topic that becomes water cooler talk at the office and many people are confused about what is right for them. Do they simply withdraw money or do they roll it over to a Roth IRA – what’s their best option?

The consumer’s confusion is the financial advisors’ opportunity. They should market it to their advantage.

Financial advisors should consider mailing a letter to the turning 59 ½-ers, explaining how they can help them make an educated decision about their future. This is a great chance to broaden their client base and, if they make the right impression, they can convert prospects to clients that can stay with them for decades!

Smart financial advisors mail to people turning 59½ three months before this milestone birthday, selecting their prospects by birth month and year. Remember, this campaign does not need to be big, just smart.

Turning 65

Someone’s 65th birthday is a big turning point in their life. It’s a milestone date for people who are contemplating retirement, a time to review and consider federal tax breaks and most of all, sign up for Medicare eligibility.

Financially, it's crucial to make smart decisions with money. And navigating the waters requires the help of a qualified professional.

We all know that this group will be receiving letters from Insurance people looking to sell them supplemental Medicare insurance. But Financial Advisors need to take a different approach and make sure their communication stands out as being different and essential.

The financial advisor needs to communicate that they can assist their prospects with getting the tax breaks they deserve and provide them with a comprehensive plan that will maximize their retirement income for the rest of their lives.

The Turning 65 campaign is not a large mailing. Best practice is to mail to the Turning 65-ers 5 months before their birthday with a follow up 2 months later. The mailer needs to be professional; the message needs to be clear and concise. In terms of offer – a retirement budget worksheet along with a free consultation has worked well.

Turning 70 ½

I look at Turning 70 ½ as the Year of RMD – Required Minimum Distribution

While individual monthly mail quantities may be insignificant, as a whole this group is massive. The first of wave of baby boomers hit this milestone last July. Those oldest boomers, born at the start of 1946, turned 70½ in this summer and will be followed at the rate of 10,000 people per day for the next 18 years.

When someone turns 70 1/2, they must begin taking annual withdrawals from their tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as a traditional IRA, workplace 401(k) or self-employed retirement plan.

This is the time that people who have not put their plans in place get serious about their retirement strategies and start to think legacy, charitable giving, business succession planning, and how to actually handle their RMDs since failure to withdraw the RMD on time could result in a 50 percent penalty.

These turning 70 ½ prospects are not only great prospects for financial advisors, but also for charities and foundations looking for legacy gifts.

Other thoughts / suggestions:

Financial advisors, stock brokers and foundations should have the month/year of birth for everyone in their client database. If they do not, this information can be appended to the file, along with lots of other data, enabling entrée to these households with the right message at the right time

Continuity is key. Milestone birthday mailings need to happen every month like clockwork. Mail going out means leads coming in. This type of program needs to be consistent and is an easy project to assign to a new hire or intern.

Dataman Group Direct has been working with members of the Financial Industry since 1980, providing  responsive lists to help them grow their business. The consultants at Dataman Group can be reached at (800) 771-3282 or by visiting the Dataman Group website at www.datamangroup.com.