If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love brochures. Who has time to read books anymore? And when I do have time I want to read about a fun topic, not 500 pages about death. So here’s another brochure I have and reference often. I met Ed Pittock last year when he spoke at a convention I attended. His brochure “Nine to Thrive: Nine Ways You Never Thought of for Success in the Senior Market” is jam packed with great tips on serving your senior clients. (He’s a great speaker, by the way.)

1. Be Patient. Seniors need to know who you are before they care about the intangible service that you provide. Let them get to know you and topic you are an expert in before telling them about your product or service.

2. Develop a client contract strategy. Ed writes, “All clients are not created equal.” You don’t have to try to keep in contact with everyone you serve; some clients will want/need more contact with you than others. And that’s ok.

3. Make your best offers to your best clients. If someone refers you to a friend and you go chase down that friend and forget about who sent you, you really haven’t gained anything.

4. Become a browser for your clients. Take the time to put together a few helpful links on your website to reinforce your knowledge as an advisor.

5. Make sure your marketing materials are senior-friendly. Always use a 12 point font or larger. Make sure photos are appropriate. Don’t portray seniors as old and feeble.

6. Use plain language; go the extra mile in your communication. There’s a lot here. We’ll have a Part II blog on this one next week.

7. Beware of the 3 biggest myths of marketing to seniors. People are living longer but in poorer health. When people reach a certain age, they stop buying. Seniors aren’t very particular about whom they do business with.

8. Create an award. Honor a senior for their work within the community.

9. Volunteer. Being visual within the community equals commitment to the community.

These aren’t applicable for all end of life services, funeral homes are obviously not going to “make their best offers” to families who have suffered multiple losses. But most of these can be tactfully adapted one way or another to your client base. For more information on Ed Pittock and the Society for Certified Senior Advisors, visit www.society-csa.com.