Your boomer clients continue to evolve, but one thing that stays with them is their flower-power sensibility, and the desire to make a lasting, positive impact on the world around them. Charitable giving expertise is now crucial to success within this demographic, but how is it acquired? Dave Port offers 10 critical items to consider when starting out:
Walk the talk.
Be philanthropic yourself so you can speak from personal experience and be credible with clients. "I'm a firm believer that we can only take clients as far as we have gone ourselves," says one advisor. "If you're not giving yourself, you probably will not be comfortable raising the issue of giving with a client."
Craft your own personal giving mission
(using a researched profile for a model) so you can do the same with your clients.
Earn your spurs
by serving your favorite nonprofit or community foundation. These affinity relationships can yield quality prospects.
Get a seasoned advisor-mentor
to coach you and shorten your learning curve.
Team up with other advisors
- accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, etc. - who have skills you do not. In especially complex cases, the advisor functions like a primary care physician, bringing in specialists to form a team. These relationships can yield a steady stream of referrals from other team members.
Write
(or have a writer craft) stories for publication about your clients' giving experiences.
Go where the philanthropic go
- awards dinners, charity golf tournaments, etc. - to get a read on their hopes and concerns about giving.
Start a blog
or devote a portion of your Web site to philanthropic tips, tools and strategies; also cross-link Web sites with non-competing colleagues.
Ignite viral word-of-mouth marketing
by asking current and past clients to pass on e-mail and written "smart giving tips" to their friends, especially as tax time approaches.
Earn certification
as a philanthropy advisor. Then let those you want to serve and colleagues who also serve them know of your expertise.
