Attracting any client is tough for any business. It’s what we spend most of our time doing. We work sun up to sun down trying to attract new clients to walk in the door or pick up the phone to do business with us. What do you do, then, when the prospective clients don’t walk in the door nor do they pick up the phone? That is the challenge many business owners face as the millennial generation has now fully integrated into the work force.

Millennials are generally considered to be a person born between 1976 and 1996. While some studies differ on the exact time period, the studies agree on the characteristics of this generation. Millennials generally have four similar characteristics.

1. They have money – Millennials start at higher rates of pay than their predecessors and are better with their money. They make informed decisions but are willing to let someone else do the work
2. They are altruistic – millennials care about causes and the companies they work with need to care about causes too.
3. They are entrepreneurial – Millennials like autonomy and they are not afraid of hard work, they just don’t like laboring over menial tasks
4. They are efficient – the Millennial generation is the most efficient generation in history. There is not a lot of wasted time on the tasks they do and they do not want people to waste their time

So how do business owners, particularly ones who are not Millennials, attract the largest portion of America’s population? The answer is pretty clear. Understand that the millennials are not stupid and are not lazy. They have likely done some research on a job and know what it should cost. They have been through the great recession as teenagers and young adults and realize how important money is. They want you to have a cause beyond money in your pocket. They want you to be efficient. Text messaging can be annoying but it is the best way to reach a millennial. They are efficient. They want the task done and texting is the most efficient way for them to do business.

You may be in a position to turn away clients. However, if you are not, it is you that must adapt or fail. Rest assured, if you are not going after the millennial business by meeting them where they are, some one else is.

Grady Flanagan
Financial Advisor
Edward Jones
559 RIVERSTONE PKWY STE 130
Canton, GA 30114
(770) 720-7835
grady.flanagan@edwardjones.com