facebook twitter instagram linkedin youtube thumbs-up thumbs-down

Subscribe &
Stay Connected

Join our newsletter to get useful tips and valuable resources delivered to your inbox monthly!


By Monica Pote Showcase

Advisor Website Showcase: Sullivan Financial – Financial Planning for Gen X/Y

6 minute read
Advisor Website Showcase: Sullivan Financial – Financial Planning for Gen X/Y Featured Image

Did you know that Gen X has the most spending power of any generation? Accumulating more than 31% of America’s total income dollars, services that are designed specifically for this demographic will continue to be extremely well positioned in the coming years. 

For this week’s client showcase, I spoke with Shanda Sullivan of Sullivan Financial Strategies, whose financial planning practice specifically targets Gen X/Y. Shanda and I discussed her experience as a financial planner focused on serving this age group and how Twenty Over Ten has helped her to target and capture her audience.

A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LOOK

When Shanda designed her new site, she wanted it to look very different from other advisors’ sites (and I think she more than succeeded!)

Financial Planner for Gen X
Immediately upon landing at Sullivan Financial Strategies you realize that “this is not a typical financial advisor site”

 

Shanda sought to develop a modern site design that would not only be pleasing aesthetically, but also incredibly user-friendly. She wanted her website to stand out so that when a prospective client landed on her home page, they would immediately be intrigued and want to learn more while also understanding whether or not her services were a good fit for them. From the use of bright colored images, to the single-page scroll layout, to the embedded twitter feed showing her latest tweets, Shanda’s website is the “anthesis” of a normal financial advisor site.

THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGES

Ensuring you choose the right images is an important step when developing any website as they help communicate your message quickly and easily. If your niche market is Gen X/Y however, choosing the right images is even more important. That’s because this generation is even more visually attuned than any other generation before it. They are also more tech-savvy and accustomed to scrolling through websites (and therefore much more likely to quickly scan a site rather than reading lots of information). By utilizing colorful images and photos of young people throughout her site, Shanda is able to quickly get the point across that her business caters specifically to Gen X/Y. 

Photo of Gen X/Y on financial planning website
By including images of young people throughout her site, Shanda Sullivan at Sullivan Financial Strategies is able to quickly communicate to prospective clients that she works specifically with Gen X/Y

 

The use of quotations on top of images can further reinforce your brand’s message. Shanda has positioned her services as being not just financial planning in the traditional sense but also as a sort of life coaching. By using inspirational quotes on top of modern images, her site leaves visitors with an overall feeling for the services Sullivan Financial Strategies provides.

Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 2.10.45 PM

 

“Other generations were taught to work for an employer until retirement. Gen X/Y clients are just the opposite; it’s normal to be employed at several different companies and even switch careers a few times. I’m more in tuned with this because we grow and change as time goes by so we need to be able to move on and be happy while we’re earning a paycheck. Another major difference is that younger clients use technology, they want transparency and expect quick responses.”

 

websites for financial advisors targeting Gen X
Even Shanda’s contact page is built specifically for Gen X, who are more inclined to contact a business through social media channels as well as traditional ones

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Shanda enjoys working with Gen X/Y because they are just getting started in their financial lives and offer a fresh new outlook on life. She also finds it personally satisfying to help mold this younger generation. By working with this age demographic, she is able to make a powerful difference in that the planning she helps them to do now can set them up for a lifetime of success.  

Shanda has some saving advice for Gen X/Y:  “Everyone knows it is important to save. However the sooner you start, the faster your money will start to accumulate.  It can feel hard to find the money to set aside but sometimes living below your means is a good thing, because material things are temporary, while financial security has the potential to last forever.”

 

Need Help Boosting Your Brand, But Don’t Know Where To Start?

We are offering access to our content for advisors to use via Lead Pilot for 7-days completely free (even on our month to month plans).

Get All The Details Here