“60 is the new 40.*”

You might start hearing the above expression more frequently, and there is truth behind it. Advances in modern medicine have allowed those reaching 65 to live an additional 17.9 years compared to those reaching similar ages in the mid 1960’s. Those born in the “boomer” period (from the years 1946 to 1964) total to a population of 77 million. That is the roughly the equivalent of 25% of the total US population.

The Baby Boomer market is abundant with opportunities. Boomers have disposable cash and are ready to spend it. When reading through the market data you’ll come across some formidable numbers:

• Boomers spend $157 billion on leisure travel - making up 80% of all US expenditures on leisure travel
• Boomers also spend close to $42 billion dollars on apparel

And these are just some of the figures provided. With 45% of US population being 40 or older the goal is to focus on what the author calls “Life stage marketing”. Boomers will go through more transitions in their 50’s and 60’s than any other phase of life.

Some of the phases:

• Family - empty nest, loss of parents, grandchildren
• Health - menopause, vision / hearing loss, arthritis
• Housing - downsizing, rightsizing, remodeling, second home
• Leisure - retirement, finances, travel, perspective/search for meaning

Each stage or phase provides ample opportunities.

Summary: Turning Silver Into Gold presents an comprehensive overview of the global baby boomer marketplace - including population statistics, financial data, trends, ect.

Dr. Furlong breaks down the various market segments and focuses on areas important to baby boomers. These include areas such as family, health, travel, housing, friendships, entrepreneurship, and fashion.

These market segment overviews also include the analysis of current leading and competing companies in the specific markets.

Focus Audience: This book perfect for those interested in focusing on the baby boomer market (investors, entrepreneurs, corporate strategists). Overall this book is an excellent resource for an overview of baby boomer market.

*Purely coincidental - this was the headline article for CNN the night this was posted.

Jeffrey Gitomer is a familiar name in the business book world. He is the author of the top selling book on sales “The Little Red Book of Selling” and the follow up, “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers”. He is back with a new addition to his “Little Book” series with his new book, “Little Green Book of Getting Your Way: How to Speak, Write, Present, Persuade, Influence, and Sell Your Point of View to Others”. Recently, Bizbooktalk.com had the opportunity to attend Jeffrey’s “Little Black Book of Connections” seminar in Renton, Washington.

The seminar drew quite a large audience and the venue was packed with a diverse crowd, ranging from marketing and sales reps to local political candidates. Jeffrey’s presentation was full of advice and tips from his Little Black Book series as well as his Little Red Book series. His seminar included advice for:

• Networking for success - network more effectively by finding ways to add value first. Find out what is important to the person you are meeting/looking to meet and how you can help them.
• Using creative marketing methods so that you never miss an opportunity to engage with a customer - your business card, out of office email message and voicemail message are all channels for engaging with current and prospective customers. Make the most of these channels by exercising your creativity. For example, Jeffrey uses a customized coin as his business card.

Jeffrey’s presentation included a fantastic combination of useful information and humor, combined with a very engaging presentation style. If you have an opportunity to attend one of Jeffrey’s seminars in your area, you won’t want to miss the opportunity. His current seminar schedule can be found here.