Women and Financial Services: A Treasure Worth Exploring

28th November 2006

 Women’s consumer spending is $3.7 trillion and women business owners spending is $1.5 trillion. The current amount of wealth controlled by women is $14 trillion and it will swell to $22 trillion as Baby Boomers age in the next ten years. Businesswomen are driving consumer purchasing because of increasing levels of discretionary income. Working women and women entrepreneurs are the primary decision makers in households, influencing 95% of purchasing decisions. (Women and Diversity WOW Facts 2005)

 Women now head more than 51% of US households of high net worth. Women head some 40% of households with assets of more than $600,000. Salaried wives earn at least 50% of household incomes. These women are active investors. (US Census Bureau)

 62% of working aged women are likely to consult a financial professional when making investment decisions. Less than half of men do the same. (Women’s Retirement Confidence Survey)

 60% of women who purchased insurance products made the decision to do so “entirely on their own.” (Women Insurance Needs Study)

 48% of women (vs. 44% of men) will buy their insurance policies through an agent. (Eastern Research Associates Study)

 Despite the millions of dollars now being expended to reach women investors, women still lack the information needed to manage their finances. 50% of those who had not consulted a financial professional said that they did not know how to select one. 46% of women worried about trusting advisors. 39% of women did not know whether their consultant was certified or registered by an accredited organization. 50% were uncertain about steps to take if they were to face a serious problem with a financial advisor., (Ernst & Young’s Financial Planning for Women)

 89% of women ranked retirement savings among their top three goals. (Bankers Trust)

Delia Passi is president of MedeliaCommunications and former Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She is a nationally recognized speaker, sales trainer and author of the Winning Strategies for Marketing and Selling to Women, audio book series. For more information visit www.deliapassi.com .

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.financealley.com/article_108676_19.html

Occupation: Selling to Women - CEO

Delia Passi is the nation’s leading authority on Selling to Women. As President and CEO of MedeliaCommunications, Passi supports companies in their efforts to be the very best in their industry at closing the deal with the woman customer and retaining that customer forever. Passi is a prominent speaker and trains thousands of sales representatives each year on how to better sell to women and couples through a series of sales development training programs that she has created. Passi is also the author of Winning the Toughest Customer, The Essential Guide to Selling to Women (Kaplan, 2006) As a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies, Passi has had great success in forging strategic partnerships with corporations through sophisticated and unique programs that increased product/brand visibility, strengthened brand/product position, created greater credibility, and delivered a larger audience among women. Client companies include Washington Mutual, UPS, Xerox, Office Depot, HP and UBS. Passi’s knowledge is complimented from a successful career of proven sales, marketing, branding, and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to founding MedeliaCommunications, Passi was the Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She began her career with the Xerox Corporation and quickly became one of the company’s top producers. It was when she switched to selling advertising that she recognized how a different approach worked so effectively when selling to women, who dominate the publishing environment. Passi regularly speaks on Selling to Women, Marketing to Women, Target Selling, Target Marketing, Selling to Baby Boomer Women, Selling to Affluent Women, and Selling and Marketing to Women Business Owners across the nation. From 1998-2003, Passi sat on several advisory boards including Women in Communication’s Golf Matrix, Save the Children, NOW, and Boardroom Bound. She recently joined the New World Symphony in Miami as the Branding Committee Co-Chairperson for the Board of Directors. Passi earned her BA degree in Psychology/Business and a certification in education, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of New Rochelle, NY. She resides in Aventura, Florida with her husband and three daughters.

http://www.DeliaPassi.com