KNOW: There is less competition for the insurance dollars of Generation X, according to a new study by Mintel Comperemedia. Gen Xers got 18% fewer direct mail solicitations over the last 12 months. Yet 63% of Gen Xers agree that it is important to be “well-insured when it comes to life insurance.”

DO: Make targeting younger adults, those 27-44 years old, as part of your sales and marketing efforts. The opportunity to stand out and close a sales is greater with this generation right now than with other generations.

KNOW: Millennials, those under age 26, are being greatly impacted by this global recession. Coming of age now, in the middle of this lengthy slowdown, will make them behave more like the Greatest Generation than like their parents, the Boomers, when it comes to money and investing.

DO: Talk with your Boomer clients about their Millennial-aged children, and with your Millennial clients, about the need to start saving now, even it is only $50 a week. Help teach them the lesson of compound interest and long-term growth in the stock market. They are ready to learn.

KNOW: Generation X is undergoing an important shift towards fiscal responsibility, long-term planning and company loyalty, thanks in part to the example set by Boomers and the lasting global recession.

DO: While your Boomer clients have an immediate need to do financial planning for their future, your Gen X clients, ages 27-44 this year, are ripe for discussions and action plans. Make sure contacting them soon is on your agenda.

KNOW: Everyone is in the advice business when it comes to Boomers and financial planning, including general news magazines like US News & World Report. But sometimes, that advice works for you and not against you.

DO: Set up Google Alerts to track news stories about financial planning for Boomers and scan them daily. Ones like the US News story can be forwarded to your Boomer clients, getting them to take action because they trust a third party endorsement, and trust you for sharing it with them.

KNOW: Baby Boomers display the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity of any age group. Given longer life expectancies, better health and a generational desire to be in control, the Boomer penchant for business risk taking may well increase over the next decade.

DO: Don’t expect Boomers to follow Silent Generation retirement patterns. If your clientele includes Boomers, make a point of understanding the special financial-planning needs of entrepreneurs — you’ll be seeing a lot more of them.

KNOW: Generation X clients, those between the ages of 27 and 44, may appear to be part of the one generation still willing to “play the market” and invest in the traditional equities markets and mutual funds. But in truth, this downturn has them afraid of long-term declines in the stock market, forever shrinking their wealth.

DO: Right now your higher net worth Gen X clients also want to protect their current net worth, and don’t want much more downside volatility. Consider a short-term strategy of moving their money into assets with downside protection, agreeing to get back in the market more aggressively after certain benchmarks are reached.

KNOW: New research collected by Ernst & Young makes a strong case that women can make the difference between economic success and failure and between profit and loss in the corporate world. Their conclusion: American companies would do well with more senior (Boomer-age) women.

DO: If you think the downturn will persist for several years, get yourself a good Boomer-age woman, or three, involved in running your organization, and look for funds and other investments for clients where women are involved in decision-making.

KNOW: Members of the The Silent Generation are hurting from the financial crisis and have no time to rebuild savings. More than half say their nest eggs are inadequate to carry them through retirement, and most of those say they will work past 70.

DO: If senior clients are planning to work longer than expected, their earnings may impact their Social Security eligibility and asset draw-down strategies. This may be a good time to revisit financial plans and restructure investments.

KNOW: The most valuable commodity in today’s economy is information. Consumers today seek out, collect, horde, trade and happily give away information. It’s the basis of the entire “Word of Mouth” trend in marketing today. More importantly, it’s the top rung on the evolutionary ladder of currency.

DO: Understand that while information is plentiful, insight is not. Focus your communications with clients, especially Internet-savvy clients, on sharing insights, not simply providing more information.

KNOW: The mindset of your older Boomer clients is more aligned with that of your Silent generation clients: protecting downside risk is more important than high returns. As all Boomers grow older, this will change asset allocations and move more Boomers into indexed products.

DO: Understand the different investing mindsets of your Boomer clients and customize your asset allocation models to fit them today. Look closely at the funds you are recommending and find ways to offer more downside protection options. It’s what Boomers want now and in the future.