Gentle Rain Affluent Marketing Blog

Chess masters believe that success requires the ability to “see deep into the game”.

As one explained the concept to me, it basically meant that they would take a number of moves to accomplish a goal, rather than a single direct assault on their opponent. “Finesse and subtlety rather than direct confrontation wins more wars” said one grand master.

There’s a valuable lesson here for any advisor who seeks to do more business with the affluent market.

I was talking the other day with Thomas Cloud, CEO of his family’s manufacturing company and an ultra-affluent investor, about getting pitched by advisors. His comments were interesting.

“They all say pretty much the same thing. Variations on ‘growth with minimal risk strategy’. Pretty much straight at you with, ‘Here are all the reasons you should do business with me’,

What none of them seem to get are the real concerns and issues that keep me up at night. To be honest most of them aren’t financially related. However, if they could get to know me, without it being so obvious that they just want my business, I’d be more inclined to probably do business with them. I know that may not make a whole lot of sense but to me and my friends it does.”

So what’s the message here and why do so many advisors fail in this regard? I think it’s summed up in one word-patience. Like most everyone, advisors have “production” goals that must be met. As sales trainer Mahan Khalsa correctly points out, nothing is a greater cause of poor salesmanship than sales quotas. Quotas have the unintended consequence of making advisors focus on “getting the business” rather than creating relationships.

So suppose someone was willing to “look deep into the game” and take a longer term approach to building a relationship with someone such as Mr. Cloud. What exactly would they do?

Here’s an interesting answer. One financial advisor (who requested to remain anonymous) took a somewhat unusual approach that has enabled him to build business relationships with over 4 dozen ultra-wealthy clients in Southern California. He looked “deep into the game” and observed that one common trait his prospective clients all shared was teenage sons and daughters.

It’s the dream of many affluent and ultra-affluent parents to send their children to the Ivy League or other prestigious universities. However, the process by which admission is granted (or denied) is a bit of a “black box” unless one has sat on an Ivy League admissions committee.

While it is virtually impossible to get the ultra-affluent to attend a traditional financial seminar, it is another matter entirely to get them excited and literally lining up to attend “The Secrets of The Ivy League Admissions Process”. This came about as a result of a unique joint venture between the advisor and three former admission officers.

I go into the mechanics of how this seminar (and others) were developed and implemented in the Gentle Rain Affluent Marketing Advisor, but suffice it to say, these events have enabled this financial advisor to gain access and build the foundation for long-term business relationships in a way that is unique and different.

Certainly something to think about.

Naturally if you would like my personal perspective on how you can build more relationships with the affluent you will find the Gentle Rain Coaching & Advisory Program to be helpful. To learn more please call 770-643-8566 or email me at mark@gentlerainmarketing.com