Moving from pitchman to peer
The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.
Selling to high net worth clients means learning to speak like a general, not a private.
Simon Winters came to us with a common problem – he needed to crack the high net worth market.
Simon had been an advisor for eight years, working in the family market and small business market. He’d recently broken the quarter-million-dollar barrier, earning $262,000, a feat he’d been scrambling to achieve for years. To do so, he had worked his tail off, tapped deep into his network, booked a couple more appointments a week, stayed late at the office, slept a little less. He recently celebrated with his wife at a Caribbean resort; he was ill the entire vacation; his body had collapsed. While languishing in his hotel bed, he thought hard about the previous year and determined it wasn’t worth it. He wanted to work at a more sensible pace, but didn’t want to take a pay cut; he liked the money he was finally making. His solution: upgrade his clientele.
When he got back to the office, Simon started making some calls, searching for introductions to high net worth prospects. Within a week, he landed his first big appointment, with John Kinsley, a senior partner at a law firm and a godfather to one of Simon’s nieces. Simon assured himself that the only difference between John and the rest of his clients was a couple of zeros on their bank statements. He’d do what he’d been doing for years, and all would be well. Simon had no idea how wrong he was.
The appointment was a disaster.
In his first 8 Best Practices coaching session, Simon described his appointment with John.
At the appointment, they shook hands warmly, then John asked, “What’s your pitch?”
“I don’t have a pitch, John. What I like to do with my clients is spend more time getting to know them better, to explore what their goals are. Maybe you could tell me about your business—“ John cut him off, “I’m sorry, Simon, I don’t really have the time to educate you. Maybe you could cut to the chase.”
Simon flinched. Getting his clients to talk was critical to his way of working. He’d never been stonewalled like this. Simon is an extremely affable, outgoing person, and he was used to people relaxing around him. John was friendly, but closed off. Simon realized that asking John to talk about what he was currently doing with his money would get him nowhere, so he opted for the softer approach of asking John about his plans for the future. “John, the first thing I like to do is find out where my clients are going, what their goals are, and then to work with them to chart a plan of action to get there. Perhaps you could tell me what your plans are. When you plan to retire? Where you want to live?”
Simon could see John squirm in his seat and glance down at his watch. John politely and briefly explained his plan to retire to England with his wife, then asked Simon to tell him how he could help.
Simon outlined his investment philosophy. After a couple of minutes, John interrupted, “—Simon, thanks for coming to see me.”
We asked Simon why he thought the appointment went so badly.
“I’d have to say it was a personality thing,” Simon replied. “I can usually make a connection with people, but with John, I couldn’t. I have two more high net worth appointments next week, so I’ll see how those go.”
Personality had nothing to do it. Our coach wanted to lead Simon to the answer, and asked him, “One of the first things John said to you was ‘What’s your pitch?’ Why do you think he asked you that?”
Simon thought for a moment. “He thought I was there to push a product.”
“How did you respond?”
“I explained how I work. I basically told him that I’m not a product pusher, that I’m an advisor who can help him meet his goals.”
“But that didn’t work.. Unfortunately, the reason John asked you for your pitch goes deeper than merely believing you’re there to push something. John saw you as somebody who’s not at his level. To him, you were a pitchman, not a peer. Don’t take this personally. As a senior partner in his firm, John has few peers, and many of the people he deals with are lower in the hierarchy. To gain John as a client, he needs to see you as a peer, but he’s not going to assume you’re his peer, you have to earn it.”
“How?”
“Great question. What you’ve hit on is the essential barrier you and other advisors face in working with high net worth individuals. The high net worth market is peopled with wealthy business owners, high-powered executives and senior partners like John. These individuals are dealing with the most complex issues of their organizations. While others are working on the day-to-day tasks, these people are looking years into the future, preparing for and solving issues that will ensure their organizations thrive five, ten, fifteen years from now. They are working at the level of strategy. In some sense, they speak a unique language. In order for someone like John to see value in working with you, you have to demonstrate your competence at the level of strategy – you have to speak John’s language. There was nothing in your interview that demonstrated that capacity.”
“What should I have done?”
“You need to raise issues with John that are essentially related to strategy, either in his business or in his life. If you can ask provocative questions, you’ll get John to talk. Think of it like this; imagine a young private from the front reporting to Churchill on Allied progress in WWII. The private is concerned with doing his part to reclaim a particular hill, Churchill on winning the war. In fact, Churchill’s concern is greater than merely the war; his concern is with the state of the world after the war, the ensuing peace, the relationship between superpowers. The private’s perspective is so narrow and limited it is meaningless to Churchill. To get meaningful information, Churchill must turn to his generals. When it comes to your appointment with John, you need to be like Churchill’s generals, not the army private.
“One of the mistakes you made, Simon, was you didn’t do your homework. In John’s mind that clearly pegged you as a subordinate. High net worth individuals might be rich in money, but they’re poor in time. One of the worst things you can do is ask an executive to tell you about their business. It’s your job, as a professional advisor, to know what John’s key issues are. In fact, that’s Best Practice Number 2 – Know Your Client. For your next appointments, you’ll need to probe the nominee, the person who referred you into your prospect, for as much info as possible. Research the industry they’re in. Check out their trade journals, search their website. In today’s world, there’s no excuse for being unprepared.”
Simon spent some time talking with our coach about how he was going to approach one of his next big appointments, this time with Warren Barber, a partner in a consulting firm.
When I met with Simon again, he was elated. He’d had a successful appointment with Warren, and was in the midst of putting together a financial plan for him.
In an uncanny replay of his appointment with John, Warren asked Simon for his pitch. But instead of responding defensively, Simon began by demonstrating his competence. “The majority of our firm’s clients who are in consulting firms at the partner level spend 60, and sometimes 80 to 100 hours a week working in the business, leaving little time left over to think of the other areas of their lives. Your recent acquisition will place significant demands on all the partners for a number of years. Last year, another firm of your size made a similar acquisition and . . .” As Simon spoke, he noticed Warren lean closer. For the next few minutes, Simon and Warren talked about the recent acquisition and its implications for the firm and Warren personally. Simon had done it. He had Warren talking.
Lessons Learned
Simon’s interview with Warren shows that when you talk at the level of strategy with your high net worth prospects, they will open themselves up to you. Some advisors think they can’t work in the high net worth market because they don’t have the network, but any resourceful advisor can get appointments with wealthy clients. Access to the high net worth market isn’t physical; it’s mental. The only true barrier is the ability to talk strategically. To lead the kind of life he wanted, Simon knew he had to move up market. Ironically it was this strategic decision that motivated him to tap into the potential of his network. Before his interview with Warren, our coach told Simon that to transition successfully, he would have to think strategically about his own business. Just like the high net worth clients he sought, he needed to plan far into the future and solve complex problems. By the time Simon met Warren, he had made the first steps toward becoming Warren’s peer – enough for Warren to want him as his advisor. Simon’s ultimate success in the high net worth market depends only on how deep he can go at the strategic level.
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The Covenant Group is referred to by many as where entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and authors of the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.