If I had a gun to my head and was asked to reveal my most valuable secret since doing this marketing stuff over the last decade and a half, it would be my relentless focus on the process of helping clients attract better quality, higher value prospects.

I can't overstate the importance of having high-quality prospects enough. EVERYTHING becomes easier downstream.

Building relationships with prospects, turning them into clients (and later superfans), all become orders of magnitude easier. It all starts here.

That’s why, as a financial advisor it makes sense to laser focus your lead generation capabilities on attracting more affluent prospects.

After all it takes just as much effort and work to work with a small client, as it does a big one. Sometimes the small clients actually take more work - a lot more because they can suck up our time, they have unreasonable expectations and then can create all manner of problems you then have to go and fix.

I’m sure I don’t have to sell you on the wisdom of attracting more whale-sized clients into your firm. After all, that’s why you’re here.

IT USED TO BE EASY

Before it was fairly easy to target millionaires in a marketing campaign. You simply identified publications that aimed at the high-end market or bought lists in high-end residential zip codes and voila, you could reach your target.

But not anymore. “Not all millionaires are created equally,” states a recent report from WealthEngine, a Bethesda-based firm that compiles detail data about more than 240m US consumers. “As the millionaire population has exploded and wealth has spread across multiple generations, there is no longer one millionaire persona.”

As the wealthy have become more numerous and diverse, the old ideas based upon the popular images of how the rich live and what they want have changed. Shows like the recent CNBC Secret Lives of the Super Rich and reality shows like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Real Housewives, present an idealized and romanticized vision of the wealthy.

How well do you know and understand the wealthy?

Is your firm’s branding and marketing based upon the ‘conventional wisdom’ about the wealthy that you’ve seen on television and in magazines and newspapers?  If so, that may be the reason your marketing efforts have fallen short.

This short course provides the antidote for your marketing confusion.

I’m going to share with you some of my most valuable marketing secrets for attracting affluent prospects.

Our agency has been working in financial services almost since our doors open in 2005.

Actually our third client ever was a wealth management firm.

One cold November morning, a middle-aged guy wearing a Fedora hat walked through our front door and asked us if we had any experience in marketing financial services. We didn’t - but promptly told him we did - and then, guilt ridden came clean and told him we didn’t but knew we could figure it out .

Needless to say our Fedora wearing Financial Advisor took a chance on us. Maybe he appreciated our honesty but most likely he saw the look of quiet desperation on our faces, and decided he’d give us a shot.

Either way we were grateful. And shit scared of letting him down.

We bumbled our way through the next three months and managed to get him to speak at a bereavement conference for widows in Santa Barbara.

Fortunately for us he aced the presentation and waved the short book we wrote for him on stage like a pro. He got more clients from that one engagement than he had in the last five years.

You could say that was our lucky break.

Ever since, marketing to the affluent has become somewhat of an obsession for me.

Fast forward to today, and we’ve been lucky enough to help companies in 72 different industries sell products and services to the affluent (you can read the case studies in my best-selling book The Client Stampede if you have trouble sleeping at night).

MARKETING TO THE AFFLUENT IS SIMPLE

IT’S TIME TO REMOVE THE COMPLEXITY.

But here’s the kicker.

All those years trying to perfect marketing to the affluent for our clients, I realized there was one thing they shared in common. One secret if you will that when deployed, helped make marketing to the affluent surprisingly easy.

Despite how complex marketing financial services has become, today this simple 5 step strategy is the ONLY affluent marketing strategy you need.

It’s so simple, and so cost-effective, that you’re going to kick yourself for not having done it sooner. In less than 30 days this one strategy can be out there winning trust and getting you new affluent prospects

Have you got pen and paper ready?

First we need to check any scarcity-based thinking at the door. In order to attract wealthy prospects, you have to think like one yourself

The 17 Ways Wealthy People Think Differently Than Poor People (According to Harv Eker):

1. Wealthy people believe, “I create my life.” Poor people believe, “Life happens to me.”

2. Wealthy people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.

3. Wealthy people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.

4. Wealthy people think big. Poor people think small.

5. Wealthy people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.

6. Wealthy people admire other rich and successful people. Poor people resent rich and successful people.

7. Wealthy people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.

8. Wealthy people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.

9. Wealthy people are bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.

10. Wealthy people are excellent receivers. Poor people are poor receivers.

11. Wealthy people choose to get paid based on results. Poor people choose to get paid based on time.

12. Wealthy people think “both.” Poor people think “either/or.”

13. Wealthy people focus on their net worth. Poor people focus on their working income.

Great, now you’re head’s in the game and the next step is figuring out …

HOW BIG IS THE HIGH NET WORTH OPPORTUNITY?

According to research company TriMark there are 22 million millionaires in the USA, and of those, 11 million have over $1 million in investable assets.

To put that in perspective, that’s more people than the entire population of Florida! And that number is growing.

In 2021 , the U.S. saw 1.8 million newly minted millionaires. And, with impressive performance in the stock market, a strong real estate market, and massive generational wealth transfer, this new millionaire wave is just beginning.

Which brings me to an important question which happens to be Step 1 of our five step strategy:

1. “Who You Want To Be a Hero To?”

Have you ever thought about this question before?

Just saying that your firm wants to attract more high net worth prospects is about as effective as trying to nail jello to a tree.

High net worth prospects are more educated, more skeptical and more difficult to attract than any other target market. That’s why it’s essential you break this market into bite size pieces and target it one piece - or target market at a time.

Of this group of 22 million millionaires, there are “three power groups” of high net worth people your firm could consider focusing on, one at a time:

1. Business Owners

   Entrepreneurs wear a lot of hats. Laser focused on their businesses, they often neglect their personal financial goals and successful entrepreneurs know they don’t have time to be their own wealth manager, which is why 59% of business owners report that they work with a financial advisor.

   Must-have services for the High Net Worth business owner include:

   RETIREMENT PLANS: Employee retention is key to any business’ success. Offering competitive benefits, such as a Simple IRA or 401(k), promotes employee morale and longevity.

   TAX/FINANCIAL PLANNING: From offering strategies on tax loss harvesting, to capitalizing on stock options and succession planning, supporting High Net Worth entrepreneurs’ needs throughout the lifecycle of their businesses is essential.

   TRUST SERVICES: From growing and protecting assets, to managing family wealth and protecting business assets, Trusts can be an integral part of a small business owner’s financial strategy.

   CHARITABLE PLANNING: Growing prominence within their community amplifies the importance of giving back. Selecting the best charitable vehicles and strategies will not only maximize your clients’ philanthropic goals, but will have the greatest impact for those in need within their community.
   
   2. Female Investors
   
   Female investors are no longer a niche market for financial advisors—they’ve gone mainstream. It’s estimated that women could control $30 trillion in assets by 2030.

   When it comes to investing preferences, women tend to be interested in investments that reflect their values, including ESG solutions, and prefer having a deep relationship with their financial advisor.

   They look to financial advisors for high-touch engagement, as well as help with:

   ESTATE PLANNING: As women earn and inherit more wealth, a primary concern is ensuring that their money is well-managed for the life they have now and will provide for their children or heirs in the future. Inter-generational wealth transfer can be costly and complicated without the proper guidance.

   LONG-TERM CARE PLANNING: Women, on average, live past age 81 (five years longer than their male counterparts),5 and with that added longevity comes added worry about funding medical care in retirement.6

   RETIREMENT INCOME: With women living longer, outliving assets is a concern for female HNW investors— and a concern for 49% of Americans. Creating the right income withdrawal strategy—along with maximizing Social Security benefits—can prevent that.
   

   3. Professionals
   
   Engaging doctors, lawyers, dentists, and other high-earning professionals is a three-fold business builder: Working with these clients offers your practice outstanding long-term growth opportunities, broadens your centers of influence, and increases referral potential.

   High impact deliverables for this segment include:

   DEBT MANAGEMENT: The average medical school debt for 2020 graduates was $207,003, a three percent increase versus 2019 graduates.11 These clients need guidance on best practices for paying down debt while growing assets.

   LIABILITY PROTECTION: In an ever-increasing litigious environment, assessing your clients’ needs and delivering sufficient, cost-effective malpractice—and personal— coverage through a licensed provider is imperative.

   WEALTH MANAGEMENT: Tailored services, including dedicated concierge support, to help professionals maximize their wealth.

   SUCCESSION PLANNING: Exiting these client-centric professions is a complex and time-consuming endeavor requiring expert financial advice to monetize the business and ensure continuity for clients.

Step 2 What is That Group’s Biggest Problem That You Can Help Them Solve?

I’m going to pretend that out of the three power groups above you picked Professionals to focus on serving first, and your firm is looking to grow your transaction advisory services because you want to take advantage of the wave of baby boomer business owners that will be exiting their businesses within the next 15 years.

So - the biggest problem you can help them solve is how they can sell their business for maximum profit.

Here’s a Client Stampede secret - your marketing to millionaires will be at least three times more effective if you can imagine your ideal prospect in your mind, and then use messaging in your marketing that specifically resonates with them.

Let me show you how this works.

Meet John, a 52 year old Dentist from Raleigh, North Carolina who owns two dental clinics and is looking to exit and retire in 8 years.

Here’s how most financial advisors would go about trying to get millionaire dentists like John to invest their money with them.

1. Cold calling

2. Try messaging them on Linked In

3. Run a digital marketing campaign to run in Raleigh offering their financial services and hope that he (and other affluent people) sees the ads and calls their office

4. Join golf clubs, country clubs and professional networking groups and hope they can win more affluent clients that way

5. Hopes all of their clients refers their dentist and all of their wealthy friends

Right.

Now let’s think about things from John’s perspective.

John’s crazy busy running two dental clinics, likely with a team of thirty people and thirty different sets of problems and challenges. Not to mention he’s got two kids in college and his wife is mad at him for not taking her on a shopping trip to Italy last year like he promised but couldn’t due to an emergency at the office. John loves golf but hasn’t played 18 holes in two years and this is the third year he’s renewed his country club membership but hasn’t made it to a social event aside from the one dinner his wife dragged him to. He’s worried about the economy and he’s worried about his business. He’s burned out and he wishes he could sell in five years instead of eight.

Now, if you were John and you saw both of these ads while you were scrolling through the morning news, which ad would you click on?

Obviously the one on the right that specifically speaks to him and his needs.

The generic sounding one on the left? Unlikely.

And yes, if you’ve been wondering why your firm’s advertising has been falling flat it’s very likely because it’s simply too generic and blah sounding.

Ok so far so good. Let’s do a quick recap.

You’ve discovered the very large number of people who are millionaires in this country, and you’ve identified one group in particular that you’d like to focus on to start.

And now you understand the importance of crafting a message that is specifically tailored to them in order to gain their attention.

What’s next?

Now we need to figure out the best way to get their attention.

Here’s where Jay Abraham's Strategy of Preeminence comes into play.

In 2008 I was lucky enough to be exposed to this strategy of Jay’s. It connected with me so viscerally that it completely reshaped how I viewed and approached marketing, and how I did business with prospects and clients.

This is it in a nutshell:

• reframing the idea of trying to “sell you” to “I want to serve you”,

• taking on the responsibility of being their most trusted advisor (their definitive trusted source),

• an attitude that you look at everybody out there that you want to do business with, and that you make it a point of deciding you're NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR MONEY TO CHANGE HANDS BEFORE YOU START contributing, guiding, counseling, advising, and protecting them,

• establishing yourself from the VERY BEGINNING as THE ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION, to a problem, a challenge, an issue, or an opportunity in their life.

What you should be getting a sense of so far is that marketing to millionaires especially is NOT about building another (better) “mouse trap” funnel that pressures and squeezes and coerces people into taking action.

Approaching and achieving marketing to the affluent this way is as much about CARING about the people you want to serve as it is about influencing them through the strategic reshaping and reframing of their hearts, minds, and beliefs.

In other words, this style of marketing has nothing whatsoever to do with sales tactics, using the right closing techniques, saying the right mix of magic words at the right times or even attending the right networking events.

2. What is a big problem you can help them solve?

But it has everything to do with taking the role on of being their trusted advisor BEFORE they actually become your client and before any money changes hands.

So what are the most effective ways to do this? Actually there are

3. Decide how you want to show up
Podcast

Book

TV show

Radio Show