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High Net Worth Prospect, really high

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Nov 18, 2009 11:04 pm

sooooo, in my ten years of doing this, i have never before had the opportunity of earning the business of an uber-rich individual.



a little background-



his brother forwarded him (the ‘whale’) my information after coming in to meet to discuss tax-free munis (which is the lion-share of my practice). the brother than came in who is only worth 11 mil. asked, on behalf of his brother, if I would forward at least five references of my top bond buying clients for his brother (the large prospect) to call on and basically get some perspective on my approach, my practice, etc. etc.



after getting permission from my clients to give their contact info to this guy, I forwarded the list. a list of 10 references. by last week, Mr. Whale had actually called every single reference I provided.



I was told that everything ‘checked’ out. So, he and his wife are flying up on Friday to meet with me and my assistant.



If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to keep you posted with how this all goes down.



In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone of you who have had a similar opportunity. Successes, failures, insight, do’s and don’ts. anything.



Ultimately, I’m in touch with the fact that high-net worth folks want premium accessibility to his/her advisor, among other things.



potential downside: he’s basically an accountant



liquid assets- approx 60 million.



thanks in advance for any and all advice!!!    



quick note**= if I get hired, I will be his bond guy. just bonds. i wouldn’t mind hearing from any of you (except of course, Meletio and his 23 screen names), but specifically, those of you who really specialize in Munis would be a bonus!! again, thanks in advance!

Nov 18, 2009 11:09 pm
I have found that people in that position will really feel you out in this meeting. He wants to know if he can push you around. Trust me, he wants to know that he CAN'T. He wants to know that you are not intimidated by his assets. I am willing to bet that he will throw something at you that you will not agree with on purpose.   The only solid advice I can give is that the guy does not want an order taker. He can get that anywhere, so don't be intimidated and if he tests you ademently and politely disagree and stick to your guns.
Nov 18, 2009 11:43 pm

I wouldn’t get too excited.  The HNW prospects always seem to leave me disappointed after I put in a lot of effort and excitement for something that usually doesn’t come through, and if it does it doesn’t come through in as big a way as you’d like.

People that are super rich like you described tend to move very slowly and carefully.  They didn’t get rich by being fast and reckless.  If you’re lucky something will happen in 3-5 years.

I hope I’m wrong and it all goes swimmingly for you though!

Nov 19, 2009 12:23 am

Thank you guys. I hear you both. great insight. I’m trying not to get excited, and if it turns into something down the road, I’ll still be thrilled. My ‘references’ really came through, and he’s in touch with that, so in a sense, this is a spot warmer than the usual first encounter.



Nov 19, 2009 2:56 am

A few questions:

Do you know why he is leaving his current bond adviser?  Do you know if he is interviewing other advisers?  Do know what line of work he’s in?  Do you know who runs his other assets?

It sounds like you have a great opportunity.  It also sounds like he’s ready to make a decision.  I think it’s telling that he’s bringing his wife to the meeting.  Clearly he values her input.  Keep that in mind while you’re meeting with them.
 

Nov 19, 2009 3:52 am
[quote=georgicaclose]It sounds like you have a great opportunity.  It also sounds like he's ready to make a decision.  I think it's telling that he's bringing his wife to the meeting.  Clearly he values her input.  Keep that in mind while you're meeting with them.
  [/quote]   Lol.  A couple who is worth $60mm liquid has a blank calendar.  They probably are treating it as a vacation.  Unless Mr. Sunshine works in Des Moines or Omaha then these people just found a great excuse to visit a town for a week and see the sights. 
Nov 19, 2009 12:55 pm

[quote=3rdyrp2]

[quote=georgicaclose]It sounds like you have a great opportunity.  It also sounds like he's ready to make a decision.  I think it's telling that he's bringing his wife to the meeting.  Clearly he values her input.  Keep that in mind while you're meeting with them.
  [/quote]   Lol.  A couple who is worth $60mm liquid has a blank calendar.  They probably are treating it as a vacation.  Unless Mr. Sunshine works in Des Moines or Omaha then these people just found a great excuse to visit a town for a week and see the sights.  [/quote]

Depends how old they are.  If they are retirees, then yes, they may have a blank calendar.  If this guy is running a company, then no, his calendar is probably jammed.  Even if he's flying there with a blank calendar, he doesn't have to bring his wife to a "business meeting."  His wife could go shopping or sight seeing or to a spa.  He's bringing her in with him to talk to a bond specialist he's considering hiring.  There's a reason she'll be in the room beyond she has nothing better to do.
Nov 19, 2009 1:55 pm

thanks again guys. so, his brother lives in our area, so they are probably coupling this meeting with a family gathering (thanksgiving maybe?)



the main prospect is a partner at a huge accounting firm. definitely not retired. he has treasuries, some agency paper, some tva’s, some cd’s, and a large tax burden. if you can believe it, he has never owned munis, and there’s no current advisor. I don’t know if he’s interviewing other advisors, but I’d bet my lifesavers that he certainly is. Well, I guess I can’t be certain. Reaching out to ALL those references is pretty interesting to me. We’ll see.



The wife…well, he very well may value her input, just maybe some of this is her family dough, OR she has nothing better to do, and she’s along for the ride.

Nov 19, 2009 2:41 pm

Don’t forget, you have to win the wife over.  Pay attention to her.  Give her eye contact.  Don’t underestimate the power of winning the wife’s vote.

Nov 19, 2009 6:25 pm

again guys, thanks for the input. the meeting takes place tomorrow @ 9:30. I’ll check in tomorrow night with a report.

Nov 19, 2009 6:29 pm

Can you set up a web camera for us?

Nov 19, 2009 10:21 pm

If he wants to do a comparo send him my way.

  I started in this biz pitching munis to rich folks. A long long time ago as a rookie my manager had me call my friends and family and talk to them. Talk about anything you like. Then he had me call them and practice pitching them. I was told to record all the calls. He brought me to his office and we played the tape. He pointed out how natural, how relaxed my voice was. He pointed out how in control of the conversations i was. He then said- that's how you need to sound when you are pitching these rich people. They can smell fear thru the phone. When you call, you are their equal. You are the expert- you are in control. Be polite, but stay in control. Yes, it's true that you are a rookie and you're shaking in your boots, but they don't know that. Fake it til you make it. And , you will make it!   The good news, you don't have to fake it. You've already made it. You are the expert. Be you and let the cards fall where they're gonna fall. You want him to like you, naturally, but make it the real you that he likes.   Relax, you come highly recommended, it's in the bag!    
Nov 19, 2009 10:57 pm

You had a good trainer.

Nov 20, 2009 6:24 pm

How did it go?

also, how many other advisors does the guy have? At 60ml, he should have his own family office.

Nov 21, 2009 5:54 pm

He is either drunk as sin and enjoying the weekend or they had other things to do while in town.

Nov 22, 2009 12:58 pm

The meeting went well. We covered a lot of ground in the 2 1/2 hours we met. The references were key, I learned. So, these folks were looking to have all this positive feedback ‘validated’ in a sense, by meeting me personally. I’ll keep you all posted. In my experience, these aren’t wham bam you’re done type deals. This is a process. I definitely expect hear from them sooner than later. Keep in mind, this is already one month since they first reached out to me. Stay tuned…

Nov 22, 2009 6:21 pm

Nice job and glad to hear it went well. With the Ultra High net worth... it is a process.

So what did you set as the next step?

or did you get the "we'll call you back?"

Nov 23, 2009 9:21 pm

got a call from the brother with the smaller acct. thanking me for the time, the meeting, etc. he also called to tell me that he and his brother are deciding individually, what their income needs will be, and then how much $$ they are going commit to building their ladders. i’m taking this as an excellent sign. they have ended every conversation with, ‘you’ll be hearing from me/us’.

Nov 25, 2009 1:31 am

What I want to know is this – the guy has $60 million, liquid.
How hot is his wife?

Nov 25, 2009 1:13 pm

[quote=buyandhold] What I want to know is this – the guy has $60 million, liquid.How hot is his wife?

[/quote]



not hot. super sweet and personable, but definitely not hot…big nose, grey butch hairdo (that probably cost her $400) and no tits.