Thomas J. Stanley - Networking with the Affluent and their Advisors

Networking with the Affluent

Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.

Copyright

Networking with the Affluent and their Advisors

Copyright 1993 by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.

Cover art to the electronic edition copyright 2012 by RosettaBooks, LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Electronic edition published 2012 by RosettaBooks, LLC, New York.

ISBN ePub edition: 9780795325960

For Janet, Sarah, Brad, and Molly

Why write a book about networking with the affluent and their advisors? The top 1 percent of the households in America account for nearly 40 percent of the wealth. Traditional methods of marketing, selling as well as advertising, are often ineffective determinants of the patronage behavior of the affluent. The affluent respondents whom I have interviewed report that interpersonal endorsements (also known as word-of-mouth endorsements) were most influential in their decisions to patronize a variety of product and service providers.

Interestingly, some people, including many affluent individuals, serve as patronage opinion leaders. They exert considerable influence in this context. Why? Because they are viewed as having high credibility and intellect in judging the quality and character of those who intend to supply the affluent. Cultivating the endorsements of these opinion leaders is a very productive way to address the affluent market.

Why do opinion leaders go out of their way to endorse one offering but not another? Readers, you may be thinking that you deserve all the endorsements. Why? You feel that you are number one! You contend that your brand of product and service is the very best. After all, you graduated near the top of your university class. However, such attributes as good intellect and high-quality products and services are basic requirements. Most of the people who target the affluent must have these attributes. But these are core features, and it takes additional features to succeed in this market. The possession of these additional features often explains why some of your competitors enjoy higher sales volume than you. Those who have no Phi Beta Kappa pins may have two or three times the number of customers or clients than you have because, unlike you, they have the endorsements of the key patronage opinion leaders who influence the affluent.

More often than not, people endorse those who do more for them than provide conventional or core products or services. There are several methods of encouraging patronage opinion leaders to endorse ones offerings. These methods all come under the heading of networking. There are eight dimensions or faces of networking with the affluent and their advisors.

The most powerful way to network is to enhance the revenue of opinion leaders. Realize that before receiving business-related endorsements, you must first send business. Revenue enhancers are more likely to gain important referrals than are those who merely tell people about their product and even about their Phi Beta Kappa pin. In fact, not one of the extraordinary networkers profiled in this book graduated at the top of his or her college class!

If you are the best or nearly the best in your field, you must take the initiative of telling key opinion leaders. You must cultivate their endorsements. But if your business revenue is not at the top for those in your field, dont despair. There is always hope. Encourage the market and its influencers to respond to your offering in a positive way. Network. By doing so, you can become a success in a small fraction of the time that is often required otherwise.

Without important endorsements, it is difficult to succeed in targeting the affluent and their advisors. Perhaps an analogy from our nations military history can illuminate this point. Many historians feel that John Paul Jones was the finest officer who ever captained a U.S. naval ship. His extraordinary talents were well documented even prior to the Revolutionary War. On the day that the Continental Navy was formed, political opinion leaders (members of the Continental Congress) ranked each captain in our small navy. The rankings were supposed to be based on the so-called objective qualities of naval officers. Where did Captain Jones, the father of our navy, rank among the 24 captains?

In reality, the rankings were not based on objective criteria. They were based on the principle called localitis. The 17 captains ranked ahead of John Paul Jones were all first endorsed by their respective hometown political opinion leaders. The members of the Continental Congress received no such endorsements on behalf of Jones. According to his biographer, Samuel E. Morison, Jones was the maverick of the navy, with no influence network, no support, no endorsements from shipbuilders, family, or community upon which to lean. Of course, Jones never spent much time or energy in attempts to influence the influential. He assumed, incorrectly, that those with the best core qualities would always be ranked at the top of their respective cohorts. Therefore, despite his talent, he was assigned to captain a small sloop, regarded as the 18th-best ship in the U.S. Navy. All of those who were ranked above him were assigned larger/better vessels.

Readers, where do you and your offerings rank in the eyes of important patronage opinion leaders? Encourage these leaders to rank you high. Cultivate their endorsements. Become a vital part of their influence networks. Without their support, you may be assigned a small piece of the affluent market.

The information contained in this book was gathered from conversations, interviews, and the case studies of hundreds of marketing, sales, and new business development professionals who network with the affluent and their advisors. Most successful networkers are very unselfish people. They are determined to do more for clients, prospective clients, and patronage opinion leaders than merely provide a core offering. Their willingness to share is greatly appreciated.

I am indebted to my wife, Janet, for her honest evaluations of case studies and for her patient guidance and assistance in the development of the manuscript.

Special thanks are accorded to Ruth Tiller for her extraordinary help in editing and word processing.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the contribution of Sarah and Brad Stanley, who always gave their candid insights about the true value of countless networking concepts and case scenarios.

Thomas J. Stanley

You must give before you receive.

Networking is the essence of high-performance marketing. It is the highest form of professional selling. Networking is influencing the people who influence the patronage behavior of dozens, hundreds, even thousands of affluent prospects.

Ordinary sales professionals target ordinary prospects. In sharp contrast, extraordinary networkers target prospects who are opinion leaders of affluent affinity groups. Imagine the impact on the revenue of an ordinary sales professional if he is endorsed by the president of a trade association whose members include hundreds of millionaires. In fact, such an endorsement was recently given at a trade conference.

How does an endorsement of this kind come about? The transformation of an ordinary sales professional into an extraordinary networker begins with targeting. The very best networkers identify and then prospect the advisors and role models of the affluent.