Posted by: Troy White
September 4, 2007
Issue #221

The Small Business Guide
to Marketing to The Affluent
Part 1

In this issue:

• How 3 simple things can revolutionize who you do business with and how you make your money (and a lot more of it!)

• The 4 deadly trap many entrepreneurs and small business owners make when trying to sell to the affluent

• 5 MUST READ tips that ensure you can re-position your products and services to appeal to those who will spend more, and spend more often

• And much more!

Fellow business builder,

I am reading a fabulous book right now and I highly recommend you do as well.

Richistan, by Robert Frank, is a compelling look into the greatest wealth boom that the United States has ever seen.

Detailed insights into the lives of multi-millionaires and billionaires: where they spend their money, where they donate their money, what kinds of homes they live in, the jewelry they buy, what they drive, their dreams, aspirations and even their greatest fears.

This is CRITICAL information for you and I, as entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Robert Frank become the first reporter at The Wall Street Journal to focus full time on the life and times of the New Rich. He immersed himself in their lives, the boat clubs they belong to, the parties they attend, and the spending that they enjoy.

Broken down into lower Richistan (7.5 million households with a net worth of $1 Million to $10 Million), middle Richistan (over 2 million households with a net worth of $10 Million to $100 Million), and upper Richistan (the thousands of households with a net worth of $100 Million to $1 Billion), you can see the surprising areas where they spend their money, and the not-so surprising guilty pleasures they enjoy.

The toys, the yachts, the people that work for them – some incredible new trends are occurring here that every serious marketer needs to pay attention to.

Imagine tapping into the most devoted
and highest paying group of clients
you have ever seen.

Where price is the last priority in their buying decision (and the dangerous trap many businesses fall into while trying to play the price game – they still love a good deal!).

They are willing to spend – and spend BIG – but you must understand what they are looking for, and how to deliver it.

Get this, orders for new yachts longer than 150 feet have DOUBLED in the past 10 years – and there is now a 2-year waiting list to get your own $20 million, 140-foot yacht (and $2 million a year in annual upkeep).

3 of the main things they dearly want more of in their life:

1. Help from someone that makes their lives easier
2. To save more time – and to get more out of the time they have
3. Not to be taken, swindled or ripped off

Many in the boomer and senior category already own a lot of stuff. So convincing them to buy your new “doohickey” is a difficult sell.

What sells much easier to those in this group? Services that are tailored to their needs, wants and desires.

The money is there, but you need to be careful of a few things:

Do NOT:

1. Disrespect them in any way (their time, their intelligence, their motivation to be/do/and have the best). This is a growing problem with the older generations and the newer.

Showing up to work sloppily dressed, with piercings through your nose, eyebrow and tongue, with a tattoo on your neck – is NOT the impression you want to leave with an affluent client.

Pay very careful attention to: the clothes you (or your staff) wear, the language used (no slang or sloppy language), acting professionally, zero condescending attitude allowed, the show of respect (no talking on a cell phone or crackberry while a customer is standing in front of you). These all seem like common sense conditions for running a business, but when you look around at how it is being done in reality – VERY different.

2. Assume they will buy from you just because they have the money and you have something that is targeted to them. You must provide ample amounts of credibility to win them over. They are very savvy shoppers and love a great deal … so you must never assume that they will just hand over their money to you.
3. Try and sell them what everyone else has, or can get. They have earned their place in society, they worked hard to get where they are – and they only want to buy products and services that are limited in availability or priced for exclusivity.
4. Assume that the wealthy clients that you want (and think are ideal for your product or service) are a certain age, sex or ethnicity.

This you must do if you want to start selling more high-end offerings to the affluent:

1. Use celebrities from their past. If you are considering using a professional spokesperson, which can give you a serious spike in revenues, use a celebrity your target clients will know from good times gone past. A movie or television star from their past.

Of course, you need to be careful, as the celebrity train wreck we see with the drugs and the booze is something you do not want associated with your business … choose carefully and look at how they act outside of the studio.

2. Find a way to create a remarkable experience. Not as easy as it sounds. The other day I was trying to list all of the “WOW” experiences I had in the past 12 months … the list was short. So I asked others the same questions … and got little shared in return. Think about this for your own experience – when was the last time you really got wowed by a supplier? Find ways to incorporate the wow experience into every sales transaction that happens.
3. Combine numerous products and services into bundles that eliminate frustration with dealing with multiple vendors, save extreme amounts of their time, and makes it very easy to do business with you on an ongoing basis. Think travel clubs and all-inclusive vacations. The reason they are doing so well is that they supply what people want – everything looked after for them, all they have to do is just show up!
4. Test multiple media to find your ideal affluent client. Many do not watch television, do not use cell phones, and can’t stand the Internet – how will you get to them? You must find out what magazines they are reading, what associations they belong to, any private clubs they are members of.
5. Go far outside of your normal thought process here. Buy luxury home, vacation, car and boat magazines – see what is being offered to them now, understand how the affluent think, what they read, and the images they like to see.

Then dream BIG … in an ideal world …

If you could take your business now and completely re-invent it for the affluent market – what would you do?

What would you sell?

How could you position it in a way that no one else is?

What experience would you love to leave with them?

What is your WOW experience you can give them?

I don’t want to give away too much more from the book. I will say this … if you want to truly understand how the New Rich think, feel, and invest/spend their money, read the book! It is highly entertaining, very surprising, and extremely educational for anyone in a small business or entrepreneurial venture that wants to increase their revenues and profits immediately.

They want to buy from you if you offer them something no one else does – in a way no one has ever thought of – and they will not hesitate to buy if you give them the catering and personalized attention they crave so deeply (yet cannot find anywhere else).

A great book – and a necessity for building your business for the upcoming buying season.

My recommendation?

Buy this book, take copious notes, and then set aside a full day in a quiet spot without distraction with some of the magazines mentioned. Develop a whole new line of products and services that is only marketed to the affluent. You need to get creative here – but the payoff can be extreme.

By selling to the affluent, and thinking through what they want and expect, then delivering on those expectations, you will undoubtedly grow your business and become wealthier yourself.

To your success,

Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

Looking for resources related to this article? Try some of these.

Looking for more of Troy’s articles? Check these out.

Looking for past issues of The Total Package? Click here for our archives.

A Final Note:

If you have specific subjects you would like addressed, or have any comments on what you have seen here, please submit a comment below and I will see how I can help.

"The way to get started is to quit talking
and begin doing.”

– Walt Disney

 

Want to share or reprint this article? Feel free. Just give us full attribution and a link to our Home Page when you do.

Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

 

Related posts

• Why Most Service Sellers Lick Scraps …
• Use Your Mouth
• Five ways to grow (very) rich in tough economic times
• The Fastest Growing Market on The Internet and How Best To Serve Them
• The Easy Way to Boost Sales by 163%

---

No Comments »

1. Comment by Arun Agrawal — September 4, 2007 @ 8:27 am

   Troy

   You nailed it when you say \’exclusivity is the key\’.

   The neo-rich (specially) want to get exclusive things and will pay good premium for limited-edition products. I have also seen good success with specialized packs - solutions that are tailor made for them.

   Arun

2. Comment by Joe — September 4, 2007 @ 9:40 am

   I\’m working on a direct mail piece ( cold list) to the mega wealthy for a personal trainer for men and women.He trains and coachs wealthy people and he makes around $ 100 a session. I suggested he go after the super mega affluant and bump the per session price up to at least $250. He\’s surrounded by this type client ( lives on LI NY, Hamptons, NYC etc. I\’m having a struggle with positioning, and deciding which dominant emotion to write to - fear, vanity, pride etc. And do you think I could just use a zip code instead of a list.Everyone wants good health and to live longer. The target age is 45-70. Any suggestions would be great help. Thanks, Joe C

3. Comment by Ron — September 4, 2007 @ 8:06 pm

   Joe, go beyond $200, try $500, somehow come up with a package deal they simply can\’t refuse. Not sure what that would be but…get creative. Does he currently have any wealthy/known clients who could be endorsers?? This wreaks of an endorsement marketing strategy. Like a letter from Donald Trump as an example. That gets you credibility and it gets you in the door.

   I would not do a cold list. nyet. Go to SRDS, check out all the affluent buyers lists - I think it would be worth to check those out, you may have to spend some dough, but I think you would blow your wad on a cold list UNLESS that cold list is a list compiled of an endorsers rich friends/family/associates/business partners.

   Hope this helps. But for sure he has to increase his rates. I\’m paying $100 bucks in Calgary and we\’re just a bunch of rednecks up here. In New York, you should be able to get $250 AT LEAST. He just really has to deliver on his promises.

4. Comment by Joe — September 5, 2007 @ 5:58 am

   Hey Ron, great ideas -especially the
   endorsments, thanks. Now, just have to figure out a way to snag a appointment with the Donald…he needs a PT thats for sure.