The Wrong People

A Magic Word
The flaw in this logic is that it’s highly unlikely the advisors will persuade such professionals. Meanwhile, there are a plethora of other professionals more likely to be receptive.

Street-smart networking is a marketing framework, not a sales pitch. Many self-made millionaires have honed their ability to identify and motivate the appropriate people to join their core networks.

You need to learn not to waste your time trying to sell the wrong people on your knowledge and abilities. You’ll undoubtedly be wasting your time and energy (and lowering your earning potential). Instead, you need to find the “right” people, which is why the evaluation process is so critical.

Say to yourself, “NEXT,” which stands for “Never expend X-tra time.”

If you’re not seeing somebody introduce you to his or her affluent clients—if he or she is not becoming a proponent of you and your expertise—it’s time to use the word. A street-smart networker knows this: You are the one choosing the centers of influence you want to work with; they are not choosing you. That gives you the relationship leverage. When other professionals refer you to a client, they should be doing so because it’s in their best interest.

Being Able To Say It
Many advisors grasp the concept. They understand that rarely have they been able to convince accountants, for example, that their positions were more than 100% self-serving as opposed to being prudent for certain affluent clients.

But there’s a Grand Canyon-sized gap between intellectually understanding the importance of saying “Next” and doing it.

For one thing, many advisors overestimate their own ability to “sell.” Even if they are accomplished salespeople, selling their perspective to other professionals hardly ever works. And swimming against a tsunami is rarely a cost-effective approach.

They are also under the misapprehension (fantasy) that if an influential professional did come around to their way of thinking, he or she would send affluent clients over in droves.

Advisors also err in thinking that, having committed a good amount of time and effort to trying to win somebody over, it would be a waste to give up now. It’s the same thing as trying to convince clients to sell money-losing investments when they hope for some sort of turnaround that is never going to happen.

Just as it’s better for the investor to cut his losses, it’s better for the financial advisor.

Self-made millionaires judiciously say “Next” because they want to make sure they have options. Street-smart negotiators have the relationship leverage because they provide enormous value to others. If you want to effectively create a consistent flow of new affluent clients for your services, the answer is to become a street-smart networker. This means being able to say “Next.” 

Russ Alan Prince is president of R.A. Prince & Associates Inc. and executive director of Private Wealth magazine.

Brett Van Bortel is director of consulting services for Invesco Consulting, the sales consulting group within Invesco Distributions Inc. The opinions expressed are those of Russ Alan Prince and Brett Van Bortel, and are based on current market conditions and subject to change without notice. These opinions may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals.