Be Professional Through Preparation
Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Preparation improves your self-esteem during conversations with a client or his advisors. It shows the client that you take him seriously and that you put effort into the relationship.

Family offices often choose their service providers through a competitive selection process-a beauty contest. Several providers are invited to make a sales pitch and then the family office selects one of the competing providers.

Structured thinking about how best to win the deal is the best way to prepare for this situation. Research the potential client and try to understand his selection criteria and the selection process. Such preparation will increase your efficiency in getting deals closed.

You can rehearse the opening or closing of your sales talk, or prepare a good story that makes a relevant point. You can prepare by resting the day before the presentation.

Preparation, like education, is time well invested.
There are some basic questions that should be pondered before seeing the potential client.  

For example, what are the selection criteria?
If it's someone you have dealt with before, you might have some knowledge of his decision process. If not, the best thing is to ask the client directly.

Having a strong relationship with the client gives you permission to ask probing criteria questions. If the relationship is not yet strong, you should ask for permission to ask those types of questions. This is especially true when investigating the decision-making process. You have to make sure the client understands your questions are important for you to learn about him, which will enhance your ability to add value to your services.

Private conversations with decision makers, and their friends and business partners, might give you an idea of what their primary concerns are. Keeping these main issues in mind while delivering the pitch will make the difference. For example, we pitched to a family that needed a manager for their family fund. We learned they were in the process of acquiring an airline and needed a partner. Thus, we included in the pitch an example of a family that sold a stake in an airline, with us advising them and subsequently managing the proceeds. This generated immediate interest and we won the asset management and M&A mandate.

The structure of our pitches are based on the following elements:
What is at stake? (Explain the business case.)
Why should the client care? (The answer to this question can easily be used as an opening.)
Refrain (We repeat and emphasize the main theme.)

Intentional Empathy
Put yourself in the shoes of your client. Be empathetic, especially if you are in a high-pressure situation. Ask yourself, "If I were the client, what would I want to experience now?"