So far, so good. You’ve bought into the idea by joining the right organizations you can become part of the world of local HNW individuals. You’ve joined a few groups. (Four is ideal.) Now you are waiting for something to happen. What next?
Try getting yourself into the gatekeeper role. As advisors we think of gatekeepers as people who keep us out. Gatekeepers can also be in the role of welcoming people into the group. Regardless of the organization, members likely paid to belong. This is recurring revenue. In order to get them to renew and stay as members, the new members must feel they are getting value or some benefit.
Here’s a strategy: Get yourself onto the membership committee. Even better, head up the membership committee. Most community organizations share three common activities. Membership, Fundraising and Event Planning. One is usually in crisis. If you get involved and make an impact, you become indispensable. Your manager calls it “moving the needle.”
Involvement with membership can take a couple of forms.
• Finding new members. If you are involved with the Chamber, you know they have ambassadors. This is another name for members of your committee. They tell the Chamber’s story in other organizations and generally recruit new members.
Why do it: This gives you a plausible reason to call on businesses new to the area and tell the Chamber’s story. As a consequence, you get to know the business owner.
• Integrating new members. Now you are in your country club. Totally different organization. A newly relocated senior executive has joined. He asked about the best club in the area and was sent to yours. They may be a member, but they knew few, if any other members.
Why do it: As a gatekeeper, you are encouraging them to attend events. Introducing them around. Learning their interests and connecting them with likeminded people. Most important, in the early days, when they walk into the club bar, the only person they know…is you.
What else can you do to get closer to HNW prospects in your gatekeeper role? You can take steps to get members more involved. In most organizations there’s a small handful of people who attend everything and do all the work. If you don’t get others involved, they will either be inactive or drop out.
Now you are involved with your college alumni association’s local chapter. They’ve decided a wine tasting would be a good crowd pleaser. Someone has set it up at a private club in the city. Now the organization needs to fill the room. The world is your oyster! Your pool of potential attendees is every graduate in the area, regardless of age or income! You build a list. Do a little LinkedIn research on each one. (Inviting them to connect based on your shared school affiliation isn’t a bad idea.) You can see yourself focusing on senior executives and business owners. To be fair, you want to cast a wide net, at least through online publicity.
You now have a good reason to call, e-mail or send letters to these fellow alumni who you’ve identified as fellow wine fans. As a wine fan yourself, you know the selling points to get them interested and attending the event. You spend as much time with them as you can.
What’s in it for them? These senior executives are meeting others who share the same passion for wine. (or classic cars, you get the idea.) They are having a great time. You are the common denominator.
Fundraising is another area that falls under the gatekeeper category, for unexpected reasons. When you think about fundraising, you think about finding fresh money. (FYI: You are very good at it!) It’s also about getting past donors to sponsor something else. Often this involves trading them up to a higher level.