Yes, doubling your income is guaranteed, no matter your current income, provided it is at least US $1,000,000 yearly. There is no upper limit on current income. I made this offer and was accepted by many private wealth industry professionals worldwide, from which I selected a handful to work with. I saw this as a no-lose situation for them and myself.
Would you take the offer if, in 18 months or sooner, your income did not double but grew significantly, and you owed nothing? Unfortunately, the arrangement didn’t work…for me, but it did work great for the private wealth industry professionals involved.
When I made this offer to selected private wealth industry professionals, including wealth managers, life insurance agents, private client lawyers and high-net-worth accountants, not surprisingly, I received a very positive response, which had much to do with my guaranteeing the results. Depending on the circumstances, my fee was put into escrow. I would receive my fee when the private wealth professional doubled their income as long as it happened before the 18-month mark.
Before I explain why this arrangement was terrible for me yet exceptional for the private wealth professionals I was working with, why don’t I highlight how they doubled their incomes so quickly?
No Secrets
Since many private wealth industry professionals wanted to take me up on my offer, I was in the enviable position of being highly selective. I was looking for private wealth industry professionals motivated to excel, who clearly understood the client always came first, had integrity, were technically proficient—which included their expert network and network of other professionals who would occasionally refer them clients, were highly coachable and were seriously clever. This last quality, while essential, is why I crashed and burned with this arrangement (more later).
So, how do you assuredly double your income in 18 months? First, you have to know that there are no secrets. Over the years, I've shared everything in coaching sessions, articles, books, workshops, conferences, reports and webinars that make this approach work. It is not just knowing what to do; it’s knowing how to implement the methodologies skillfully.
Some requirements…
• You must be willing to turn down business if it’s not suitable for the client, even when they want to move forward, or the client is not “right” for you.
• You sincerely want to become much more financially successful, which has to be a significant number. For example, you believe a 20% increase in income is insufficient.
• You want to move upmarket and work with the ultra-wealthy and even the super-rich.
• You must be willing to step outside your professional comfort zone, which is crucial for being coachable.
While many private wealth industry professionals say yes to these points, most are not up to the challenge. That’s why many wealth managers, even though they profess to want to move upmarket, never will.
You need to be technically in the top 10% of your field. This is easy to accomplish. You can always bring in the appropriate experts if needed. What stops many private wealth industry professionals from bringing in the best specialists is ego, greed or both. What’s necessary is for you to build an expert network where you’re in charge.
Thanks to AI programs for the private wealth industry, this obstacle of lacking the required expertise will disappear in the next five years. Except for truly customized solutions, which will be in demand by the wealthiest families, all expertise will be accessible to all private wealth industry professionals.
With the right mindset and technical expertise, which are not a stumbling block, what’s required to double your income is a viable business model and systematic processes enabling you to source and deliver exceptional value to the ultra-wealthy.
Regarding providers of financial products and services, the ultra-wealthy prefer to work with multi-family offices instead of wealth managers, private bankers or insurance agents. They are looking for holistic, synergistic solutions and don’t want to be sold. Regarding private client lawyers and high-net-worth accountants (who do not take financial product revenues), the preferred option is project and retainer fees, not time-based fees. Project and retainer fees can be much more profitable when appropriately structured.
Working with the private wealth industry professionals who took my offer, we had to restructure their business models slightly. This quickly resulted in significantly more revenue per client. Moreover, the clients were significantly more satisfied with the private wealth industry professionals, leading to more referrals.
Then, there was the need to find wealthier clients who would benefit from the particular expertise of the respective private wealth industry professionals. Referrals are the way to grow professional practices organically, and referrals are the best way to find and work with the ultra-wealthy. It’s often the only way. We used the Everyone Wins Process to create a steady stream of ultra-wealthy and occasionally super-rich clients from other private wealth industry professionals.
Some additional methodologies and actions are necessary to double your income within 18 months or less. When implemented well, these methodologies deliver. So, what went wrong?
Down In Flames
I spent a lot of time and effort developing this arrangement. I wasn’t concerned about working the methodologies with the private wealth industry professionals. I knew they worked; it’s all about human nature. I put enormous effort into developing the appropriate criteria for the private wealth industry professionals I would work with and how to guarantee I would be compensated.
I nailed the criteria. This achievement was mainly due to a long-time friend, an occasional business associate and a brilliant social psychologist. However, nailing the requirements proved to be my Achilles’ heel.
I was confident that I structured the arrangements in ways that would ensure I got paid if the private wealth industry professionals doubled their income, such as my use of blockchain technology. I was confident I covered all the angles. The problem was I was wrong.
There were two ways to legitimately “beat” my “unbeatable” compensation system. Each private wealth industry professional doubled their income in less than 18 months, and each figured out how to “beat” my compensation system. Remember, I would only work with private wealth industry professionals who were seriously clever, and that’s what I found: some extremely clever individuals. One of them did pay me my fees even though she didn’t have to.
Over the last decade, I’ve tried different compensation arrangements with varying degrees of success. Remember, the methodologies I’m using with private wealth industry professionals to double their income quickly work, and they’re not changing. My concern has always been being paid appropriately. The good news is that after 35 years in the business, I’ve landed on a compensation arrangement that’s as foolproof and locked in as possible, emphasizing “as possible.” It’s the most obvious and easiest one of all.
Russ Alan Prince is a strategist for family offices and the ultra-wealthy. He has co-authored 70 books in the field, including Making Smart Decisions: How Ultra-Wealthy Families Get Superior Wealth Planning Results.