• Understand their mission and values.
• Have their goals in mind.
• Remember the socioemotional wealth concept (they value other things than money).
• For first generation entrepreneurial founders, treat them similarly to a regular client. However, you must also gain the support of the owner’s spouse, who is more than likely a co-founder and partner.
• For second generation members, understand who is involved in making the decisions and talk to each of them.
• Be aware of the “silent influencers” who have power to influence the decision. For example, is the founder still active?
• For the third generation understand this is a group of cousins. There could be a dozen owners. They will take a vote. Prepare for an extended selling cycle.
• Try sponsoring a family retreat and give a presentation.
• If they are a client, consider bringing in a family business consultant to help them create governance mechanisms to allow them to be more professional, efficient and productive. This is a huge value- added service, which can build trust with your client. It will also serve the double purpose of helping the business increase its chances of survival and gaining the next generation as clients after a succession.
The financial advisor who has knowledge of the family’s specific needs, their mission and values, their decision-making process, and presents the proposal in a way that shows a deep understanding of the family’s needs and values will have a competitive advantage over an advisor who “only talks money.”