4 Simple Strategies for Influencing the Affluent

The very rich are very sheltered. Selling to them is extraordinarily hard until you learn how to get in front of them.

So you have a product or service that caters to the rich. The clients you want are ultra-wealthy, extremely busy and pretty much untouchable. While every business faces gatekeepers of some sort, those who sell to the affluent face impenetrable fortresses of staffers, handlers and security teams, who make it their job to keep people away from their bosses.

Reach beyond your grasp.

So what do you do if the person you wish to do business with is simply inaccessible? One option is to follow protocol and go through the lines of defenses, pitching your product or service to layers upon layers of decision makers. That could take years. The other option is to create a strategy for influencing the people you wish to work with: the uber-rich, ultra-wealthy, untouchable millionaires and billionaires.

Here are four simple strategies to influencing the affluent:

Open your Rolodex.

Michael Carucci, a Boston-based luxury real estate broker who only deals in multi-million dollar homes, says his secret to influencing the affluent is that he does much more than sell real estate, he opens his rolodex to clients long after the deal is done. Michael has helped his high net worth clients get children into elite schools, get their books and products on national television programs, and obtain impossible to come by red carpet tickets. He says even the affluent need access to hard to get people and things, and he's created a reputation for delivering that.

Interview them.

It’s going to take a very long time for you to get past the myriad of gatekeepers if you reach out and try to sell something. Instead, try reaching out and asking your ultra-rich potential client if you can interview her for a blog, company newsletter, or other type of periodical. I’ve interviewed more than 300 high net worth business tycoons, athletes, and celebrities. I use tools like the premium membership on LinkedIn to contact them directly. At first contact, I don’t ask for business; I don’t try to sell; I simply ask for an appointment to interview them for an article. The interview is my access, and from there I build long term relationships which often result in business.

Influence their influence.

Shanna Dickerson of Blue Sky Luxury Concierge offers concierge services and event planning and promotion for elite clients around the country, including Richard Branson. How did she score the crème-de-la-crème of clients, Richard Branson? Easy, she was already doing business with someone who influences Branson, and she asked for an introduction. It’s a lot easier to get someone’s ear when you get introduced through someone they trust.

Hang where they hang.

So you may not be able to afford a house in a gated community or a private jet sharing membership, but there are other places the ultra-wealthy hang out. A good place to find them is at country clubs, sports clubs, high-end gyms, and charity events and galas. Furthermore, if you have two hours to kill, instead of booting up your computer at the local coffee shop, make yourself comfy in a corner nook near the bar at the swanky five star hotel, where your chances of running into a potential new affluent client increases by tenfold. It’s much easier to create conversations and get appointments when the people you are trying to influence consider you one of them.

Volunteer or join a board.

Some of the most valuable relationships I’ve made with high net worth friends all started with a passion for a charitable initiative. Find a charitable cause you are passionate about and dig in deeply through volunteering and/or board membership. Non-profits tend to attract people from all economic strata who are passionate about the cause. If you are targeting a particular affluent client, find out what causes he is passionate about and get involved. 

Written by; Stacey Alcorn

Credit: Entrepreneur.com

3 Sales-Boosting Freebies Customers Can't Resist

Amazon’s drone deliveries may not see the light of the day anytime soon but value-added services from our favorite brands keep us going back to them over and over again.

 From the free toy inside a Happy Meal to the all-wheel drive on a Subaru, the little things can ever so easily set a brand apart from competition.

Many businesses that offer value-added services to their customers view these as a cost center. Whether a free car wash at your local gas station or free coffee at your corner store on the first of every month, value-adds are often just another expense on the long list of bills to be paid every month. However, not all value-adds are a drain on your pocket. Here’s a selection that will bring you direct returns on your investment while putting a smile on your customers’ faces at the same time.

1. Future purchase coupons.

In January of 2012, JC Penney decided to do away with discounts and coupons by introducing "fair and square" pricing. Prices were slashed by as much as 40 percent across the board and the weekly coupons that had become a JC Penney tradition were done away with. However, the move boomeranged pretty badly for the retailer. The first quarter results for the year showed a dip in sales of around 20 percent. 

Eventually, JC Penney realized that its users were too dependent on coupons to consider shopping without them, no matter what the tag prices and went back to the old game of cat and mouse coupons and discounts.

Dip into this deep psychological preference for coupons and you find a great deal by offering your customers a definite percentage off on their next purchase. Create a sense of urgency with limited period coupons. An attractive discount satisfies the customer’s deal-seeking behavior, while the quick repeat visit helps build customer loyalty for the business.

2 - Free Wi-Fi access.

One of my favorite things about Starbucks, besides the coffee, is the free Wi-Fi that I enjoy while sipping my favorite cuppa. More and more retailers jump onto the free WiFi bandwagon with every passing day. Why wouldn’t they? By downloading a simple hotspot management software you can allow users inside your establishment to access your existing Wi-Fi for free, without trespassing on your secure data.

A recent study showed that among stores that offer free Wi-Fi, 61 percent had customers spending longer periods of time in the store. Over half (50.1 percent) saw customers spend more money per visit compared to their pre-free Wi-Fi days. OnDeviceResaerch found that 74 percent of users appreciate getting targeted offers from retailers while they use free in-store Wi-Fi.

The lure of free Wi-Fi brings you more footfalls and higher sales and helps you know your customers better. When they  login to your network, you capture key bits of data in exchange for free Internet access.

3. Free store pickup.

A huge reason for customers to prefer shopping at physical stores vis-à-vis online shopping is the added cost of shipping items to their doorstep. The compromise is for shoppers to order online but get their purchase at the store, without a delivery charge. According to Econsultancy, 80 percent of UK shoppers have used this option already, with 20 percent of them opting for it at least once a month. At Argos, a leading British retailer, nearly a third of their total sales for Q1 of 2012 come from this new breed of "click and collect" customers.

While it’s understandable that users love free store pickups thanks to the savings on shipping costs, this is a gold mine for retailers. Kathee Tesija from Target reveals that 35 percent of customers who shopped online in 2014 with the free store pickup option bought additional items when they came in to pick up their original purchase. Kohl’s found similar results with store pickups. Up to 40 percent of customers who picked up their orders from physical stores made additional purchases in-store. Shipping savings for the customer and additional sales for the retailer, what’s not to like here!

These are three of the easiest and simplest value-adds that you can offer your customers without spending half your annual budget. Why not implement them right away and reap the benefits?

Written By: Pratk Dholakyia

Credit: Entrepreneur.com

7 Ways a Plus-Size Model and CEO Turns Followers into Sale

If your business isn't leveraging social media, Ashley Alexiss would like a word with you.

Model and entrepreneur Ashley Alexiss launched her swimwear company Alexiss Swimwear a year ago with the hopes to create clothing that empowers and boosts the confidence of women of all sizes. Oh, and also to make money. So far, she’s found success on both fronts.

10 Brilliant Responses to the Customer Who Is 'Just Looking'

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Imagine you walk into a store and are interested in buying a gift for your spouse. A salesperson quickly approaches and you quickly, and mindlessly, respond, “I’m just looking,” and wave him off. Perhaps you want some more information, you might have a question or two, or maybe you don’t even know what you want -- you just know that you don’t want to be pressured. Millions of people in retail showrooms around the nation today are telling salespeople “I’m just looking” as a defense response mechanism, an automatic response we make because of previous bad experiences with salespeople.

There is a difference between a customer giving an objection and a defense response. You can’t be successful in sales without learning the difference and mastering objections. Salespeople believe falsely that “The price is too high”, “I’m not buying today”, or, “I need to talk to my wife,” are objections, but they are not. You need to know how to handle them if you are ever going to sell anything.

The untrained will leave the customer alone, likely not selling them anything. You need to understand that, “I’m just looking,” is a good sign -- they are looking! Here are some ways to handle the customer who is “just looking.”

1. “My best customers do the same thing. My name’s Grant, and yours?”

2. “Great, my job is to find you the right product that fits your needs and wants at a cost you can agree with, even if you’re just looking.”

3. “Excellent, no problem. Would you be looking for something bigger or smaller than what you have now?”

4. “Excellent, we have a great selection of products to choose from, what are you most interested in looking at?”

5. “Let me know what you’re looking for and I’ll point you in the right direction so you don’t waste any of your time.”

6. “Let me know what you’re looking for and I’ll put together some information together for you.”

7. “That’s why we display our products, so you can see what we have—where would you like to start looking?”

8. “You can kill as much time here as you’d like, so take as much time as you need.”

9. “When you are more serious, in the future, do you think you’ll be going for a bigger one or a smaller one?”

10. “My job is to give you all the time and information necessary so when you do get around to making a decision you’ll consider us.”

The point is that you need an arsenal of responses locked and loaded for the customer that is “just looking”. If you get customers saying the same thing over and over again, you must figure out responses to help you move forward with the sale. Your income depends on your ability to make sales, and making sales is dependent on your ability to handle any defense response mechanisms that your customer says.

Do you know the difference between objections and complaints? This week I’m doing a live webcast on Mastering Objections. Time is running out.

Written by: Grant Cardone

Credit: Entrepreneur.com