Working With The Ultra-Affluent

These questions are based upon things you believe you can accomplish. Paint a picture (often telling a story) of what you believe you can do, but not in specific terms–talk about the results you can produce. Those results will solve problems, offer meaningful benefits (monetary, psychological, or otherwise), and bring peace of mind to your client.

Additionally, your working knowledge of planning and the options available will help you deal with unrealistic or impractical solutions. A prospect may think he has taken care of a problem, such as the payment of estate taxes by planning to use Section 6166. Having a story to tell is an effective way of addressing the situation.

For example, I met a man who inherited a family business from his father, and whether because of lack of planning or not, the business was saddled with a large estate tax liability being paid using Section 6166. Most recently, I saw a newspaper article about how his business was going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In knowing how Section 6166 works, you can hold up a mirror and ask your prospects to put themselves in the place of the people that will have to make those payments. Ask them what the effects will be on those people and on the business. How do they feel about that idea now?

Whatever method you use to record the salient points of your meeting, after the discussion review the record of the meeting and all the other information at your disposal. You can then frame the issues that need to be addressed.

In concert with a professional network, you can determine possible strategies and their results. Look at how those strategies impact upon each other as well as other planning the prospect has already done.

Now is the time to talk to the appropriate members of your professional network–brainstorm and work out ideas. Once you have satisfied yourself and the professionals with whom you consult that you have a viable proposal, take the next step.

In my case, when I use a consultative model. I want to get paid but I never want to sell a product in order to get paid. I create a proposal spelling out the process, the deliverables, and the fees.

Again, in determining my fees, I will consult with a professional in my network who offers guidance. We look at the time involved, who will be doing what work, and what costs will be incurred in the process. I try to be fair to myself and to the client. That means offering value, and not being cheap.

Under this consultative model, fees are staged so that the prospect or I can end the process at any point. Im always ready to walk away from any situation with which I am not comfortable–when I cant offer value, or the value that I offer is not appreciated. This helps me maintain my objectivity and my integrity.

Finally, heres a thought that will keep you out of trouble: Know that you dont always know. This will be reflected in your attitude with people and the way that you approach problems. It may also be one of the things youll tell a prospect about yourself when you meet.

Niels Bohr, 1922 Nobel Prize winner, describes a scientist as someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing. He also describes a philosopher as someone who knows less and less about more and more until he knows nothing about everything. We are all somewhere between those extremes, and we should know that. Whether it's a new law or ruling, someone's new idea, or a new product or service–many times we don't know about it now and sometimes, we may never know about it.

Thats why a professional network is so important. While some of your network may be advanced underwriting people at insurance companies, many should be professionals well known in their respective fields and specialties. These fields include asset protection, insurance products and uses, charitable planning, estate planning, estate administration, derivatives, specialty products (insurance and otherwise), qualified and non-qualified benefits, market research, and valuation. Any of these may be relative to a particular prospect, your business, or both.

The ultra-affluent have high expectations about the services and products offered to them, in part because they are wealthy. While you are always managing expectations, you want to make sure that what you deliver meets or exceeds them. Because of all the thought and effort that goes into this, you want to make sure the rewards are commensurate. These are the initial steps that you can use to help both the prospect and you reach your respective goals.

Richard L. Harris, CLU, AEP, is the managing member of BPN Montaigne LLC, Clifton, N.J. He may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, April 15, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.