The Art of Selling to the Affluent: How to Attract, Service, and Retain Wealthy Customers & Clients for Life

256 Pages·2004·1.98 MB·English

by  Matt Oechsli

The Art of
SELLING TO
THE AFFLUENT
TLFeBOOK

The Art of
SELLING TO
THE AFFLUENT
How to Attract, Service, and
Retain Wealthy Customers &
Clients for Life
MATT OECHSLI
JOHN WILEY & SONS,INC.
Copyright © 2005 by Matt Oechsli.All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons,Inc.,Hoboken,New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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with respect to the accuracy or completeness ofthe contents ofthis book and
specifically disclaim any implied warranties ofmerchantability or fitness for a
particular purpose.No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives
or written sales materials.The advice and strategies contained herein may not be
suitable for your situation.The publisher is not engaged in rendering professional
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Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Oechsli,Matt.
The art ofselling to the affluent : how to attract,service,and retain
wealthy customers & clients for life / Matt Oechsli.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-471-70323-0 (cloth)
1. Selling. 2. Sales presentations. 3. Affluent consumers. I. Title.
HF5438.25.033 2005
658.85—dc22
2004017101
Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C
ONTENTS
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xi
CHAPTER1 The Affluent Opportunity 1
CHAPTER2 Getting into the Affluent Mind 17
CHAPTER3 Creating the Right Sales Environment 33
CHAPTER4 Overcoming Social Self-Consciousness 55
CHAPTER5 Becoming One with the Affluent 77
CHAPTER6 Affluent Finishing School 89
CHAPTER7 Becoming Magnetic 105
CHAPTER8 Becoming Even More Magnetic:
Internet Savvy 123
CHAPTER9 Mastering Ritz-Carlton Service and
FedEx Efficiency 139
CHAPTER10 The Secret to Affluent Loyalty 163
CHAPTER11 Maximizing Your Affluent Sales Opportunity 177
CHAPTER12 The 12 Commandments ofAffluent Selling 199
Appendix 217
References 231
Index 233
About the Author 241
v

P
REFACE
This book is about being affluent.You will immerse yourselfin
the world of wealth to better understand how the affluent
think and act,and you will uncover the critical factors that shape
their buying decisions.Everything is substantiated by research,so
you can be confident of its accuracy.
Above all, this is a book about selling to the affluent.You will
learn step-by-step what it takes to place yourselfin the path ofthe
affluent and effectively influence the critical factors that shape
their buying decisions.
Along the way,you will also realize that this is a book about be-
coming affluent.You will begin to see how this approach to selling
to the affluent will build your path to becoming affluent in your
own right.Make that your goal,and everything you learn here will
take on a whole new purpose.
Many books on selling couch old ideas under new labels and
then try to make them sound fresh through the author’s personal
experiences. In this book, the ideas presented are new and fresh
because selling to the affluent requires them to be.Those who suc-
cessfully sell to the affluent quickly discover that old ideas,regard-
less of what they are called,more often than not,do not work.
There can be no guesswork for a salesperson committed to
success in selling to the affluent.What’s needed is a comprehen-
sive how-to approach, and that’s what this book provides. You
will discover:
vii
PREFACE
• The incredible opportunity that selling to the affluent offers.
• How the affluent think and,especially,how they make major
purchase decisions.
• Ways to create the right affluent sales environment for the
products and services you offer.
• How to put aside any fears you may have about approaching
the affluent.
• Strategies for becoming one with the affluent and building
the kind of relationships that make you magnetic.
• How to use the Internet to effectively place yourself in the
path of the affluent prospects you want to attract.
• How you can provide Ritz-Carlton service with FedEx effi-
ciency to your affluent clientele and ensure that they will
keep coming back.
• How using all of the preceding information will enable you
to acquire personal affluence.
We can claim that the ideas presented in this book are new and
fresh for two important reasons.First,everything here is research
based,and you will see evidence of that throughout.For the past
five years, we have invested thousands of hours (and dollars) in
studying the affluent. They have become our laboratory project.
We have crawled into the mind of the affluent to take snapshot
after snapshot of how they think. We have studied their percep-
tions and biases. Most important, we have up-to-date statistical
evidence that tells us what they value when they make financial,
normal budget, and major purchase buying decisions. Our most
recent research was completed in June 2004, but we did not rely
exclusively on our own research projects.We have also pored over
every other bit of research we could find.
Second,in addition to all of this academic work,we have spent
countless hours training and coaching salespeople to successfully
attract, sell, service, and retain affluent customers and clients.
viii
Preface
Everything we present in this book is research based, action ori-
ented,and street tested.
Our objective is to provide you with a book that can serve as a
current road map,guiding you to ongoing success as a salesperson
who specializes in targeting the affluent.Make no mistake about it;
the process described here is also designed to lead you to affluence.
Make that your goal, and you will achieve even greater success
than you ever imagined.
MATTOECHSLI
ix