How Fast-Talking Tommy Made the Rich Beg to Work With Him

0:00Hello, this is Mark Satterfield and welcome to the Velvet Rope Playbook. Tonight's chapter, How Fast-Talking Tommy Made the Rich Beg to Work with Him. Now let's talk about a fear that kills more deals than bad timing and bad luck combined. The fear of looking too salesy. You know the feeling. I don't want to seem desperate. If I pitch too hard, they'll think I need the sale. The wealthy don't like being sold to. They'll run the other way. And you know what? You're half right. The wealthy don't like being chased, but they love working with people who feel just out of reach. So today I'm going to tell you a story about a guy named Fast Talking Tommy, a consultant who used to beg for business until he learned the number one rule of selling to the rich.

0:47Don't chase them, make them chase you. Now, by the way, if you're enjoying this episode and other episodes in the Velvet Rope podcast, and you want to learn how to use storytelling as a tool for getting more affluent clients, well, you need to read my latest books. And you can do that by going to GetWealthyClients.com for all the details. That's GetWealthyClients.com. Okay, let's get into it. Now, Tommy was what you'd call a hustler. Not the shady kind, but the ambitious kind. He was a consultant for high-end entrepreneurs, and he was damn good at what he did. The problem was, nobody wanted to hire him.

1:28Not because he wasn't talented, not because he didn't get results, but because every time he got in front of wealthy prospects, he turned into a human infomercial. He'd corner them at a networking event, flash his business card like a blackjack dealer. Hey, I can totally help you scale your business. Want to hop on a call? I have an opening next week. Let's make it happen. I'd love to work with you. Think I can add a ton of value. And the rich folk? They'd smile politely and say, let's touch base and never call back. Tommy couldn't figure it out. He was offering real value. He had a proven success story, so why weren't wealthy clients jumping at the chance to work with him?

2:08Well, the answer is simple. Fast-talking Tommy made one crucial mistake. He made himself look too available. And nothing makes the wealthy run faster than someone who needs the sale. One day Tommy gets a meeting with a major investor, a guy named Johnny the Duke Marconi. The Duke was a legendary venture capitalist. He could have changed Frankie's whole career overnight. What does Tommy do? He sits across from the Duke and starts pitching his heart out. Big mistake. The Duke holds up a hand and says, Tommy, slow down. You sound like a guy selling watches out of a trench coat in Times Square. Rich guys like me?

2:47We don't buy from guys who are too eager to sell. Whoa! That's when it hit Tommy. His desperation was killing his credibility. Because the wealthy, they don't chase opportunities. They choose them. So, Tommy does something different. He takes a deep breath, leans back in his chair and says, you know what, Duke? Maybe we're not a fit. I only work with a handful of people each year, but if you're serious about growing your portfolio, I can put something together. Otherwise, no hard feelings. The Duke raises an eyebrow. Only a handful of people? Tommy nods. That's right, I turn away more people than I take on.

3:24I'm looking for the right clients, not just any client. And just like that, the power flipped. Instead of Tommy chasing the Duke, the Duke started chasing Tommy. After that meeting, Tommy stopped pitching like a salesman and started positioning like a luxury brand. He made himself more exclusive. Instead of begging for clients, he made them qualify to work with him. He became more selective. Instead of offering his services to anyone, he started saying, I only take on five clients a year. He positioned himself and being more in demand. Instead of following up like a hungry salesman, he let them follow up with him.

4:03And guess what? His entire business changed because at the end of the proverbial day, here's the golden rule of selling to the rich, what's too available feels cheap. What's rare feels valuable. If you act like you need the sale, they'll walk. If you act like you don't need them but they might need you, they'll lean in. Because when it comes to high net worth clients, the second they sense desperation, they run. But the second they feel excluded, they want in. So if you've ever held back because you were afraid of sounding too salesy, here's what you need to do. Number one, stop selling, start positioning.

4:44Number two, stop pitching, start attracting. And number three, stop chasing, start making them chase you. Because wealthy don't want another person trying to sell them. They want the person who seems just out of reach. So if this makes sense to you and you want to dig a little bit deeper and find out more specifically about how to stop pitching and start attracting, well then you need to get my latest book which is the Affluent Marketing Blueprint. You can get it actually for free for a short time by going to GetWealthyClients.com. The book is the only book that I'm aware of that covers the complete landscape of all the strategies and tactics you can use to attract consistent streams of wealthy clients with no cold calling or hard selling.

5:30As I said, I'm offering a few copies for free but you got to go to GetWealthyClients.com right now to get in on the deal. Okay, well look, thanks again for listening. This is Mark Satterfield. I'm going to be back at you soon with another chapter in the Velvet Rope Playbook. But until then, bye for now.