“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” This line appeared in a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1926, and even after all these years, there is a great deal of truth in it, a truth that must be understood by those who want to serve high net worth customers. as a business. advisers

You may be surprised to learn that the first thing I recommend to business advisors who aspire to serve the wealthy is to get comfortable with how they feel about money and understand any issues they may be having about it.

You need to remember your early experiences with money, as well as the messages you heard about money from your family growing up. Without that “baseline”, it will be quite challenging to act as an advocate for high net worth clients, although there is much more to the psychology of money, which I will discuss in future blogs.

Once you have a firm understanding of your relationship with money, you can move on to trying to meet the high level of expectations that wealthy customers will have. In reality, what high net worth customers want is not much different from what their less affluent counterparts want, but the stakes are a bit higher, as is the scrutiny.

Simply put, high net worth clients want:

• objective advice
• relationship stability
• Ability
• Consistency
• predictability
• Responsibility

The ultra-rich will also be quite cost-conscious: They didn’t amass fortunes without keeping a watchful eye on the bottom line. And you can never forget that they have many choices when it comes to selecting their business advisors, as they are coveted as clients and talk to each other, so word quickly spreads about good or bad performance.

In addition to overseeing “dollars and cents,” it is also important as a business advisor to high net worth clients that you understand the impact that decisions made today have on bequests and inheritances. You may need to broaden your view of wealth and address issues like openness (or lack thereof), difficult family members, and transfer of value.

At the core of any relationship will be trust, as those who have the most to lose must have complete trust in those they select as business advisors. Five of the most important elements of trust are:

1. Integrity – have a reputation for honesty
2. Competence: have technical knowledge and be able to provide interpretive data
3. Consistency: show good judgment in all situations.
4. Loyalty: protect the interests of customers at all times
5. Openness: share information freely and feel comfortable in your own skin

One resource I recommend for business advisors who want to improve their chances of securing high-net-worth clients is Charles Collier’s “Families of Wealth.” Among his many conclusions is learning the importance that rich people place on human, intellectual, social and financial capital. Remember, rich people are different, but knowing how to address your needs as a business consultant is the first step in developing lucrative long-term relationships.