Velvet Rope Playbook

Why are some of the world's largest investment firms spending enormous sums entertaining prospective clients at Formula One races, private dinners, and exclusive events? A fascinating Wall Street Journal article reveals a marketing strategy that professionals trying to attract affluent clients can learn from—even without a multimillion-dollar budget. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I...

What if everything you've been told about building relationships with wealthy clients is wrong? A rare-book dealer spends four years cultivating a wealthy collector. They play golf together, attend the same social events, and know each other's families. Then a $180,000 book creates a problem that needs solving. The dealer thinks he's finally going to get the business. Instead, the collector hires...

Who says wealthy people don't respond to advertising? Luxury brands spend fortunes reaching affluent consumers. Yet many architects, financial advisors, consultants, and other professionals still believe wealthy clients can only be acquired through referrals and personal introductions. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the story of Richard Caldwell, an architect who spent $12,00...

Just because someone can afford your most expensive offering doesn't mean they want to buy it. And assuming otherwise could be costing you some very valuable clients. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the story of Richard Bennett, a wealthy retired real estate developer who sets out to build his dream woodworking shop. Two companies compete for his business. One tries to sell hi...

A beautiful luxury website. Exclusive membership. Expensive advertising. Sophisticated branding. Vanessa Cole thought she had the perfect formula for attracting wealthy clients. Then she spent nearly $18,000 on advertising, lost a $175,000 travel opportunity, and discovered that almost everything she believed about marketing to the affluent was wrong. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook ,...

How do you know when your marketing strategy needs more time to work—and when you're simply wasting your time and money? I've seen business owners spend years networking with the wrong people, advertising to prospects who can't afford their services, and creating content that attracts followers but very few paying clients. And all the while, they convince themselves they just need to be more patie...

How to Make Affluent Prospects Imagine Being Your Client Most businesses spend far too much time describing what they provide—and not nearly enough time helping prospective clients imagine what it would actually be like to work with them. And when you're selling to affluent people, that can be a costly mistake. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , you'll meet Margaret Whitcomb, a talented...

How do you convince someone to pay you $50,000, $100,000, or even $200,000 when you've never commanded anything close to those prices before? Imagine an artist who wants to sell six-figure paintings but has no history of expensive sales, no important gallery relationships, and very few wealthy connections. Now consider a consultant who wants to charge $50,000 for advice but has never received more...

Artificial intelligence is making it easier than ever to produce polished proposals, sophisticated presentations, marketing campaigns, and business analyses. But if everyone has access to increasingly powerful technology, what will make affluent clients choose you? In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the story of Thomas Ellison, a successful home technology entrepreneur who loses...

Americans often associate luxury with prestige, status, and exclusivity. But what happens when you take that same marketing approach to countries where wealthy people prefer understatement, privacy, and discretion? In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook, I share the story of an American luxury real estate professional whose approach to attracting affluent clients runs into unexpected resistan...

The Secret to Being Comfortable Around Wealthy People Has Nothing to Do With Money Ever walked into a room full of wealthy, successful people and suddenly felt the need to prove you belong? You start talking too much. You mention your accomplishments. You agree with things you don't actually believe. And before you know it, you're acting like someone you barely recognize. In this episode of The Ve...

What if you could bring a dozen affluent prospects and influential people together for an evening they'd genuinely enjoy—without making a single sales pitch? Most professionals trying to attract wealthy clients spend their time attending networking events, joining expensive organizations, and hoping to meet the right people. But there's another approach: Become the person who brings the right peop...

You can't sell to someone who doesn't know you exist. But does that mean you need more followers, more views and a bigger audience? Not necessarily. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the story of Graham Ellison, a craftsman who restores classic wooden yachts. When the referral sources that kept his shop busy for years suddenly disappear, Graham turns to social media—and succeeds...

A retired Fortune 500 executive, a tech founder who just sold a company, a professional athlete and a wealthy widow may have similar net worths—but almost nothing else about the way you market to them is necessarily the same. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I explain why choosing the right affluent niche can make everything from your positioning and advertising to referrals and lead...

Here's something most professionals selling to affluent clients misunderstand: Wealthy people aren't necessarily impressed by what you sell. They're interested in what you can make go away. An exceptional architect, financial advisor, physician, or luxury service provider isn't particularly difficult for someone with money to find. So why should they choose you? In this episode of The Velvet Rope...

Why does someone who could have afforded concierge medicine for years suddenly decide to join a practice now ? That question may be considerably more valuable than simply defining your ideal patient. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the story of David Emmerson, a successful 61-year-old business owner who isn't looking for a new doctor—until one frustrating Tuesday morning cause...

How do you get access to affluent prospects when you don't move in their circles? You may be starting in the wrong place. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , you'll meet Michael Brennan, a successful business owner who spends a year attending networking events, charity dinners and business organizations trying to meet larger, wealthier clients—with very little to show for it. Then one lu...

There's one question many successful professionals have a surprisingly difficult time answering: What problem do you solve? Ask what they do and the answer comes easily. Wealth management. Architecture. Consulting. Interior design. Concierge medicine. But those are services—not problems. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , you'll meet Richard Fallon, a successful advisor who thinks he kn...

You can have the credentials, experience, expertise and results—and still undermine yourself in front of an affluent prospect without realizing you're doing it. Maybe you defend your fee before anyone objects. You offer a less expensive alternative nobody asked for. You over-explain your recommendations. Or you become so eager to land the client that they can sense just how badly you want the busi...

Most people walk into a networking event with the wrong objective: meet as many people as possible. That can leave you with 20 business cards and absolutely nothing else. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the story of Richard Hale, an advisor who discovered that the real skill in working a room isn't introducing yourself to everyone. It's creating a small number of conversations...

What actually makes a service luxurious ? It’s tempting to think luxury means higher prices, beautiful surroundings, premium gifts and expensive finishing touches. But affluent clients may define luxury very differently. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , you’ll meet Jonathan Bell, who manages second and third homes for wealthy families, and Dr. Elena Marlowe, who has created a beautifu...

In 1977, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 in Manhattan—and one of the most famous parts of the club wasn't the dance floor. It was the door. Getting through Studio 54's velvet rope became part of the experience. Money alone didn't guarantee admission, and the people who made it inside felt they'd gained access to something not everyone could simply buy. There's an interesting lesson...

Your website can be beautiful, sophisticated and expensive—and still fail one of the most basic jobs it's supposed to do: Tell the right prospect what you do and whether it's relevant to them. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , you'll meet Vanessa Hart, whose $28,000 website looks terrific but leaves visitors guessing about what her company actually does. The solution isn't another rede...

You can have a website, post regularly on social media, send emails, attend events, ask for referrals—and still not have a marketing system. You simply have a lot of marketing activities. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I explain the difference and why it matters, particularly if you're trying to attract affluent clients. Through the stories of two very different businesses, I'll sho...

Professional athletes. Family offices. Tech founders. Luxury homeowners. Private-equity executives. It's easy to look at an affluent market and think: There's a lot of money there. I should go after it. But the existence of money doesn't necessarily mean there's an opportunity for you. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook , I tell the stories of two professionals who approach niche selectio...