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Jeff Bezos chose books to launch Amazon.com. His reasoning was flaweless.

While we are developing the wealth title, First Generation Wealth, we are completing the book cover. The cover will include a scratchboard image of a picture of the Balentine Packing House that was taken in the early 30’s. At its height, the packing plant was the largest privately owned meat producer in the Southeast, processing beef, lamb, and more than 30,000 hogs annually. By 1962, the business was a mere shadow of itself and sold for $1 million, a fraction of its original worth. Only a few years later, in 1964, the business went bankrupt. This is not uncommon for a first-generation business to thrive only to see it decline and fail in it’s second and third generation.

First Generation Wealth offers first-hand strategies for creating a meaningful and lasting legacy. The image we are using on the cover helps to start to tell the story. Below is the short video on the creation of the scratchboard image my Michael Halbert.

Creativity can be your biggest competitive advantage.  In a connected economy, opportunities  abound everywhere but so are competitors.  Generic solutions may sound good but creating a customized solution to a hidden problem often offers the most value for your client and to you. “We are moving towards a creativity economy.” How can you be more creative?

Neuroscientist @davideagleman on why creativity makes the human species so unique: https://t.co/vqVCIkHxFm #GSInnovators #TalksAtGS pic.twitter.com/XbsvLkmywU

— Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) November 17, 2017

“If you don’t adapt and seize the attention of new potential clients, someone smaller than you will take your place”

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal has broader implications than exploring What to Do About Dead Malls.

“Consumers are looking for places to be—not things to buy—when they leave the house. What’s needed is a radical new approach to sales—one that may not include selling goods in store at all. Smart retailers are repurposing physical stores to do what e-commerce can’t: offer a memorable, meaningful and multisensory experience. ”

People are re-defining what matters most in their lives and it no longer is the things they own.

Appeal to what now matters most….what you can do with your life not what’s parked in the garage or the number in your bank account.

Gary Vanerchuk says it simply… “A great story invokes a reaction”

If it doesn’t invoke a reaction, it’s forgettable.  In a fast paced analog/digital world the best way to grab and hold attention is to wrap it around a story.  It doesn’t have to be long or detailed but it needs to tap into one of earliest human skills of communication… Storytelling .

Think about it… when you really connect with someone  what are you doing?  Are you listing facts, benefits, specs or are you sharing a story?

Richard Branson offers good advice about being to the point. People seek clarity and if you have any chance to grab their attention and get them to act, you need to be direct.

Branson advises… “The best ideas don’t always need to have detailed financial projections and complicated business proposals behind them. Sometimes they come fully formed on the back of a beer mat… If it can’t fit onto the back of an envelope, it’s probably a bad idea. Keep it short, sharp and picture-perfect.”

One of Google’s early investors at Sequoia Capital had another way of saying it… “If an entrepreneur cannot explain his idea in ten words or less, I’m not interested and I’m not investing. Period.”

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Better yet…

Keep it short and simple.

In working with wealth advisors, I have found that the quickest and most effective way to add new clients to a practice is to build a lead-generating process around a story that resonates with your target client.

It’s one reason why a book can be a great tool that can be scaled.

I do have some observations and suggestions that might be worth considering and testing:

1. Everything starts with making a contact, building a relationship, uncovering needs (or fears), offering a solution and securing the client engagement. – Make new contacts!
2. People only need one reason to consider and decide to have you become their financial advisor. Probe to find out what is their biggest challenge or problem.
3. You need to know the things that your firm is great at and to wrap them up around a story – What are your special talents and what are you great at?
4. Creating an ongoing sales process that tracks actions completed is the best way to build ongoing sustainable sales. This includes calls, emails, meetings, proposals, offers, etc. – Track your activities!
5. One of the best way to attract attention is to offer something of value for free. What can you give your potential client to generate good will?

Growing your firm takes some art and more importantly, math. You need to know what you have to offer and the problems your client faces but you also need to generate trackable activities. You only can do this when you start making contacts on a regular basis.

If you don’t adapt and seize the attention of new potential clients (customers), somebody smaller will take your place.

myspace > FaceBook
Taxis > Uber
Blockbuster Video > Netflix
Borders/WaldenBooks > Amazon
Excite/Infoseek/Yahoo! Search  > Google
PanAm/Eastern Airlines > JetBlue

While awake, people are always paying attention to something. Are you where they are contantly looking?