above and beyond: how to work with an affluent clientle

I read a story about the Ritz Carlton Hotel recently that has me thinking about what it means to truly court and cater to an affluent clientle in a way that will keep them interested and involved with your product or service.

The Ritz Carlton Hotel has a policy that any employee (and I mean, any employee from the housekeeping staff to the desk clerks) can spend up to $2,000 a day (without prior authorization from management) to solve the problems or needs of any of their clients.

A business man was staying at the Atlanta Ritz Carlton and headed out to Hawaii for a very important meeting and presentation. He realized he had forgotten his laptop in Atlanta. Without his laptop, he had no presentation. He called the hotel and his call was routed to housekeeping who had informed him that they had found his computer.

The man asked them to please send it by Federal Express with an early morning delivery so that he'd have it in time for his presentation.

Early the next morning the man went to the front desk to check on his delivery. When he got there, there was a woman from the housekeeping department of the Ritz Carlton of Atlanta waiting for him. She said, 'This was too important.'

Will this man ever stay anywhere else when he's in Atlanta? Doubt it. Will he tell this story to all of his friends? You bet he will. And his friends will tell their friends who will tell their friends. And the publicity and good will that was created by this one interaction will further ingratiate an already well respected organization in the mind of the clientle they cater to: the affluent.

Going above and beyond doesn't mean you have to break the bank and spend $2,000 every time someone has a problem. . . After all, you're not a major hotel chain with that kind of petty cash laying around. Going above and beyond can mean a simple note or a birthday card.

On a recent one-on-one call with one of my coaching club students (a financial adviser), she told me a story that perfectly illustrates this point. This student had a one year non-compete clause with her former workplace and it was about to expire. Throughout the year, however, she had maintained a connection with former clients by just sending out birthday cards. One day, one of her former clients called and said, "You know, my husband's financial adviser also sent a birthday card, but instead of addressing it to me, it was addressed to my husband, whose birthday isn't for seven more months."

Mistakes happen. But this was totally avoidable and costly for that other financial adviser.

Attention to detail, going above and beyond, simple pleasantries, even a kind word. . . all of these things not only make other people feel compelled to do business with you, but they make the recipient feel good. Funny thing is, they also have the added bonus of making the person giving them feel good.

Article Source: http://www.rightbiz.com

Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of wealthy clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

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