Editor's note: The following commentary is from Caroline Garnham, founder of Family Bhive. While this publication does not necessarily endorse the views of guest columnists, we are grateful for the article and for any chance to prompt readers' feedback. 

How do you get your services and products in front of the rich?

For the successful entrepreneur, sports celebrity or TV presenter, who I’ll call Boss, money is not the key to fun and free time. Money is a means to get done whatever the Boss does not like doing so that he or she can work or play even harder.

First on the list will be employing the “helpers”; a gardener for tending the grounds, nanny for nappy changing, housekeeper for washing, ironing and dusting and personal assistant for administration.

But there is a higher tier of helpers: “advisors”; people who will enable them to work or play better; the family’s tennis coach, fishing ghillie, interior designer, ski instructor, yoga teacher…and where it gets interesting, wealth advisors.

This higher tier is fundamentally important: they filter knowledge, introduce new ideas and products, and help make decisions. These people are also expected to know their clients’ likes and dislikes. For example, if the wealth manager knows that the Boss is worried about emerging markets, he would be stupid to suggest investing in a fund that specialises in emerging markets.

Influential

These advisors are particularly influential and over time, if they continue to give the Boss a good service, he will trust them and use them wherever possible.

If however these advisors fail to provide him with the service or products he wants, they will be removed. It’s well known that employees of Steve Jobs were reluctant to take a lift with their Boss for fear of being fired by the time they got out.

Before I joined Family Bhive full time, I worked as a private client lawyer for over two decades with some of the richest families in the world, and have noticed how often, in times of trouble, the Boss will demand scalps. “Find me someone to fire” is not an unusual request. Precisely who is to be fired and who decides on their replacement is often influenced by the Boss’s spouse, and one or two key advisors, or gatekeepers.

These people serve their Boss with total devotion, 24/7. If that means cancelling holidays, family birthdays and social engagements, that is the price for winning the confidence of, and influence over, the Boss.  

This time last year, I was invited to join a client and his family on board their luxury yacht moored outside Cannes to discuss issues of succession. While there, the Boss was called away on urgent business, leaving me on the boat with his wife and teenage daughter. I spent a pleasurable few days chatting about subjects ranging from fashion to boats, and from taxation to politics. In so doing, I was giving them my recommendations from fashion houses to luxury boats and from tax advisors to my contacts.

Powerful Bosses and their families normally want exclusivity, privacy and service. They do so by surrounding themselves with advisers who not only act as a buffer to the outside world, but who are also well informed. But in so doing they are restricted by their own limited circle of contacts.

Financial advisors are expected to produce new ideas and products to stimulate the interest of their Boss and spouse. They want their wealth increased, protected and used well. They therefore need to be well informed and on top of their game; if not, they will soon be replaced. Advisors should also make the Boss feel good. The tennis trainer who tells the Boss that his serve is crap won’t last long, but if he says “let's work on your serve, it’s getting much better” understands the game. Similarly, news of a badly performing investment should be given (not buried) among reports of success.

Be connected

Always remember the expression, “Be Connected”. Connect Boss, wife or gatekeeper with new products or service providers. Ninety one per cent of our individual members asked for a library of expert opinions, so we designed the website to showcase our corporate clients’ services and products targeted at the ultra high net worth. In addition, 94 per cent of our individual members asked for opportunities to meet other UHNW members at exclusive money-can’t-buy events.

We therefore created a calendar of corporate hospitality events hosted by our corporate clients to which entry is limited to individual members whose wealth has been verified as being in excess of  £5 million (about $8 million) (Amber ), £20 million (Jade) or £100 million (Jet), so they can meet others with similar issues, concerns and opportunities.

But we did not leave it there; the Boss and his family want their advisors to be well informed as well, which is why we invite their wealth advisors to join us and have a calendar of events for them as well, so that they can meet others who when the time is right they can introduce to their Boss or his family.

So how do you get your products and services in front of the rich? You don’t, just make sure you impress their advisors, and the rest will be plain sailing.