The Art of Selling to the Affluent: How to Attract, Service, and Retain Wealthy Customers and Clients for Life, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10

How to Move Upmarket

Annual household spending by the affluent is nearly six times greater than that of nonaffluent households.

—Factoid, 2013 APD Research

When the notorious bank robber Willy Sutton was asked why he targeted banks, he allegedly replied, “That’s where the money is.” That sentiment should be memorized by every salesperson to the affluent: “I sell to upscale consumers because that’s where the money is.”

Every sales professional wants to collect larger commission checks by acquiring a loyal, affluent clientele. But how does one move upmarket? How does one succeed where so many others have failed or continue to struggle? The answer to that question is literally worth a billion dollars. It’s been estimated that over $1 billion in commissions is left on the table each year by salespeople struggling to move upmarket.

A couple of years ago, a psychologist attended one of our two-day boot camps to learn about the affluent sales process. After the first day’s sessions, she pulled me aside and whispered, “As a clinically trained psychologist, let me tell you the biggest challenge facing these participants in mastering the art of affluent sales: fear.”

She was right. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of being perceived as stupid—the list of fears is endless.

A few years ago, my firm was asked to train a division of an international conglomerate’s sales force on the art of affluent sales. This division sold home and office security systems ...