How do you build trust with ultra-wealthy families?
Short answer: Richard described a family that dropped a planned $5 million allocation after one sentence from a CFO. Fit can matter even after due diligence is complete.
At a family office panel moderated by Richard C. Wilson, Sheila, Doug and Suzanne discuss building relationships with families.
Sheila on trust before business
Sheila said families are particular about whom they associate with and want to trust people they let into their world. She called that her biggest takeaway from working with them. (at 15:24)
Doug on relationships and deal access
Doug said family offices see deals that all look attractive. Knowing and trusting someone can help a pitch get through the door. (at 16:46)
Suzanne on listening to families
Suzanne said time in the business and attending forums help open doors. She aims to shorten the sales cycle by listening to what a family wants instead of pushing a different product. (at 20:02)
"Once you get to know each other, you start to like each other, trust each other, then you'll do business."
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Fran Tarkenton: Get in the game. As a third string college quarterback, he put himself into a game and led a scoring drive. You cannot make things better from the sidelines, he says.
- Michael Lee-Chin: Find the person who is responsible. When a problem comes up, he asks who the agent was. He wants a specific person to call, not a department.
- Tony Robbins: Think like an owner. His biggest turning point was moving from operator to owner. An operator tries to supervise everything and cannot scale.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you build trust with ultra-wealthy families?
Richard described a family that dropped a planned $5 million allocation after one sentence from a CFO. Fit can matter even after due diligence is complete.
How did Suzanne help a family find co-investors?
At 20:57, Suzanne said a family that owned an Italian soccer team asked her firm to find co-investors. She treated it as a one-off request and found about 40 families interested in sports franchises.
What question helped Suzanne uncover a manager change?
At 23:18, Suzanne said she asks families whether they have managers on watch. That question surfaced concern about a large-cap manager, and a manager on her firm's platform received the allocation.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.