Velvet Rope Playbook

The Velvet Rope Effect: Why Being Selective Can Make Affluent Clients Want You More

In 1977, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 in Manhattan—and one of the most famous parts of the club wasn't the dance floor. It was the door. Getting throu

The Five-Second Website Test

Your website can be beautiful, sophisticated and expensive—and still fail one of the most basic jobs it's supposed to do: Tell the right prospect what you do and whether

The Activity Trap: Turn Random Marketing Into a System That Actually Produces Clients

You can have a website, post regularly on social media, send emails, attend events, ask for referrals—and still not have a marketing system. You simply have a lot of mar

The Riches Aren't Always in the Niches

Professional athletes. Family offices. Tech founders. Luxury homeowners. Private-equity executives. It's easy to look at an affluent market and think: There's a lot of m

The Secret Room: How to Make Selling to Affluent Clients Feel Like an Experience

Podcast DescriptionWhat if selling to affluent clients felt less like a sales presentation—and more like an experience they actually wanted to be part of? In this episod

Proof Before Promises: How to Make Prospects Believe You Know What You’re Doing

Why should an affluent prospect believe you know what you’re doing? It’s not enough to get their attention. It’s not even enough to talk about something they care about.

The Format Trap: Should Your Lead Magnet Be a PDF, Video or Webinar?

Should your lead magnet be a PDF, a video or a webinar? It’s a question I hear all the time. But I think it starts in the wrong place. Because the format of your lead ma

The Waiting Game

Someone tells you they’re interested—but the timing isn’t right. What should you do next? Most businesses make one of two choices: they disappear and hope the prospect e

The Magnet Effect: Stop Chasing Wealthy Clients. Give Them a Reason to Come to You.

What If You Created the Room You Keep Trying to Get Invited Into? Can hosting a dinner for 10 people really produce more affluent business than sponsoring an event atten

How Much Should I Be Spending to Acquire a New Client?

Is spending $10,000 to acquire one new client outrageously expensive—or an absolute bargain? It depends on what that client is actually worth. In this episode of The Ve

How Much of Your Personality Should You Show in Your Marketing?

How much of yourself should prospective clients see before they decide to hire you? Show too little personality and you can look polished, professional—and virtually ind

Do I need a sales page or is my regular website enough?

Where you send a prospect after they become interested in you matters more than most people realize. Sometimes the right destination is your main website, where they can

How Do You Sell an Expensive Service Without Sounding Salesy?

The more expensive your service becomes, the less your prospective clients want to feel like they're being sold. In this episode of The Velvet Rope Playbook, you'll meet

The Podcast I Wanted to Listen To—but Couldn’t Find

You probably don’t need another marketing podcast. Especially if listening to one simply leaves you with 14 more things you’re supposed to be doing. In this slightly di

Marketing Quicksand: How to Get New Clients Without Letting Marketing Take Over Your Life

Marketing has a way of becoming quicksand. You start with a website and a few emails. Then somebody tells you that you need Instagram, LinkedIn, videos, a podcast, a new

How do you get more referrals without constantly asking people for them?

Most professionals would love more referrals. What they don’t particularly enjoy is repeatedly asking their clients, “Do you know anyone you could introduce me to?” In t

How Do You Get Clients Who Have Never Heard of You?

What happens when you've built a successful business largely through referrals and relationships—but now you want to attract clients outside the circle of people who alre

What to Say When a Wealthy Prospect Tells You You're Too Expensive

What should you do when a prospect looks at your proposal and says, “That's too expensive”? The instinct is usually to defend your price—explain your experience, list ev

Why More Leads May Be the Last Thing You Need

What if your marketing is working exactly as intended—more traffic, more inquiries, more sales calls—and it's actually making your business worse? In this episode of The

How to Follow Up Without Becoming a Pain in the Ass

How often should you follow up with a prospective client without becoming annoying? The answer may have less to do with how frequently you follow up and much more to do