Make A Hobby Of It

To that end, he adds, advisors can position themselves as a resource to fellow hobbyists: getting answers to their questions, connecting them to other enthusiasts and otherwise providing useful information. This might take the form of a seminar to help hobbyists winterize their collections or ascertain the fair market value of potential acquisitions. During the get-together, the advisor might also touch on issues that draw on their insurance and financial expertise, such as how to pass on collectibles to heirs while minimizing gift or estate taxes.

Those advisors with a knack for writing can also produce written material to impart information of interest. A sure-fire way to grab the attention of prospects, says Rufina James, a principal of R. James Enterprises, Rockland, Calif., is to develop a press release or white paper on a topic, piquing the reader’s interest with a title like “The Top 10 Tips” or “Seven Secrets to…”

If the information goes out as an e-mail blast or electronic newsletter, she adds, it should include an e-signature with a tagline plugging the advisor’s expertise. Assuming the insurance or financial professional has a website, an online broadcast can also include a link to a “landing page” on the site where prospects can go to access additional info, such as a free report or blog posts on the topic. To subtly promote the advisor’s practice, the material could also invoke terminology that is unique to the hobby.

“If your message is for gardeners, then you might compare the untimely freezing of rose bushes before they were pruned to unexpected occurrences in people’s lives, such as the death or disability of a loved one” says James. “You want to use analogies and metaphors to connect your understanding of the hobby with your professional services. Sooner or later, those linkages will get people’s attention.”

A more direct way to transition the relationship is simply to arrange a meeting with the fellow hobbyist to introduce oneself professionally. This is an approach that too many advisors are averse to taking, says Weylman, because they don’t want to risk damaging the personal relationship.

“Most advisors have been taught, erroneously, that who they are is what they do,” says Weylman. “In fact, these are two separate things. Once you recognize this distinction, you can rest easy about keeping the relationship intact.”

“One pitch I advocate,” Weylman adds, “goes as follows: ‘Mr. Prospect, now that we’ve spent time together, I’d like the privilege of introducing myself professionally. After we have conversation, we can decide whether we ever need to bring it up again.’ What you’ve done here is to separate who you are from what you do.”

In situations, however, where the advisor and prospect are meeting each other for the first time, then the challenge becomes to establish a personal connection. With that objective in view, observers recommend that advisors fine-tune their fact-finding questionnaires to uncover assets (such as artworks and collectibles) that should be incorporated into an estate plan and that could serve as an ice-breaker in discussions if the assets concern a shared hobby.

Michael Mendelsohn, president of Bridge Art Strategies Ltd., Rye Brook, N.Y., says that advisors can enhance their value to clients by helping to organize, grade and dispose of at least part of their collections. The least valued tier of such acquisitions–usually the first items to be purchased, when the client is less experienced in the art of collecting–can be gifted to a local charity, museum or educational institution.

The benefit: The client secures an income tax deduction. Money that otherwise would have been paid to the government can be used to fund a life insurance policy with which to meet estate planning needs. The argument for this approach is all the more compelling, says Mendelsohn, when the advisor can speak from his or her own experience.

“When the advisor can talk to the client about an emotional asset from the vantage point of one who is also a collector, then the dialogue suddenly rises to another level,” says Mendelsohn. “That personal connection to a shared collection or hobby adds a whole new dimension of the relationship.”