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Life at the High End
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Life at the High End

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‘Through the years,’ wrote Brian Van Bower at the head of his Aqua Culture column in the October 2005 issue of WaterShapes, ‘more than a few watershaping professionals have asked me how to break through and start working with high-end clients.

‘I respond by giving them the disappointing news that there is no magic key here: Serving the high end takes commitment, hard work and a willingness to focus your thinking on a distinct set of fundamentals that must take over and guide your work.’ He continued:

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‘To reach for the high end, you must truly be doing top-flight work. If you’re not, you have to step up your game in every area. . . . [L]et’s assume that you do top-level work and want to pursue the high end with a single-minded focus. How do you find these high-end clients? How do you work with them once they’re on board?’

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‘Usually, it’s not about advertising or marketing in the traditional sense. Yes, slick ads in quality publications geared to the affluent may work, but experience tells me that attracting high-end clients is more about connections and penetrating groups of people who, while they may live in far-flung locations, all know each other.’

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‘[P]eople who enjoy lives of privilege and prestige also enjoy sharing what they know and experience with their peers. They also take pleasure in seeing those peers follow their lead. . . . These people become your advocates and can be extremely forceful in convincing their friends when it comes to those with whom they simply “must” work.’

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‘On the flip side, you’ll find that many of these people are extremely private and tend to be reserved in what they say to others – a habit of the mega-wealthy I’ve known. Even here, however, high-end performance on the job will stand you in good stead because the word about what you’ve done still travels, albeit more slowly.’

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There is a catch here, of course, in that getting high-end clients to push you along to their friends, families and business associates involves landing one of them in the first place. Breaking through in this case is probably best accomplished by getting good press. . . . I’m not talking about the trade press in this case. . . . What you need is exposure through the consumer press, which is a different animal altogether.’

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I’ve known people in our trade who have told me that appearing in print has transformed their businesses. The best way to get to that point is to be systematic and start by making yourself known to local publications – city business magazines, regional home and design publications and even newspapers. Once you’re published in one, it’s much more likely that other will follow suit.’

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‘To be sure, some journalists seem to specialize in making silly inquiries. . . . There’s also the fact that participating in the journalistic process can be intimidating – and more than a few cases in which the way things turn out can breed mistrust. Let me say this clearly: You need to overcome whatever misgivings you might have about journalism if you want to garner the sort of exposure that will lead you to high-end projects.’

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‘This leads to another important point having to do with the way you see and conduct yourself: Much of working in the high-end market boils down to developing a confidence level that enables you to move among these people with comfort and confidence.’

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‘I’ve worked many times with people who occupy stations in life and society far above mine,’ Brian concluded, ‘but it has never mattered because I approach these people as needing something I have to offer. I respect them, of course, but I go into these situations with a confidence that lets them know that when it comes to watershaping, I’m the authority and they must respect me in that capacity.

How do you approach and win high-end clients these days? Has the emergence of the Internet as a marketing tool changed the way you look at this challenge, or is it still a matter of building skills, credibility and self-confidence? Please share your insights on this key topic by commenting below!

Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants, a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is a co-founder of the Genesis 3 Design Group; dedicated to top-of-the-line performance in aquatic design and construction, this organization conducts schools for like-minded pool designers and builders. He can be reached at [email protected].

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