How I met one of on my best clients on Craiglists

Buy a 200K sports car, list it on Craigslist for 160K with a foot note: *Please no dealer, no shipping to your Algerian cousin, serious buyer only. The only inquiries you’ll get will be from wealthy asian students, well off business owners and doctors with the means to do business with you.

On a serious note (this wasn’t really a joke but I know most advisors won’t do it), I once listed a Porsche 911 I owned for a summer when I was 27. I listed the car on Craigslist and this gentleman called to inquire. I don’t think he knew exactly what he wanted but he was poking to see if I was motivated to sell. I’m always curious to find out what line of work people are in. I genuinely find that intriguing, specially when they have the means to purchase an expensive vehicle. We chatted for a while and touched base a week later to let me know he was going to pass on the 911. Again we talked about cars, business, the economy, life where we live etc. And that was it. Or so I thought. About two months later I drove past one of the franchise location that he owned and I thought gee I wonder what type of car he ended up getting. I phoned him and he’d just bought a pre-owned Corvette, got a great deal and was pretty excited about it. Then I said to him; I don’t think I told you this before but I’ve got a little boutique firm in financial services, we’re pretty niche and we do some creative work for business owners like you. Cliche. Some neat concepts that might mitigate your taxes and increase your networth. We’re all a little greedy and he said oh yeah? Tell me more.. Why don’t you come by my store for coffee and we can talk. Within a year, we wrote multiple six figure annual premium policies and wrote additional business a few years later. He’s truly a fantastic guy and I always enjoy seeing him. All that because I listed a car on Craigslist. Now I’m pretty sure if I had listed a Ford Escape or Corolla (no offence to either brand), somehow I doubt that I would be writing this story. Let me tell you about this fellow who bought a $37/month Term policy 4 years a go.

Take-away here is, as a financial advisor if you’re willing to spend a few bucks to enhance your lifestyle, at the very least you’ll expose yourself to some more prominent circle of influence but if you choose to drive a Honda CRV, you’ll save a few bucks in the short term