*** Please note – I do not agree with his practices; I was simply hired to write the intro.
This is a practical presentation at master class level of a capital and client-acquisition method. The five strategies used by Bernie Madoff influence and persuade investors. Before you decide this book isn’t for you, and it may not be, understand the strategies used by Madoff are also practiced by ethical businesses and individuals every day. My intent is not to encourage the choices Madoff made – to go down the road which led to lies, theft and dishonesty – rather to acknowledge what did work.
While his money management decisions were suspect from the beginning, we cannot deny the effectiveness of his client acquisition.
I advise some of the largest real estate syndication and funds on these strategies and have been raising private capital since 1999. Many of my clients have used these strategies to successfully raise private capital from affluent investors, so I know they not only work for my clients and me but they will work for you too.
Part One of the book presents the five strategies comprising the method. Part Two illustrates ways to incorporate these strategies into your own business.
The process presented, and the skills involved, have been reverse engineered by observing how Bernie Madoff successful in attracting billions of dollars to his funds, for over two decades, from the wealthy and affluent. You can employ these methods for good or evil and I implore you to use them to better your investors and your business.
Why This Book?
I am answering just one question about Bernie Madoff in this book:
How did he attract, persuade and influence investors?
The strategies herein have been proven to raise millions by my clients and billions by Bernie Madoff. I have distilled these methods in to a practical format which will allow anyone to increase their conversions and reduce friction in the process of raising capital.
Some clients have adopted only a few of these strategies, but still increase their success rate. You can increase your results exponentially by understanding and adopting the whole process; the synergistic results from using the five powerful strategies together far outweighs the mere sum of each one individually.
You may be wondering how this book evolved. In my early twenties, I learned the power of asking the question, “How did they accomplish…?” I would then breakdown the process and reverse engineer the positive results back to the beginning.
When watching the television series, American Greed, many viewers focus on the perpetrator and think about how gullible the victims were. I took the counter-intuitive view and thought – So it’s another ponzi-scheme… but wait, the guy did raise $35MM. How did they raise $35MM from savvy, affluent investors? Then I paid close attention to the strategies and tactics they used to raise the capital.
So, I would closely observe and take notes on the way the perpetrators on American Greed influenced and persuaded investors. Since Madoff went from millions to billions of capital under management, I’m going to show you how he did it and how you can use it in your efforts.
Think counter-intuitively. See what works and what doesn’t for those on American Greed. Reverse engineering what successful people, like Bernie Madoff have done, should be part of your ongoing study, if you plan to raise money on a long-term basis.
I’d like to believe that a ‘process,’ ‘strategies,’ and even ‘persuasion’ are all neutral, just like food. Food is neutral. It can improve your life, save your life, extend … or end your life. It’s how we use it – just like these methods. You’ll find the strategies and techniques are not inherently evil. Influence and persuasion can be used to help you or a friend start exercising, change your diet to whole foods, or further your education. Or they can be used to successfully raise significant funds for a worthy cause.
It’s up to you to apply your values and ethics to these techniques.
I believe what worked for Madoff, in order to attract the huge amounts of money that he raised, comes down to five strategies. This gave him an uncanny ability to influence, persuade and work with investors with great success. It’s his process for attracting and closing investors that should be understood and imitated in your own positive business endeavors.
