Leonard Renier

The government has created a generational problem. Not only do I have to pay for their mistakes, but so will my children and grandchildren. I believe it is time to have a discussion about a generational solution.

With the final breath, it all ended. All the lifelong dreams, the fifty years of work, raising a family, the pain of losses, the memory of joys and happiness-gone. Now all that is left of that life are the memories of that person and the legacy of a lifetime. To those left behind, the memories are theirs to keep, but everything else must be divided into two categories: What they are allowed to keep, and what the government claims belongs to them. What is truly unfortunate is that the government claims must be settled first, and what is left is divided between creditors of the deceased and members of the family.

A hundred years ago, it was not uncommon for farms to be worked and owned by a family. The grandparents were there working and contributing to the farm, along with their middle-aged children and their grandchildren. The family structure was whole. Family pride was evident, and this was passed on generationally. The older members of the family were well aware of the idea of legacy. They worked hard to create a better life for the next generation. The farm, along with the memories, was their legacy.

Today, that element of a family legacy has almost disappeared. Although there are loving memories, the passing of the family “farm,” today known as family wealth, has been mismanaged into non-existence. Interference from the government and an enormous lack of financial knowledge-along with pride and ignorance-rob families from passing tremendous amounts of wealth to the next generation. Along with it goes the lasting family legacy.

When no one pays attention to the everyday details of the farm, it will no longer be a productive entity to pass on and, in many cases, it will become a burden and a debt to the next generation of the family. Today, the idea of viewing the family as a single unit has been ignored by almost everyone; yet, it remains as one of the only solutions for creating lasting family wealth generationally. The passing of the family wealth (the farm) doesn’t occur accidentally. It is planned and well thought-out. Rich people do this often, and their families remain rich. Poorer families, although their lives may prosper, believe in taking it with them when they die. Their legacy is usually a home, some savings, and other (for lack of a better word) stuff. Although those things have value, they pale in comparison to what could have been passed on had the entire family planned the family legacy seriously.

The idea of keeping wealth in the family is opposed vigorously by the government because they have a harder time getting their hands on this money via taxes. Many politicians try to pit the rich against the middle class, all the while the middle class aspires to be rich-pursuing their financial dreams via the lotto and casinos. The difference comes down to this: Some families guarantee their ongoing legacy, while others gamble it away.

The Social Fiber Of The Country
The United States started to lose an important social foundation in the 1960s. Crisis after crisis, from Vietnam to civil rights, the drug culture to presidential assassinations, and the once starry-eyed nation woke up with a reality hangover that would plague it forever. What would suffer the most this historic time would be the family structure. The “what’s in it for me” and the “I want it now” generation blossomed and grew up to train and educate the next generation, flaunting the wisdom of ME and I.

The family social structure, once the cornerstone of ethics and morality, started to crumble, and with it family opportunities also crumbled. The growth of single-parent families left little room for financial success. Government social engineering only created more problems and greater dependence for its so-called “free” benefits. That dependency aided the problem, not the solution. The aftereffects of the loss of the family structure continue to cost the government billions of dollars. Along with the costs are increasing crime rates, suicide rates, divorce rates, and personal debt and bankruptcy rates. All of these have a direct correlation to the loss of the family structure.

With the fall of the family structure, the liberalizing of education took on the role of psychologist in making kids feel okay and being sensitive to their every need. The new educational goal was that no one would fail in school. They would only fail after they were out of school. The ability to apply school knowledge to everyday circumstances is non-existent. Not only is the knowledge missing to grow wealth, but also missing is the family and its ability to grow wealth generationally. In the old days, this would be the equivalent to the grandparents leaving the farm before they taught their kids the farming process. Obviously nothing would grow, which is why, in today’s family, nothing is growing either. More time and energy are spent on teaching you how to spend your money rather than how to save it. You end up unknowingly and unnecessarily giving away your wealth and wealth opportunities.

If tomorrow you discovered an opportunity that, by planning as a family, you could create millions of dollars for your family (or charities), would you take advantage of that opportunity? If you also discovered that the money could be transferred to your family, guaranteed and distributed tax-free, would you do it? I have reason to believe that you were not taught how to do this in school-any school. Unfortunately, traditional financial thinking rarely discusses these opportunities so you could say traditional thinking has become part of the problem.

Creating The Solution
One day I discovered that the rich have three basic rules that are the center point of their financial success:

Rule Number One: In your family, use the least amount of money to create the greatest amount of wealth.

Rule Number Two: Guarantee that the wealth will occur and the legacy will transfer tax-free.

Rule Number Three: Create multiples of wealth immediately, with certainty.

Rich people think like rich people; poor people think like poor people. It is troubling. I ask myself one question: Would someone want to create wealth for their family if they didn’t have to spend one more dime than they were spending right now? If you could realign your assets to increase your wealth, and still retain control of the money, would you do it? The key to all of this is to consider the family, the whole family, as a financial tool.

Controlling The Asset
Financial success is not about where your money is; it’s about how you can use that money to create wealth. This is far different than simply buying a stock and praying that the value of that stock will go up. Big time investors never buy 100 shares of stock to keep. Many big investors buy as many shares of a company stock as needed to get some level of control of the company. So if you have the resources and capital to take control of a company and invest in something like these REIT Aktien (REIT stocks) because you think it’s a great investment, then, by all means, you should do it. That being said, if you want to take a chance on a company, you should buy their stock and hope it goes up. The reality is you might as well go to Las Vegas and gamble, because you have no control in driving the value of that stock higher.

In the old days, the family had total control of the farm. The family could affect the growth and outcome of the farm they owned and controlled. Today, in generating family wealth, dabbling in stocks and mutual funds doesn’t provide the ownership and control that is needed to pass on wealth successfully. The elements that affect these types of legacies are taxes, risk, creditors, and luck. In defense of many who follow this strategy, professional advice has told them this is the only way to create wealth.

Leverage
Unfortunately, following traditional investment plans does not create multiples of wealth immediately. If a family asset is not being used to generate income, then that asset should be used to create family generational wealth. You would want to insure and guarantee that the wealth be transferred to the family tax-free. Most important, you would want to expend the least amount of money to create the most wealth. This is known as leverage.

The Contract
If you were able to invest in an older member of your family and he/she allowed you to do so to create the ultimate family legacy, what investment would be used? Life insurance. It is the perfect solution for family wealth creation. It is a contract the family controls. The cash value and death benefit grow, tax-deferred and tax-free. It is protected from creditors and passes outside of probate. Any number of family members, including the parents, can contribute to the premiums. This creates the greatest family legacy that will pass on to the family, using the least amount of money. All of this is centered on the legacy of love. This will be a very emotional decision and should be viewed with the proper perspective. In the old days, all members of the family would invest all their time and money to increase the wealth of the farm, knowing some day it would be theirs. They didn’t do this out of greed, but out of love for the family.

This article is from Leonard Renier’s book The Family Legacy. This book was revised in 2018 and has sold over 700,000 copies. It is used extensively by industry professionals to promote Generational Planning.

In our industry imagination and passion have been replaced with product illustrations and mandatory compliance product guidelines. Our role as representatives has been compromised, we are either product peddlers for companies or planners for our clients. The question is: are you a tool for the company’s product or is the product a tool for you to use in your planning efforts? In our business we have the desire to do the work we believe in and a marketplace looking for answers and solutions, but we are being trained as managers not leaders. While McDonalds looks for managers, our clients are looking for leadership. Leaders understand that in traditional financial thinking stability is often an illusion and that hope is not a good strategy. In your practice you should be engaging people with information that impacts their everyday financial lives and introduces you as the solution.

The Business Of Learning
Many professionals in the financial services business have the luxury of not knowing what they should know. You see, they cannot be aware of something they are not aware of. Some professionals in this industry have it all wrong. It is about the people, not the company’s product of the month or their ranking in a sales contest. Many times the public can become confused between what is good sound advice and someone’s desire to be recognized by a company for their sales activity. From a distance you can see the dilemma with which the public must deal. In every aspect of their lives, from the media, left and right wing politics, and even some religions, people are being told what to think not how and why to think. This has a paralyzing effect on the average person’s ability to make necessary life decisions. Information and a decision making thought process are required to make such decisions. Knowledge does not become wisdom simply because it is repeated over and over again until it is accepted as “the only truth.” Knowledge can be memorized, but wisdom is the art of applying knowledge to one’s life. Without a process or a guide in your decision making, recognizing the difference between opportunity and a company’s sales goal will be difficult.

Marketing
Having all the great products, selling systems and passion does not guarantee success in your business. Even though we strive for great products, systems and passion, these alone do not consistently introduce us to new people. Marketing is a process that will support your products, become an extension of your selling system and create a passion in your work that will attract more people to you. Marketing is not simply throwing an ad in the paper telling people what you do and how wonderful you are. Your marketing should be systematically supported by materials, concepts, ideas and presentations that highlight conversations you have with people. These materials should be personalized and identify you in a way that separates you from your competition. Perhaps you have used a tshirt press to create shirts on which your logo and motto are printed. Make sure these distinctly represent your business in a way that makes you feel proud. Marketing to a message will allow you to communicate with people at a deeper level, much deeper than marketing the company and its products. You must market yourself first and have the system, tools and training to do it. Unfortunately, in our business, most marketing is done by default, by accident, without any idea of how to multiply the results. Your marketing should not only enhance you, but the process should create a system of referrals and name recognition. Also, your marketing should target the type of client that fits your profile and the type of business you conduct.

Our industry is no different than others. Business will fail if we have no customers. Many times, marketing your business comes up short. Ask yourself this: Does your marketing identify and promote you as a leader in your industry? Does it separate you from your competition? Does it help create passion in your message and solutions? Does it assist you in keeping your message alive and in front of clients with marketing materials? We must come to the conclusion that marketing is something that we want but receives very little of our attention.

Your marketing should be the centerpiece of your practice. It should define who you are and what you stand for. If you are marketing to a message, you will expand your ability to have deeper conversations with clients and potential clients.

Overcoming The Problems We Create
From the very beginning, when we meet or are introduced to someone we have a very short time frame, maybe fifteen or twenty seconds, to capture that person’s attention. Many times in a brief few seconds we create the greatest obstacles for ourselves without even thinking. It’s only human nature to want to impress people and have them yield some amount of respect for who we are and what we do. This can prove to be a challenge because of the perception we assume the public has about our industry. We also feel the need to separate ourselves from our competition. So, many times, in that brief 15 or 20 seconds what comes out of our mouths is a combination of generalizations and caution. The reality is that a trained professional in our industry brings valuable information and knowledge to those they meet. This information and knowledge your client receives does not come from a company or your business card. It comes from you. In the first 15 or 20 seconds of your conversation think of yourself as someone who can dramatically change lives.

Win The Battle Lose The War
As we mentioned before, our industry is well trained from a technical standpoint. The technical skills come from company training, industry training and industry organizations. Over a period of time our technical skills become the center point of our conversations and communication. For some, for the right people at the right time, these discussions will be valuable. But for the vast majority of people, our technical skills are not a source of excitement or something that will grab their attention. In the end, with our technical skills, we may win a battle or two-but armed with only our technical skills we may lose the war.

The reality is that we spend 95 percent of our time honing our technical skills. We spend very little time on developing our marketing and communication skills. The funny thing is that 95 percent of our sales are made because of our communication skills, not because we are technical geniuses.

One important question you should ask yourself: What is it that you can say that will make your client go out in their backyard, lean over the fence and tell their neighbor about you? Is your professional relationship with someone you meet going to be based on rows and rows of numbers, or will the center point of this relationship be structured around you and your skills? Becoming the solution in a client’s life will be driven by your communication skills.

Separating Yourself From The Competition
The easy way of separating yourself from the competition is to have superior products at the best prices. This would give professionals the confidence that no other salesperson would be able to compete with them. How is a client or customer to decide when there are three or four other professionals also claiming product superiority? The customer, fearful of making another mistake, may base their decisions on likeability or the reviews of other customers. In case, you are a seller on Amazon, you should be wary of the reviews that your products receive. Almost 4 in 5 people buy according to product ratings and reviews. Review management service providers (like https://www.sunkenstone.com/services/amazon-review-management/) have the right strategies to revolve bad reviews. Customers have very little knowledge of what product will be best for them but what they are really looking for is someone they can trust. Trust is a relationship game, not a numbers game. Especially in eCommerce, trust mostly relies on reviews. In a relationship, your communication skills will last a lifetime and you will only have to show the numbers once. Meanwhile, the numbers game is constantly inviting your competition to beat your numbers, and sooner or later they will.

Who You Are And What You Stand For
From the very beginning and from the first words out of your mouth you are describing who you are and what you stand for. Everything you say, or don’t say, will have a bearing on how people perceive you. In the beginning you are using your words to sell yourself. If your words lack confidence, then that will be the exact impression that people will be left with. Once you have created that impression it could take a long time to change that first impression into a good one. The best way to repair damage is to not create that damage in the first place. If you put passion and meaning into your words and discussions the central focus will be on you. Before anyone buys a product from you…they buy you.

It is my belief that you are the most important product placed in front of a client. The difference between an appointment and a disappointment is determined by your communication and marketing skills. You are the only product that should be sold 100 percent of the time.