Frank Napolitani: The Referral Engine

Frank L. Napolitani is a Director in the Financial Services Group. With nearly 20 years of experience working with an array of financial services organizations, including a fund of hedge funds, family office and prime brokerage firm, Frank provides business consulting services to investment fund managers in hedge funds, private equity, real estate and venture capital.

Frank assists clients during the prelaunch stage by helping them budget their prelaunch and year 1-3 expenses, choose service providers (e.g., legal, fund administration, prime brokerage, outsourced compliance) and handle general infrastructure items such as real estate and IT services. In addition, he helps them develop marketing materials to present to prospective investors. Since 2005, Frank has been involved directly and indirectly with over 100 fund launches; and continues to consult a number of those managers today.

Today’s Subjects:

• How to become a referral engine.
• He gives advice as if he was part of the company and not just an agent.
• How to be an important part of your client’s business.
• How to cultivate good business relationships.
• He gets in front of people.
• Why he doesn’t have to make a cold call anymore?
• Talking with clients, perspective clients, vendors, etc. is the most important part of the job and take up most of his day.
• How to make your company in the front of people’s minds instead of the back.
• How to separate yourself from others.
• How his network helps him edge out his competition.
• The changes financial institutions have had to make since the credit crisis and Bernie Madoff.
• How he talks to everybody because you never know who will become successful.
• How to align yourself more with the client.
• Being responsive is extremely important to good business relationships.
• How to stay mentally sharp.
• How compliments help make connections.
• Using webinars to help your business.
• Handwritten thank you cards go a long way.
• The importance of having mentors and how to be one.