One of the world's most successful advertising campaigns was built around this message. You can employ the same psychology and techniques in your practice – to elevate it to another level.

First, you'll want to know how this ad message was used to change the marketing of bottled spirits, in particular Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey.

In 1943 a young man returned from military service intending to join the family's T.W. Samuels distillery. The family enterprise traced its roots back to the earliest recipe for Kentucky Bourbon whiskey, traditionally made from a mixture of grains – primarily corn, with some rye, wheat, malt, barley and yeast to promote fermentation.

The manufacturing process, the same now as it was then, requires storage in charred oak barrels for four or more years. The result depends on many factors – the grains, the recipe, the sour mash which includes portions previously cooked, the limestone naturally filtered water, the charred oak barrels, the rise and fall of temperatures during storage and the selection of the ideal time to decant the product. There are no artificial ingredients, whatsoever. The longer the whiskey barrels are stored and rotated in ricks, the more expensive it becomes. Every year there are heavy property taxes to be paid, and gradually some of the whiskey evaporates. But the longer it ages, the smoother the taste.

Historically distillers always compromised, making trade-offs of quality versus cost. Young Bill Samuels realized that many persons were seeking the highest quality and price was not a consideration. He set about producing the finest bourbon whiskey without any consideration of price. So he left the T.W. Samuels Distillery and started developing a new recipe, based on locally grown maize (corn) and malted barley coupled with winter wheat, not the harsher rye.

Samuels bought and renovated a small distillery located on Star Hill Farm in the central Kentucky town of Loretto. His family and other Kentucky distillers may have worried about his sanity - or at least about his judgment, because purchasers had always been presumed to be concerned about the price of a drink.

Of course, there were other products that had been successful with an approach based on quality, not price, such as Rolls Royce and Rolex. However, marketing this highest price whiskey was presumed to be flying in the face of tradition - and tradition counts for a lot in the South.

To make his whiskey package unique, his wife Marge designed a new rounded square bottle format that had never been used. Then the top of the bottle was dipped in hot red wax, similar to fine French cognac, as if to seal in the superior flavors. The label bore his unique mark, his suffix as the fourth in line with the T.W. Samuels name, IV. The IV was embossed with a circle, with an "S" and a star for Star Hill Farm – thus being his unique "Maker's Mark."

The name, the bottle, the red wax and the mark were all very unique, as was the superb quality of the deep cherry-colored whiskey – and the higher price. How could this whiskey be sold against the traditional brands of Jim Beam, J.W. Dant, Old Crow, Old Forester and Seagrams? The first bottle of Maker's Mark was dipped, sealed and introduced in 1958 – priced at $7 per bottle, well above the market.

Samuels and the family came up with the slogan that bragged about the price – flaunting the consumer with an assertion of quality!

The first billboard ads appeared in 1965. All they showed was the distinctively shaped bottle of whiskey with the red wax top and the slogan, "It tastes expensive…and is!" What was the implication? A discriminating drinker and host would buy Marker's Mark, assuming, of course he or she could afford the higher price. Prestige would be acquired simply by paying the highest price and serving the best. It was a way of saying "I can afford it," and also implying that the guest was highly valued.

Sales rocketed. The small distillery of Star Hill Farm in Loretto could not make enough to satisfy demand. They had to raise the price. In 1968 they ran the identical ad in magazines. Competitors caught on and produced new or modified brands with improved quality and higher price. So Maker's Mark, to stay the most expensive, further raised their price.

Fifty years later the little distillery in a very small town keeps its high standards and high price – and sells all it can make.

Now, you might be asking yourself, "What has this got to do with financial services?" The answer is, "A lot!" What's more, I can prove that to be true. Having entered financial services in Louisville Kentucky in 1963, I soon drove past the billboards promoting Makers Mark… the distinctive bottle… the red wax, the IV maker's seal and the slogan. And, yes, I enjoyed sips of Maker's Mark when I could afford it.

When I started to charge fees for financial plans in 1968, and was worried that consumers would not pay me for what others claimed to offer for free, I recalled this slogan and I realized, Financial Planning is not price sensitive – it is a matter of quality and perception!

My plans had to look good. They had to have distinctive features. The Maker's Mark bottle might have cost a little bit more than those of other brands – but that wasn't the point – the shape was different than standard round bottles. It implied a higher quality. The red wax didn't seal in the flavors any better than any other bottle top – but looked it like it might. The star "S" IV seal implied that the maker was proud of his product and that he was personally going to offer me the best "sipping whiskey" in the world.

So, I worked on making my financial plans look unique. We found high quality vinyl binders and printed very attractive tabbed dividers. I used distinctive colors of paper and printer ink. I placed a gold seal on the plans – my version of a "maker's mark."
In my initial presentations to prospective clients, I would always say, "Financial Planning isn't price sensitive – it's all about quality. If we do a great job for you, the impact on your future will be many, many thousands of dollars – far above the fee we charge."

We all know that the highest quality products come with some type of guarantee. Either "money back" refund or some guaranteed exchange. Such vendors, whether their product be appliances, clothing or cars, always command a superior price and they sell to the more discriminating customers.

So I told my clients, "We guarantee 100% Plan Satisfaction." Notice I did not say "guaranteed investment results" or "guaranteed return." What we guaranteed was that they would be 100% satisfied with our financial plan – or we would refund their planning fee.

Since this guarantee could be easily misinterpreted later, we developed a Guarantee Certificate. When we got to that portion of the initial presentation, we would pull out the Guarantee Certificate and sign two copies with a flourish. And we'd have the client sign both copies – keeping one.

Naturally we worked very hard to produce accurate and attractive plans. Every plan clearly identified the client's Problems (shortcomings) and the Solutions (recommendations) with an Implementation Checklist (action items).

If a plan wasn't right we re-did it. And a few times we had to postpone the plan delivery interview because we hadn't done all the research or analysis or because we found errors and had to revise the plan.

But, in 35 years we never had to return a fee. We had each client sign the second half of the guarantee – a similar, one-page "Plan Satisfaction" agreement, which reduced our liability for the plan itself, since the client accepted it in writing.

Furthermore, I have never heard of any other financial planner who offers a Plan Guarantee ever being requested to make a refund of the fee.

But, what if a client did request the refund because they considered your plan to be inadequate in some respect? Well, first of all – this isn't a client. If someone isn't very pleased with your plan, they will never buy products from you or place their assets under management with you! Furthermore, if there are any doubts on their part, it would be better to refund the fee and quickly close the relationship.
Did everyone agree to pay the fee I quoted? Of course not! There were a variety of reasons, and I'll list them in the order of likelihood:

Some weren't ready to reveal all of their facts and express their personal fears and dreams. This could have been due to a strong sense of privacy, or reluctance to expose debt levels.

Some truly thought the fee was too high. A few of these people came back later, after visiting with other financial advisors. One said, "Your plan costs $4,000 and the brokerage firm charges $275, but we want it done right!"

A few weren't ready – maybe they had job insecurity or were having some marital or family discord, and they just weren't prepared to express the true reason. They might use the "fee" as the reason for not moving ahead, but it was merely the stated excuse.

A few were seeking "Something for Nothing!" They were what car salesmen call "tire kickers." They liked to talk about planning services and personal finance and wanted "free advice" and wouldn't ever pay for it. Nor would they have had any retention loyalty for product purchases. Good riddance!

Some prospects just don't bond with the financial advisor. It could be the "chemistry" just isn't right. Or they might have some prejudice about such as the advisor's age, education, sex, race, hair color or being from a small town sandwiched in between two large cities.

It doesn't matter why a prospect objects to the planning fee: the rejection just saved the work and the disappointment when they would fail to implement based on our well-considered recommendations. I would guess that about 80-85% of the persons to whom we presented, hired us to produce a plan. And 100% of them followed through on some or all of our recommendations.

For discriminating purchasers of fine Kentucky Bourbon I recommend you try Maker's Mark - available all over the world – at a very high price. Please don't mix it with Coke, soda or fruit – just a few cubes of ice and a splash of water – and sip it gently. As you think of your professional practice – remember to be distinctive, maintain the highest standards, never compromise your integrity, charge the highest price – because the quality of your service, "Tastes expensive… and is."

Edwin P. Morrow, CLU, ChFC, CEP, CFP®, RFC®, is Chairman of Financial Planning Consultants, a firm based in Middletown, Ohio. He is a consultant to financial advisors in the areas of practice management and computerization and the author of seven software programs including the Practice Builder, a Client Relationship Management system for financial advisors. He is also the Chairman and CEO of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants. Ed is the author of Complete Millennium Preparation Guide, the Personal Coaching for Financial Advisors and Computerizing Your Financial Practice. A frequent speaker on practice management and technology, he has addressed such organizations as the FPA, IARFC, MDRT, NAIFA and the SFSP. Readers may contact him at Box 42430, Middletown, OH 45042, phone 513 424-1656, or e-mail edm@financialsoftware.com.