While often you will want to move quickly through profiles and segment files in large groups, that probably won't always be the case. Every once in and while, there may be a special, big-time prospect to whom you want to give individual attention - when that happens you probably want to do a deeper dive into their profile!

However, there's a lot of data to dig through, and you want to make sure you are spending your limited time and resources optimally. Based on our decades of experience and work with thousands of clients, WealthEngine has designed a recommended strategy to help you do just that.



SVC

Segmentation, Validation, and Cultivation (SVC) is Wealth Engine’s recommended strategy for reading a profile. You can think of this as going to the pool:

  • Segmentation

            Looking at the water to decide: does it look appealing?

  • Validation

            Dipping your toe into the water to decide: is it actually appealing?

  • Cultivation

            Jumping into the pool!


Remember this analogy as you read through the more literal guidelines below.



Segmentation

Based on the Top and Summary sections. The Summary is the entry section of the profile. It provides basic demographic and contact information, as well as key wealth and giving scores. 

  • Note: Keep in mind that the Charitable Donations may or may not apply to your person. We don’t have enough information to be sure. Check out our Giving Information Guide to learn more.

Step 1: Find the Key scores.

At this point, you are really focusing on those scores – namely the P2G and Wealth Score (WS) in the top section; and the Wealth Ratings in the Summary.

Step 2: Consider their value.

Based on a quick glance at their scores, what do you think? Are they worth your time and resources? If the answer is no, you should immediately move on to someone else. If the answer is yes, you can proceed to Validation.


 

Validation

We live in a world where data has limitations, so you do want to take a couple minute to quickly verify that your decision in Step 1 wasn’t being skewed by some sort of error. You want to make sure that the person you’re looking at is worth your time before you really start digging around to find details, such as an ask amount. So it’s best practice to do this before you spend time really digging through the profile.


Step 1: Click on Research Details.

This is where you can view the records themselves. They are grouped into broad categories (e.g. Professional), but sometimes we will further break those down to identify the data source from which we’re pulling the information. 

Step 2: Choose data to validate.

There are a few go-to's for this: you may want to check real estate records, business sources, or insider stock. Make sure that the record is listed as being both current and a High QOM.

Medium QOM:

Historical:

If it has either of the above icons, that means the record isn’t factored into the scores. Remember, Validation is all about identifying whether those scores gave you an accurate read of this person’s value. 

  • Note: For more information on the Quality of Match, check out our guide to Building Profiles. 

Step 3: Look for red flags.

Alright, so you’ve chosen a record; this means you now have to check it for errors. Let’s say you are looking at a real estate record:

Name

Does it have your person’s name? Check to see if it’s spelled correctly or if the middle initial (to your knowledge) is off.

Spouse

Does it have them being tied to a spouse you know is not their spouse? Or a former spouse that you know they divorced?

Address

Does the address make sense? Is there anything wonky or confusing?

Market value

Does this number make sense? On rare occasions, we’ve seen records in which an extra “0” was accidentally added when the real estate record was submitted. 


Step 4: Draw your conclusion.

Taking all of that information into account, consider: does this record, in and of itself, justify further time and resources? For example, in the case of a real estate record, you should evaluate whether the Market Value is large enough that you know you should at least be talking to this person. If the answer to these questions is no, move on to another record and repeat the process. If yes, you can proceed to Cultivation. 

As you do this, remember that you aren’t trying to figure out the exact details. Instead, you are quickly determining whether those scores were being so inflated that you mistook them for being promising - when they never actually were.

 


Cultivation

This is the point at which you are doing a deeper dive into the profile. You’ve concluded that this is someone who is truly worth your time and are now looking to see what data is in the profiles and what might be useful to you.

  • Note: if you want to do any outside research for this, perhaps look them up on LinkedIn or do a Google Search, we’ve created clickable icons at the top of the profile that will pull you right there.

Research Details

First, you can further explore the Research Details section. You can either do a quick fly-by overview, or you can spend some serious time digging into the details. Some of our clients spend 5 minutes on Cultivation, others 45 minutes – it is entirely up to you.


Step 1: Check out what’s there.

Once again, the records and data sources are grouped into easily understood categories, so you can head right to the areas of greatest interest. Always remember to check the Quality of Match rating, however, as it will tell you whether this is information in which the system is confident or just something we think you might want to try to verify. 

  • Note: Keep in mind that charitable donations are actually always going to be Medium QOM because they are some of the toughest data to get and are as private as a person’s individual tax filings.

Step 2: Pull in additional information.

With the notable exceptions of Charitable Donations, FEC Contributions, and SSDI Death Index information, Medium QOM won’t initially be pulled into the profile. This means that if there is a business record that the platform thinks looks like it applies to your person, but it doesn’t have enough information to be sure, then that record is not in the profile. However, you do have the ability to pull it in using the Find More feature! After all, if you can confirm its accuracy it might end up being invaluable. 

Sub step 1: Click on Find More, located in the upper right-hand corner.

Sub step 2: A drop-down will show the name of your person and anyone else in their household. Select the person whose records you’re interested in.

Sub step 3: In the pop-up, you can provide additional details on that person. Hit Search.

Sub step 4: Look at the list of other profiles that both match those specifications and seem to have some overlap with your person - do any of them seem interesting? 

  • Note: If we couldn’t be sure that two real estate records both belonged to the same person, we will have built two different profiles.

Sub step 5: Click on a name, and, it will pull you to that profile.

  • Note: In some instances, we’re returning profiles with similar names, rather than exact matches, so that you have the option of checking them out.

Sub step 6: Go to Research Details to examine the records. 

  • Note: You might be able to look at the information in the first profile and, as a human being, make a (reasonable) leap that a tech system can’t. There also might be times when you know something that we don’t.

Sub step 7: If you want to pull this data into the first profile, click back into the                                  previous tab.

Sub step 8: Check the box beside their name and click ADD TO PROFILE

  • Note: Now the data of the first and second profiles are merged together into a new custom profile, just for you, and the scores are recalculated.

Once you’ve started adding data to the profile, you can easily distinguish it from the rest by applying the Manually Added filter in Research Details.


Step 3: Validate data.

As you look at records and conclude you are confident in their accuracy, you can track that by clicking the check mark to the right of each record.

Connections

You can also go into the Connections section, which is sort of like LinkedIn but based on public data! 

Here, you will see a list of the individuals with whom this profile has a definite connection. You will also be able to easily view and filter by key scores as well as by basic information about the source of the link so that you can gauge who is a closer connection or a stronger contact for your person. This will help you make sure that you are fully leveraging your existing relationships as you go about expanding your network.

  • Note: Keep in mind that the relationship will usually have to be a close family tie or through a corporate or nonprofit board for the system to see it.

Step 1: Identify new leads.

One of the most effective ways you can draw in new supporters is by identifying people who are already connected to your most enthusiastic supporters. 

Sub step 1: Open the profile of a close ally, such as a board member. Look at their Connections.

Sub step 2: Use the Net Worth Range and P2G filter to evaluate whether any of the people listed in your board member’s connections look intriguing. 

Sub step 3: Click on the name of the person. This will pull you to their profile!


Step 2: Identify potential warm introductions.

So, let’s say you have someone you think might make a great client or customer. If a long-term supporter of yours knows them, you’ll definitely want to know that before you reach out. After all, you might be able to use that connection to get an introduction!  

Sub step 1: Open the profile of the person you want to cultivate. Look at their Connections. 

Sub step 2: Utilize the Inner Circle filter. If someone shows up it means that individual is not just a Connection of your potential client or customer, they’re also a member of your Inner Circle. 

Sub step 3: Reach out to your Inner Circle member. They should be able to help!

Step 3: Always consider the nature of the relationship.

The fact that there’s a connection between two people doesn’t necessarily mean they are best friends. Three of the indicators are designed to help you get some idea as to the nature of the relationship.

Total Connection

Tells you how many overlaps the system found between this individual and your person. For example, some close partners work together frequently and sit on multiple boards together. 

Relationship

Identifies the type of connection, be it a direct family member, a high-level business, or a nonprofit tie. Different types of relationships are assigned certain point values based on their closeness.

Strength 

Combines the number of overlaps and the Relations point system to give you an overall number predicting the level of closeness between your person and that connection. The higher the number the better.

Step 4: Take action.

Pick up the phone and call that friend or board member of yours. It’s time to get that introduction!

 


Save the profile

Once you’ve finished reading the profile make sure that it has been saved to your My Profiles section so that you can easily find it again. If this is the result of an advanced search or a list that you uploaded for Screening or pulled from Prospecting, it was automatically saved.  

  • Note: You will also have to save the profile before using the Find More function or customizing it in any way.