People with money aren’t paying for information.
They’re paying for confidence.
That idea sits at the center of Ryan Serhant’s conversation with Codie Sanchez on her BigDeal podcast, particularly a focused stretch around the 25-minute mark. In that segment, Serhant lays out a blunt truth about high-end decision-making.
It’s also the same dynamic playing out in Season 2 of Owning Manhattan, where decisions are made under pressure and uncertainty is exposed in real time.
Once you understand why confidence replaces information at the top of the market, the way high-stakes decisions get made starts to look very different.
Why information stops mattering and confidence takes over
Information is not scarce. Access is not scarce. Optionality is not scarce.
What is scarce is clarity.
As Ryan Serhant explained when Sanchez asked how to sell to wealthy clients:
“What wealthy people are paying for is not information or access. It’s confidence. And confidence is currency.”
That line reframes the entire transaction. Wealthy clients can buy reports, advisors, and opinions all day long. A bad deal rarely changes their life in a meaningful way.
What they’re trying to avoid is wasted time, decision regret, and unnecessary complexity.
Confidence reduces that friction. It compresses decisions and replaces endless analysis with forward motion.
Serhant expanded on why that matters so much at this level.
“They want to know that when you tell them to do something or you tell them not to do something that they’re going to believe it.”
Belief in your judgment is the product. Everything else is table stakes.
Time is the asset, and confidence protects it
When confidence is the currency, time becomes the thing being protected.
Serhant was explicit about how wealthy clients think about speed.
“Wealthy people, their number one asset is their time. So they’re going to be moving way faster than you are most of the time.”
That speed is not recklessness. It’s efficiency. Long explanations, excessive hedging, and delayed responses create friction.
Hesitation reads as risk. Clarity reads as competence.
When you communicate decisively, you’re not rushing someone. You’re respecting the asset they value most.
Why pushing kills trust and pulling builds it
One of the most counterintuitive lessons from this segment is that confidence rarely sounds like persuasion. It often sounds like restraint.
Serhant drew a clear line between pushing and confidence.
“The number one thing to do is just to pull. ‘Let’s not do it. I don’t want to do the deal.’ ‘This makes me uncomfortable.’”
Pulling back signals that you’re not dependent on the outcome. It shows your recommendation is based on judgment, not commission.
Saying no at the right moment demonstrates alignment with the client’s interests.
This is where many conversations go wrong. Over-explaining feels like self-justification. Pushing harder feels like insecurity. Confidence shows up as calm certainty and a willingness to walk away.
How confidence turns into loyalty
Confidence doesn’t just close a single deal. It compounds.
When clients believe your judgment, they stop shopping. They stop second-guessing every recommendation. Decisions get easier because the trust is already there.
Serhant described how that plays out over time.
“That confidence is the energy currency that will help that person make decisions with you, and then they will be loyal to you for the rest of your career.”
Loyalty isn’t built through persuasion. It’s built through repeated moments where clarity replaces doubt.
What this means in practice
Confidence is not a personality trait. It’s a set of behaviors you can build.
Here are practical ways to apply what Serhant describes:
- Lead with recommendations, not disclaimers. State what you believe and why, without stacking qualifiers that weaken your position.
- Protect time aggressively. Be concise in meetings and communication. Treat slow responses as a trust leak, not a scheduling issue.
- Practice principled no’s. When something is misaligned, say so clearly and once. Let restraint do the work.
- Share how you think, not just what you sold. Explaining decisions builds confidence before the first conversation.
- Earn trust through aligned relationships. Focus on people who already influence your ideal clients and add clarity to their world first.
Confidence is not bravado. It is clarity under pressure.
When confidence shows up consistently, yes stops being something you chase. It becomes the natural outcome.
