Andrew Sobel in this practical and enjoyable book shares his secrets and demystifies what it means to be a rainmaker. According to Wikipedia, "In business, a rainmaker is a person who brings in new business and wins accounts almost by magic, since it is often not readily apparent how this new business activity is caused." As we learn in this book, it is certainly not magic. There are no shortcuts or silver bullets.
Clients will give us new business year after year only if they have a sense of loyalty based on a relationship that has been built over years. Building relationships is to take a long term view. In this book, Andrew shares steps on how to deliver on three ingredients of customer loyalty - adding value, building personal trust and going the extra mile.
Paradoxically, a rainmaker does not start off with the ambition of being one, far from it. A potential rainmaker is any one in business whether service professional, sales executive or marketer who is driven to cultivate personal attributes such as empathy, selfless independence, big picture thinking, judgment and other characteristics such as an abundant outlook and a doubting mind. Cultivation of these qualities helps one move from being an expert for hire to a trusted advisor. Why is this so important? Because rainmakers distinguish themselves from the crowd in two distinct ways. The services of an expert for hire can be traded as if they were commodities, so the rainmaker transforms himself to a branded expert or 'uber expert'. Rainmakers may also prefer to play the role of deep generalists, great breadth of knowledge in one or two specialties and breadth of knowledge of the client's industry, organization and environment. The route one would wish to take would depend on one's preferences and strengths and one could even be a bit of both.
Rainmakers do far more than just networking, they focus on building relationship capital - customers, counsellors, catalysts, collaborators and companions who, when present in balance and abundance, form the foundation of professional success. Andrew outlines four phases of building relationship capital - Affiliating or networking, Adding Value, Sustaining and Multiplying. He explains each phase in detail with some great examples and provides a framework for us to review our 'portfolio of relationships' with the same rigor as we would our investments.
The book focuses on rainmaking for the individual as well as the firm. Rainmakers think differently and this enables them to become a part of the client's inner circle. Quite simply, it is this laser focus on helping clients that enables rainmakers to take a broader view of the value that they need to add at every stage of the relationship and successfully navigate the 'minefield' of client expectations.
The chapter on managing during uncertain times is particularly relevant. Andrew demolishes some myths that holds us back from being proactive and outlines the principles that will help reduce client uncertainty, increase our confidence and make us more surefooted as we develop 'all weather' client relationships.
Making Rain is your trusted advisor in your journey to becoming a rainmaker and like all good advisors, making rain is practical, with great stories and more importantly, wise.
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