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Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: Every professional service provider or consultant should own this handy marketing guide. Concise and smoothly written, it delivers essential information without beating around the bush or leaving out anything important. Once it is on your shelf, don't let it gather dust. From strategic advice on which marketing method may work for you to concrete help on presentations, fee-setting and client relationships, this is packed with utility. Many professionals neglect marketing because the time spent at it isn't directly "billable." Of course, that's like a farmer neglecting planting, because it isn't harvesting. The book is thorough, if not particularly innovative, and it does get a bit rah-rah at times, but those are minor quibbles. We recommend this practical, complete and essential set of instructions on how to generate clients for your professional service practice.
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Summary: Good read for selling consumer products
Review: For sales that are not to complex this is an outstanding read covering the basics of lead generation and relationship building.
Complex, highly contested sales need to be learned on the front lines.
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Summary: I have done the first couple of parts of a dozen part system
Review: I am the author of the book Futures For Small Speculators and Single Stock Futures For Small Speculators as well as the president of Liverpoolgroup.com. Our focus is in the futures, commodities, and option business. We trade oil, cattle, gold, currency etc. By being a published author I thought it was enough. Mr. Harding forces you to push the envelope and did a little deeper in order to leverage each one of your talents or skills to move to the next level in client acquisition and more importantly retention. He constantly makes the distinction between "good service" and doing a "good job". They are not synonymous and play an important role in helping you when it comes to rain making. This book showed me MANY examples of how to guide and direct new business to the company. I was astonished that I was doing somethings right, but the things that I was doing right were being negated by the actions I was doing wrong. This is a great book and was a joy to read. One reading is not enough. This book must be read three to four times with a highlighter and a notepad- so you can write down the numerous ideas that will occur to you as you read the book. Keep handy as a reference. The only thing I wish is that the book had used a slightly larger type face. It is problematic when you want to take notes.
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Summary: Excellent guide on networking and client lead generation
Review: If you're someone to whom networking comes easily or have extensive experience in attracting new clients, some of this material may not be new to you. However, if you're not that comfortable with finding new clients and you're looking for a system flexible enough to accommodate different approaches, this is an extremely useful book. Harding is obviously an intelligent guy. The book is full of concrete, understated advice that you can actually put into practice---not hyped-up sales talk. He does make one or two points that may be impossible to implement, such as "Specialize in something early in your career." Obviously you can't do this if you're well into your career. But he gives a lot of practical advice anyone can heed, for example, to update your bio after every major project. He gives good advice about how to deal with journalists and get publicity, i.e., become a source. Don't promote yourself, just provide information reporters need to write their stories. Once you become a regular source, your name will be mentioned often enough. (He also has a good section on how to be quotable). The single most trenchant observation is stated early in the book: networking is, first and foremost, about finding ways to help other people. It sounds a bit pollyanna-ish, but it's true, and if you keep this in mind, the whole networking process becomes much less distasteful and "slimy" to those inclined to view it as such. An excellent business book, whether one is an independent consultant or working in a large firm.
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Summary: A system to assure a continuing flow of new clients.
Review: Providers of professional services share a common problem -- that of maintaining a continuing flow of new business opportunities. Our "sales" problem is much different from that of those who provide tangible products. In fact, to some of us, the very concept of "selling" is offensive; yet, new business must come from somewhere. As a provider of strategic marketing services for high-technology companies, I have spent the last 15 years helping my clients better understand their markets and customers' needs and develop effective marketing operations. I have also given much thought about how the concepts I recommend to my clients could be applied to my own business; some are applicipable, but unfortunately, most are not. Over the years, I've looked for ideas about new business generation for professional Rainmakers -- The Manager's Guide to Training Professionals to Attract New Clients by Ford Harding. The book starts with a realistic discussion of the problem we face, then continues to outline an approach to the solution. It does not suggest any particular process, but chronicles what has actually worked for others; it is based on interviews with over 100 highly successful rainmakers. Harding tells how to think about the problem and how to develop a process that will work for you and your firm. He acknowledges that many successful rainmakers have an intuitive gift, but points out that those of us who do not have it, can learn from those who do. I recommend the book to you. Those who are already proficient rainmakers will find ways to polish their technique; those who are struggling rainmakers will find a systematic approach to developing a system that will work for them. CREATING RAINMAKERS By Ford Harding -- Summary of Main Points Most professionals are good at reactive sales, i.e., obtaining an assignment when a client comes to them with a problem. Rainmakers, on the other hand, identify prospects for new business and they turn those contacts into revenue-producing assignments. Successful rainmakers have a system to assure a continuing flow of new contacts which eventually results in new business. There are as many differences as similarities in the specifics of their systems, but all have an "engine" to keep the process working. The most successful systems fit the unique requirements of the rainmaker's market and the characteristics and personalities of the firm. Building a rainmaking system is like investing at compound interest -- success takes time, but eventually it builds on itself. There are four key parts to successful rainmaking systems. Targeting & positioning -- you must know your market and the value you offer. Lead generation -- using thought leadership, relationship networks and value selling. Face-to-face meetings -- all lead generation efforts must lead to this. Performing -- delivering quality service is most important. Professional service firms face one or haystack" problem -- finding a client with a problem you can solve. The "many points of light" problem -- many others also provide the service you offer. The "one dog client" problem -- client already has a provider of service you offer. Some rainmaking techniques fit one problem better than others. Harding describes three types of selling, professional services. Product selling -- works if you can define a "standard service." Need-based selling -- prior contact or a referral is necessary. Value-based selling -- often works when need-based selling won't. Successful rainmakers spend more time generating leads than selling. Most rainmakers initiate calls; business seldom "falls in their lap." They find a way to integrate lead generation with their other activities. Above all, Harding's survey shows, rainmakers are optimistic
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Summary: Rain Making: A Review
Review: Rain Making: A Review I am an applied psychologist and have been plying my trade for the last 26 years, during 23 of which I have been independently employed. The countries in which my clients are located include Europe, Israel and the United States. After having read the book Rain Making, by Ford Harding, I can whole-heartedly recommend it to professional consultants (for example, accountants, management consultants and the like) who market / promote / sell their services. While I do not know to what degree people who sell, but do not sell consulting services, can benefit from this book, I can safely say that Rain Making is an excellent book for those who do sell such services. There are a number of reasons that I recommend Rain Making so highly. One is that the methods, techniques and tips that are presented are done so in a very clear and systematic manner. This makes them not only easy to understand but, not less important, easy to remember. Another reason I found the book so satisfying is that the ideas and recommendations it offers actually work! I have applied a good number of them and can safely say that they have increased both my drive and motivation (an essential ingredient for sales success!) on the one hand and my sales, on the other. Why does Rain Making do such a good job? For one, in addition to presenting concrete and effective recommendations and suggestions, it also presents a sales weltanschauung or world view / ideology which, if adapted, can help make for long-term sales success because it places the client in center-stage, as the factor of prime importance.
In addition, the fact the author has obviously "been there" and actually sold consulting services, enables him to understand my world and the challenges and opportunities of which it is made. I found his identification with my reality to be a solid source of support While I have read many books on marketing and selling (Harvey Mackay's books have been very helpful) this is the first time I have read a book that is tailored to my professional reality. Morris Kaner, Israel
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Summary: Excellent, well written, practical guide
Review: The author has a great style and offers much more that theory.This is a well written pratical guide on how to... read it!
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Summary: A Toolkit For Professionals
Review: There is not that much in print about marketing professional services, and much of what exists is warmed-over nonsense. Not so with this book, which focuses with deadly precision on what today's professional must do to market well and prosper. "Though a buyer of manufactured goods seldom thinks about those who produced them," Harding writes, "one who buys professional services almost always does. Unable to try out or even look at a service before buying it, the buyer does the next best thing by assessing what it would be like to work with the professional who delivers it. This means that, sooner or later, all professionals must market if they want to advance their careers and grow their firms." Harding's book is designed as a self-help guide for professionals who want to stay employed and keep their careers from plateauing. Reviewing time-tested strategies for positioning and visibility, such as writing, speaking, networking, and media exposure, he repeatedly cautions that the professional must take time to do these things as a matter of survival even if time is tight and the firm is not offering much support for these efforts. "It is always better to be doing some marketing than none," Harding states. "Making progress on marketing is as urgent as making progress on a client's project." Every one of the specific topics, such as writing, making presentations, getting publicity, and so on, has been written about in entire books that can obviously devote far more time to those topics. Yet Harding does a remarkable job of condensing savvy ideas into the space available, and keying them specifically to professional services. The book contains numerous guides, checklists, and samples to help get each idea off the ground. If the rest of the book were not already enough of a wake-up call for professionals to expand their focus on marketing, Chapter 17, entitled "Self-Marketing: Experts Make Themselves" should do the trick. Harding made a list of the people he knew well who were most successful in marketing their professional services, and sought to identify the qualities that set them apart. Here's what he found: 1. The stars were universally high producers early in their careers. 2. The stars showed an intense interest in marketing early in their careers. 3. They took great care to credential themselves. 4. All found ways to improve their firms' services. 5. They became specialists. Against this background, Harding invites the reader to complete a self-evaluation that will help identify strengths and gaps along a four-point track of Skills, Experience, Knowledge, and Expertise. Armed with this information, the reader will be able to take steps to fill in gaps and formulate a suitable personal marketing plan. Much of this may not be good news to professionals who feel that the quality of their work and devotion to clients should be its own best marketing. ("You probably did not become a professional in order to market," Harding drily observes.) Yet few can deny that the professional career path is littered with the remains of those who didn't "get" the necessity of marketing. "Many professionals make the transition to marketing slowly," Harding writes, "and others never make it at all, at great cost to their own careers and their firms' bottom lines. The fact is, having professional skills and training just isn't enough to advance in today's world. To succeed you must learn to market and sell." This book is an excellent start down that path.
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Summary: Rainmaking is not a theoretical exercise
Review: This is a well written overview of what you should know to become a Rainmaker or deal with one. Unfortunately, it does not really tell you what to do today. It is strong on explaining the theory, which has great value, but short on practical applications. Since there are so few books that discuss this important area, even experts will find this book useful as an overview, but it is hard to use it as a guide book for practical action.
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Summary: Full of Practical Wisdom
Review: What is a rainmaker? Rainmakers have the ability to gain access to decision makers while they have high concern about confidentiality and are still in the process of formulating their needs around specific problems. This access means knowing key people so well, they feel comfortable confiding in you. One has to be a good sales professional to be an effective Rainmaker. But one need not be a Rainmaker to be an effective sales professional. Sales and Rainmaking are not necessarily the same thing, even though both contribute to the revenue side of the accounting equation. At Stybel Peabody, we value this book so highly we use it as the basic text in our work with professional service providers who seek to develop rainmaking skills. The title of this book, however, is somewhat misleading. Ford Harding has written a first rate "how to" book on attracting new clients via all kinds of sales and marketing techniques. Rainmaking is only one of those ! ! techniques. One of the book's strengths is that Ford Harding doesn't "preach." He talks about his own failures as well as his successes. Harding integrates his own experiences with survey research he has done with practitioners. Finally, his approach is contingency-based. By contingency, we mean that he provides readers with descriptions of different client development techniques available and some frameworks when tech technique is appropriate or inappropriate. We'll be surprised if you don't get at least three good, useful ideas from this book. Laurence J. Stybel and Maryanne Peabody STYBEL PEABODY & ASSOCIATESEND
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