How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start

DOUG FLETCHER is a speaker, writer, and educator on the topic of business development in professional services and consulting. He is co-author of How Clients Buy and serves on the Board of Directors of The Beacon Group.

• Introduction: Selling a Service Is Different (and Harder) Than Selling a Product 1Part 1: If I’m So Smart, Why Do I Feel So Stupid about Selling?1 Things Rainmakers Do That Most of Us Don’t: The Five Rainmaker Skills Universities Don’t Teach Us and Our Firms Don’t Train Us 72 How Clients Buy Understanding the Client’s Buying Decision Journey 173 Where Clients Come From Understanding the Key Client Pathways 254 Rainmaking for Introverts and People Who Don’t Want to Sell Winning Client Business While Being True to Yourself 35Part 2: The Five Skills We Must Learn If We Want to Become a RainmakerSkill 2: Create Your Personal Brand Identity 435 Decide What You Want to Be Known For and Who You Wish to Serve You Can Be Known for Anything, But You Can’t Be Known for Everything 456 The Power of Focus The Key to Being Remembered 537 Choosing Your Specialty Shrink the Pond Until You’re a Big Fish 618 You Can’t Sell Beyond Your Credibility Zone The Cautionary Tale of EDS 69Skill 2: Demonstrate Your Professional Expertise 759 How Clients Tell Who the Real Experts Are Clients Need Clues That We Are Really Good at What We Do 7710 How to Toot Your Own Horn without Looking Like a Jerk Proven Techniques for Demonstrating Your Expertise 8511 Using LinkedIn to Build Your Credibility It Won’t Make the Cash Register Ring, So What’s It Good For? 95Skill 3: Build Your Professional Ecosystem 10112 The Two Hundred People You Need to Know The Closest Thing to Knowing Something Is Knowing Where to Find It 10313 Does Cold-Calling Work? And What to Do if It Doesn’t Remember What Mom Said: Don’t Talk to Strangers! 10914 Making Friends in a Natural Way How to Get an Introduction without Seeming Pushy 11715 I Can’t See the Forest for the Trees Segmenting Your Ecosystem into Three Distinct Groups 12516 Why Advertising Doesn’t Work for Us Leveraging Your Firm’s Brand Reputation and What to Do When You Don’t Have One 131Skill 4: Develop Trust-Based Relationships 13917 What Is Trust and Where Does It Come From? Do Clients Really Hire People They Like? 14118 Conversation Skills for Introverts (and the Rest of Us, Too) Using Small Talk to Find Common Ground 14919 The Art of Keeping in Touch Finding Opportunities to Be Thoughtful and Helpful 15520 Transparency Is Good, Right? How and When to Be Transparent 163Skill 5: Practice Everyday Success Habits 17121 The Daily Habits of Successful Rainmakers The One Hour Each Day That Will Build Your Career 17322 Making the Rainmaker Skills Stick 66 Days That Will Shape Your Future 17923 Finding Your Rainmaker M.O. Building a Rainmaker System That Works for You 187Part 3: The Rainmaker’s Journey24 Thoughts on Becoming a Rainmaker Stop Trying to Be Wonder Woman or Superman 19525 Finding the Work That You Love And What to Do When You Don’t 20126 A High Road with a Long View Parting Words as You Begin Your Rainmaker Journey 207Appendix A: The Rainmaker Skills Self-TestWhat Are My Rainmaker Strengths and Weaknesses? 213Recommended Reading 217Acknowledgments 219About the Author 221Index 223