I went to Mexico for a vacation on 3/25. On the 24th, I told a used car salesman that it was time for me to by a car. (Names are gonna be mentioned for clarity, not as plugs.) I told him that I was driving Lincoln Continental and that I’d buy another one except they don’t make them any more. So, I was thinking Cadillac, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Chrysler 300, Buick Lucerne. I also told him that people had suggested the Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon, but I thought that would be a tough sell for him. The salesman said enjoy my vacation and he’d see me when I got back.

I returned and sent him this email on Sunday night. “think back ….. and remember what’s wrong that I want to make right. Then call me Monday morning at (508) ______, ask me a few questions to make sure that nothing’s changed and schedule a time for me to come to your lot and buy a car or not buy a car early Monday afternoon.”

He did call me and we met at his lot on Monday afternoon. He walked me around his lot. Showed me a Chrysler 300 that was $15,000 over the budget that he’d gotten from me. He had a Maxima that was at the top end of my budget and he had about thirty cars that I couldn’t fit into. He had a Volvo at another lot an hour away. (Why wasn’t it here?) I left unhappy.

Fast forward a week. A friend of mine referred me to Randy Tucker at Baker Cadillac in Leominster. I called and told him my story. We scheduled an appointment for 2pm on April 10th. He showed me two dozen cars that were in budget, over budget, but they all fit me. At 5:57 I left with my Cadillac Deville. Very happy. My wife is happy.

End of story, not really. Wednesday morning, I’m at an 8 o’clock meeting and you know the topic. Dave asked if I thought he could get a Chrysler 300 for $18,000. I gave Dave Randy’s card and I immediately drove to Leominster to get my sticker. I gave Dave’s card to Randy and told him that he was thinking Chrysler 300 and $18,000. Randy wrote everything down on the back of Dave’s card. I’m sure by now they’ve spoken.

Buyers don’t want sales tricks. They want somebody to fix there problems. When a salesperson (especially a service provider like us) gets a referral, we are obliged to fix the person’s problem. Our mutual friend trusts us to fix the problem. If we can’t, we’re not supposed to waste the “prospect’s ” time. We’re not supposed to try to trick them into buying the wrong thing. Raping a referral is a good way to stop getting referrals.

Rick

OK! Enough about real life. Let’s pretend!

Let’s pretend that you have two people that you like and respect. Let’s pretend one of them is a service provider and the other is a prospect. They agree to meet. They talk about whatever and it appears that they will do some business together. Then something happens and they don’t. Who is responsible? Prospect or service provider? Remember, you like and respect them both. The proverbial “rock and a hard place”.

OK, now pretend that you weren’t there so it’s all he said……she said.

Who is responsible?

Is a prospect supposed to dump their soul just because you ask, or should you learn how to get down to it?

If a prospect doesn’t tell the truth, is the prospect the only culprit or should you uncover the truth?

If an important piece of information is missed during discovery, who is responsible when the deal falls apart?

If prospect agrees to do business and service provider does anything to make prospect uncomfortable, does prospect have to continue?

I suggest that the service provider is 100% responsible for EVERYTHING 100% of the time. Period! They know the most about problems, solutions, competition, pricing, etc. etc. etc. They are responsible to ask ALL the right questions, uncover all the surprises, cover all possibilities.

Impossible? Maybe. But the alternative is not acceptable.

Are there any definite “Do’s” and “Don’t’s” when you’re in “steep growth” mode?

There are many cliches that our mothers taught us. Remember, “Don’t talk to strangers.” and “When I say, ‘No.’, I mean, ‘No.'”? Great advice for a salesperson, don’t you think?

But some of them are appropriate. How about, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” or “When you strike out, you just get up to bat again.”

Famous people give us advice, too! How about JFK? “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Noble? Yes! Applicable to business? Of course!

How about Yogi Berra? Some might fit, like: “You can observe a lot just by watching.” “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” or “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

But, some just make you shake your head, like: “No one goes there anymore – it’s too crowded.” “It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much.”

So, reply with a few of your favorite Do’s or Don’t’s that you think will help those of us who are trying to grow our practices. If you remember who said it, please give them credit. If not, just note that you don’t remember.

I’ll start. How about, “Prospecting is like shaving. If you don’t do it every day, next thing you know….you’re a bum!”?

Incidentally, if you know someone who can contribute, get them to read, subscribe, and comment at www.theRAINMAKERmaker.com.

Rick

Yesterday, a client told me that a big deal they were expecting fell through. This is one of those reasons that I’m so leary about chasing those big clients we wrote about earlier. You invest all kinds of time, get emotionally invested, start spending your profit, and they pull the rug out from under what you thought was a done deal. When you’re a sole practioner you’ve probably just lost a chunk of your life. You have two choices. Either accept the fact that it’s a fact of life that you can’t sell them all, or start a “What about” list. Once you’ve got a complete “What about” list and you use it effectively every time you meet with a prospect, you will never miss again! EVER!

Now that I have your attention, I’ll tell you the problem. Your “What about” list will never be complete. However, I started my list 20 years ago and although it’s probably not complete, yet, it’s pretty extensive and consequently, pretty effective. What is it and how to you create and use it? Let’s do it with examples.

You pitch a client. They smile. Have fun. Appear to be ready. You close. They say, “I need to talk to my (wife, partner, boss, lawyer, accountant, etc.)” and you see your deal go out the window because you didn’t even know that there was a (wife, partner, boss, lawyer, accountant, etc.). “What about #1” = “What about advice when you talk to people like me about stuff like mine? Who do you typically bounce ideas off of?” and ask this what about on every single sales call for the rest of your life.

You pitch a client. They smile. Have fun. Appear to be ready. You close. They say, “Thanks for showing me your stuff. Now I’ve just got to find two other vendors who do what you do so I can get competitive bids.” and you see your deal go out the window because you didn’t even know that there was a bid process. “What about #2” = “What about your internal process? What other solutions are you looking at and who else do you have to look at before you do anything?” and ask this what about on every single sales call for the rest of your life.

You pitch a client. They smile. Have fun. Appear to be ready. You close. They say, “We really didn’t know what to expect money-wise. Now that you’ve told us, we can go to the CFO and tell him what we need.” and you see your deal go out the window because you thought all companies this size had enough money in the bank or a credit line. “What about #3” = “What about money? Have you established a budget? arranged financing? have the cash in the bank? etc. etc. etc. everything about money” and ask this what about on every single sales call for the rest of your life.

There are 1000’s of stalls, lies and objections that a prospect can throw at you when you try to close so there are 1000’s of “What abouts” that you’re gonna need to incorporate in your pitch prior to the close so that when you do close, the prospect has nothing left that you haven’t handled.

Incidentally, if you’re a reader and you haven’t already, check out Dave Kurlan’s newest book Baseline Selling at http://www.baselineselling.com. If you already have a “What about” list, but haven’t been able to use it effectively or if you’re having a problem creating your list, send me an email and I’ll introduce you to the right person at http://www.salesdevelopmentspecialists.com.

Praying for rain in your back yard,

Rick

I was talking with a client today and we were talking about the relationship between big clients, important clients and controlling clients. Let’s look at two examples. In the first case, you’ve got 5 clients and you’re billing $2,000/week in total. Let’s also say that you’ve got one client that you consistently bill $1,200/week. In the second case, you’ve got 5 clients and you’re billing $2,000/week in total, but in this case, each client pays you $400/week. I’m keeping the numbers small because it’s much better to learn our lessons when the risk is small than when it’s life threatening. So, page two. Your biggest client goes away. (Files bankruptcy, changes vendors, whatever….doesn’t matter. You’re out!) In the first case you just lost 60% of your business. You have an emergency. You might be out of business. In the second case, you lose 20% of your business. You’ll need to replace it. You might have to tighten your belt. It won’t be fun, but you’ll probably be able to stay in business. In the first case, your big client is very important to you. He’s keeping you in business. As he goes, so goes your business. He’s absolutely in control. In the first case, if your biggest client says that they need you to cut your pricing by 20%, you can refuse and potentially lose 60% of your business, or you can agree and lose 12%. In the second case you could refuse and potentially lose 20% or agree and lose 4%. I hate doing the numbers, but it’s pretty easy to see that although average clients might play games, you’ll have more control than when the giant throws their weight around.

I’ve heard it suggested that no one client should represent more than 20% of your business. I’ve also heard the more conservative recommendation that no client should be more than 5% of your total business. Whichever figure you believe, the result is the same. You’ll be more secure and in control than if you have a giant client.

So, what do you do when you have the opportunity to work with a giant? Refuse? Take a chance? Post your comments and I’ll give my suggestion later.

One of my clients had scheduled two hours of “building his business” time for 5-7 Tuesday evening. At 10:30 Tuesday morning, he informed me that he wouldn’t be able to build his business because a client called. AHHH! This is the conflict that we face every day. Do we “selfishly” build our business or do we take the opportunity to be billable, service our client and earn our client’s “undying” gratitude?

I was reminded of this story. When my son, Mark, was in college, my wife and I attended a parents’ night. At dinner, one of my son’s fraternity brother’s was talking with my wife and told her that Mark’s #1 priority was to party! He went on to explain that if one of Mark’s friends invited Mark to party and Mark had an exam the next morning, Mark would party, knowing that when he was done partying, he would have to study all night to be ready for the exam because although he loved to party, he knew why he was at college. I can tell you that Mark still loves to party. I can also tell you that I am very proud of how well he did in college and continues to do today. I suggest that he is proof positive that you can keep your clients happy while tending to your business.

So, if it works for Mark, why can’t it work for us. If Mark can recognize that his party friend/clients are only part of his college experience. Why can’t we recognize that one client is only part of our business? Why can’t we figure a way to do it all? Figure out what has to be done and what the cost of the missed opportunity will be. This is what I would have done. My client needs me today. I’m scheduled to work on my business from 5-7 and I can’t do that any other time. I tell my client that I’m booked solid until 7 and ask if they want me to come at 7, or if they want to wait until Friday morning. If they want me at 7, I have a long day and a very appreciative client. If they want me Friday, OK, but they will remember and appreciate that I offered to come at 7.

We don’t have to be at our clients’ beck and call to make them happy. We have to keep our promises. We have to do what we say we’ll do. We don’t have to drop what we’re doing to answer the phone. Drive to their office. Neglect other clients. If we’re like this with 5-6 clients, what will happen when we have 500-600 clients that want us NOW? If we don’t build our business, we won’t stay in business. Then, how much good will we be to our other clients or more importantly, our spouse, children, employees?

As an aside, we cause this “drop what you’re doing” attitude in clients. We as the provider don’t fully explain how we will service our clients. We also don’t fully use our knowledge of the industry to save ourselves time. In this particular case, my client’s client was “out of business” while they were waiting for a part to arrive. Should my client have anticipated the arrival date and penciled in the installation for first thing Wednesday? If it doesn’t arrive, he can move something scheduled for Thursday to Wednesday and do the installation on Thursday. Better planning might have been able to get everything done rather than miss an opportunity to build your business that is lost forever.

OK, so let’s hear from you. What are your priorities? How do you resolve the conflict between being available to clients and taking care of your business?

Rick

The first thing that you should know is that in 2005, I didn’t know what a blogger was and now I am one. In case you are like I was, blog is short for “web log” and the definition that I like is “a shared on-line journal where people can post entries about their personal or professional experiences”.

So, with your permission, we’ll proceed. What is a RainMaker? Dictionary.com has a few definitions. “An employee of a brokerage firm who brings a large amount of wealthy individuals or corporations to the brokerage firm’s client base” or “One who is known for achieving excellent results in a profession or field, such as business or politics” or “a person (as a partner in a law firm) who brings in new business” or “executive who is very successful in bringing in business to his company or firm”. Dictionary.com asserts further that “Rainmakers are usually compensated very well for their efforts (or connections)”. Interestingly, I found no synonyms for RainMaker at Thesaurus.com.

I looked for some explanations as to the differences between a RainMaker and a salesperson and found many, but none that suited my needs. I’ve been both. When I was a salesperson, I wrote the order, handed the order to the person who was going to deliver on my promises, and I got my commission. As a salesperson, I wasn’t necessarily involved in the delivery of the product or service. Somebody else did that. As a professional in a service firm, I had to find clients. I had to use the same skills and techniques that I used as a salesperson to find clients, except that after I found the new client, I didn’t get paid. I then had to do the work, then bill the client, then I got paid. Eventually, I reached the point that I had way more clients than I could service myself, so I found associates who were capable of making my clients happy. Thus, my transition to RainMaker was complete. So, for the purposes of this forum, I submit that a RainMaker is a person who could potentially deliver the service and satisfy the client himself (or herself, but I’m never gonna double gender again), but because of reputation or sales ability, brings more value to the firm by allowing others to do the work so the RainMaker can get back to “making rain”.

I hope that this forum will allow us to share challenges and successes in becoming the RainMaker in our own firm and I hope that you’ll comment, subscribe, and forward this link to every RainMaker and RainMaker “want-to-be” that you know.

Rick

P.S. – I expect that some of my “technical” friends will give me grief about how “un-slick” this blog is. First, it’s not about slick, it’s about “Making Rain”. Second, I don’t know if this is gonna be fun yet. If it’s not, I’m not gonna do it for long. If it is, I’m gonna have one of you make it slick. Deal? Now subscribe, comment and forward, or don’t. You pick!