Jeffrey J. Fox: How to become a Rainmaker

A rainmaker is a person who brings revenue into an organization.

Never forget: having customers is more important than the business idea, the product, or the people.

Customer money pays for everyone’s salary, bonus, and office.

“This book is a recipe for how to sell, for how to make it rain, be it drizzle or deluge, sprinkle or storm.” (4)

Rainmaker’s credo:

Cherish customers at all times.
Treat your customers like your best friends
Listen to customers and decipher their needs
Make or give customers what they need.
Show customers the dollarized value they will get.
Teach customers to want what they need.
Make your product the way customers want it.
Get your product to customers when they want it.
Give your customers more than they expect; add a little extra.
Remind customers of the dollarized value they received.
Thank each customer sincerely and often.
Ask to do it again.

Never make a sales call with a prospective customer unless you can answer the question:

“Why should this customer do business with our company, with me?”

The customer must do business with you because you will solve his problem and you will make him feel good.

There must be a business benefit and a personal benefit.

If your product solves a problem then the question should be answered in dollars.

Ex. Selling software to hotel. The reason the customer should do business with you is because your product will generate $2 per room per night by more accurately capture and bill usage of hotel phone lines.

Rainmakers say “you”; they don’t say “I”

You do not talk about yourself; rather, you ask probing, preplanned questions.

Determine how you can help and how your product solves the customer’s concern.

A precall planning checklist should include:

Written sales call objective
Needs-analysis questions to ask
Something to show
Anticipated customer concerns and objections
Points of difference vis-a-vis competitors
Meaningful benefits to customers
Dollarization approach; investment return analysis
Strategies to handle objections and eliminate customer concerns
Closing strategies
Expected surprises

Be flexible. If after sixty seconds into your two-hour painstakingly prepared presentation the customer says she will buy—stop talking, take the order.

Rainmakers talk to customers who are familiar with their product, or who already use the product, or who have a high probability of using the product.

Don’t waste your time trying to convince dairy farmers to buy horseshoes.

Rainmakers sell money.

The plumber who generates the most revenue doesn’t charge $50 for a service call, he sells a clean, dry basement for $100, saving the customer’s thousand dollar carpet.

The pool salesman doesn’t just sell recreation, he sells an increase in home value.

No one wants to hear why you didn’t bring in the business.

The hunter either comes home with the game or he doesn’t. No one cares that “the rain washed away the deer tracks”

Send a 4-5 sentence letter to the customer detailing the dollarized benefit of the product and promising a follow-up call.

Good customers don’t ignore a compelling dollarization. They will take your call.

When you have them on the phone, suggest a meeting,

Then, ask: “Do you have your appointment calendar handy?”

Then ask times. Find one that works for them.

“Ok great, the meeting will take about 20 minutes. See you then.”

First-class mail is down more than 30 per cent since the rise of e-mail.

Business letters are so rare, they stand out.

One business letter has more impact than a thousand emails.

A well-written business letter opens doors, gets appointments, cracks accounts.

On the next page: P.S.: When we meet you will see specific case histories relevant to your company.

Always take the best seat in a restaurant.

If you take a customer or prospect to a meal, take the seat with your back to the wall.

You don’t want the customer’s attention to wander out onto the golf course or the marina or the street.

Your customer has invested some of his precious time to meet with you. It is only polite for you to optimize his time investment, and not let it be squandered by distractions.

Never wear a pen in your shirt pocket.

It could kill the sale (40-41 for story)

Keep your pens in your briefcase.

Rainmakers do nothing that might decrease the odds of making the sale.

Rainmakers welcome customer objections because they know that objections are simply the way customers express their desires.

When the customer says, “the motor is too loud,” he is objecting to the noise of the product.

When the customer says, “I don’t like the forest green,” she is objecting to the color.

When the customer says, “your price is too high,” the customer’s goal is to get the proper value for the money invested.

This also tells the rainmaker that they don’t have enough information to make a positive buying decision.

The rainmaker always turns a customer objection into a mutual customer/rainmaker objective.

Ex. Customer says, “Your delivery time is too long.”

Rainmaker responds, “So our objective is to get you your product when you want it, correct?”

This strategy changes the tone from adversarial to positive. Also, the customer’s yes response is an agreement. Third, you can keep asking questions to perfectly understand the customer’s concern and move to a mutually acceptable solution.

If the sale is not made, Rainmakers always ask, “Is there anything else that concerns you?” Or, “What else may be prohibiting us from moving forward?”

Midway through one project with a customer, the Rainmaker may employ a “mid-job, next-job” memo or recommendation.

Ex. The landscaper, sodding the yard for a client, suggests adding a rock wall to reduce runoff and enhance the property.

Ex.2 The lawyer, submerged in the details of a complicated estate plan, asks her client if her firm can do the client’s upcoming house purchase closing.

Rainmakers treat nonclients as they do existing customers.

They are polite and cordial to everyone. They view everyone as influential; they can become a client, refer a client, or recommend a client.

There are no “little people”. You do not berate the waiter because the kitchen is slow.

The customer says to you, “We are also buying from/considering buying from ABC Company. They are a good company, and their prices are better than yours.”

The customer is actually saying, “Tell me why I should buy from you”

You answer with Killer Sales Question #3: “Yes, that is a good company. Would you like to know our points of difference?”

Your answer, your point of difference, will be forever what the customer thinks about you next to your competitor. You will own that position.

Your point of difference should be an offset, not necessarily overtly better or worse—just different.

The customer needs to see a difference so they can change their mind with ease and without looking bad.

P64-67 interesting “Miles Per Gallon”

Don’t call too many prospects, not allocating enough sales calls to close each sale.

You only have a certain number of available calls in a day, your gas tank.

If your call-to-close ratio is 14:1 (14 calls to get 1 sale), making 130 calls to 10 prospects will make you zero sales. Instead use all your time on only 9 prospects, and you will close 9 accounts.

Calculate the ROI.

Investment in a software will save $1,200 a year in increased efficiency.

Increased efficiency is the benefit. $1,200 is the dollarization of the benefit.

Investment return analysis shows that its costing the customer $100 a month not to buy the software.

Showing the customer what it costs per month or week to go without the solution shortens the sales cycle. (Shows true cost vs price)

When a customer asks for a product demonstration, the Rainmaker responds as follows:

“We would be happy to give you a demonstration. If the demo is successful, is there anything else prohibiting you from going ahead?”

This leads to the customer voicing and unresolved issues or agreement to an action that leads to a close.

Give and get.

If you give a demo, first get an agreement to buy if the demo proves the product works as claimed.
If you give a brochure, get an appointment.
If you give a discount, get more volume.
If you give a free drink, get a next dinner.
If you give a solution, get paid.

Early morning sales calls are good for two reasons:

There are fewer, or limited interruptions
The customer’s agreement to an unusual hour is a big buy signal

Friday afternoon (~after 3) is a wonderful time to see customers too.

The customer is more relaxed, more forthcoming, less harried, and less defensive.
To some customers, deciding to go ahead with your project provides a sense of accomplishment, something off the ‘to-do’ list.

Here’s my card... + benefit.

Ex.1 “Here’s my card. If you ever consider buying or selling real estate, give me a call. You will get special treatment.”

Ex.2 “Here’s my card. If you or your company want to reduce taxes and optimize cash flow, give me a call. You will get our best people.”

Ex.3 “Here is my card. Your elegant boardroom is a wonderful place for our elegant antiques. We would be flattered if you would ask us for a recommendation.”

Killer sales question: “What question should I be asking that I’m not asking?”

“Is there anything I have missed?”

“Have I covered everything”

10 things to do to get business today:

Send a handwritten note.
Clip and send an article of interest.
Talk to a satisfied client and ask who else you might help.
Send a thank you gift to someone who referred you.
Give your business card to someone with influence.
Send a letter to the editor of a magazine your customers read.
Add fifteen people to your mailing list.
Leave a compelling voicemail.
Make an appointment.
Call a client you haven’t talked to in two years.