1: “Screw them. We could run a better convenience store than these folks!”

Twenty-one-year-old college student Ron Shaich was mad.  He and his friends had been “escorted” out of the Store 24 convenience store directly across from Clark University, which they attended.

The “beefy security guard . . . had taken one look at the trio of scruffy kids lingering over the ice-cream freezer and decided we were intent on … continue reading

1: Advertising legend David Ogilvy was a maverick.

“Unlike the typical, predictable, and egotistical advertising that most agencies produce to promote themselves, David ‘gave’ his genius away,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients.

David didn’t beat his chest and proclaim the greatness of his firm Ogilvy and Mather.

“Instead of writing about himself,” Jeffrey notes, he “gave … continue reading

1: Listen.  Listen.  Listen.

1: “Always Be on ‘High Receive,'” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients.

What do Rainmakers think about?  What is their singular focus?

The customer. 

What is our job as Rainmakers?

To listen to our customer.  We “must accurately hear what they are saying and not saying.  We must be acutely aware of all … continue reading

1: “Customers buy for only two reasons,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients.

“To feel good or to solve a problem,” he notes.

“Going out to dinner, buying scuba equipment, or getting a new puppy fall into the ‘feel good’ category,” Jeffrey observes.

Businesses typically purchase to solve a problem.  And the solution can always be expressed … continue reading

1: “Revenue is the aqua viva—the lifeblood—of the organization.  Without it the organization will die,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients.

What is a Rainmaker?

Simply put, The Rainmaker is a “person who brings revenue into an organization, be it profit or not-for-profit.  That revenue comes from customers and donors.”

2: Why do we call these people … continue reading

1: Rainmakers know that asking questions is one of the most effective sales tools.

Why?  Because “customers love questions,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker.

“Customers love to talk,” Jeffrey observes.  “Customers feel more secure with the salesperson who asks questions, listens, and takes notes.” 

Jeffrey’s recommendation?  “To the concerned customer with a need, there is no such thing as a dumb question.  So, dare to … continue reading

1: They call him Columbo.  

After the television character in the 1970s detective show of the same name, Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker.

Columbo is the top salesperson at an adhesives company.  He has two degrees in engineering and a postgraduate degree in mechanical engineering.

“He knows how things are made,” Jeffrey notes.  “He can take apart anything and put it back together. He knows … continue reading

1: The bailiffs and other court personnel have a nickname for one particular, successful criminal attorney.

They call her the “Furniture Mover.”

“Before each trial,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker, “she visits the courtroom and, depending on her strategy, moves her client’s chair closer to or farther from the jury.  She places tables in the sunlight or the shade. She speaks aloud, checking the … continue reading

1: The prospective customer looks up and says, “We are also interviewing ABC company. They are a good company, and their prices are better than yours.”

What exactly is happening here? 

“Tell me why I should buy from you,” is what the prospect is really saying, writes Jeffrey Fox in How to Become a Rainmaker.

Jeffrey explains: “The customer already knows ABC is a good company. The customer already … continue reading

1: “It was a typical diner,” Jeffrey Fox writes in How to Become a Rainmaker.  “There was a counter, booths, and tables.”

The waiters were primarily high schoolers working for the summer. 

“One customer was upset about something,” Jeffrey writes.  “He was angry with one of the young waitresses. He was loud, rude, and nasty.

“Perhaps she had made an error on the bill, or there was not enough … continue reading