Rain Making, Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field - Ford Harding.
If you’re in the design and construction industry, or any other professional service for that matter, Rain Making should be required reading. First published in 1994 and a second edition published in 2008, this book identifies the foundational principles to make rain, aka, sell. It methodically identifies and describes all the critical elements that build the big picture of how to sell services.
Harding breaks the book into Marketing Tactics, Building a Network, Sales Tactics, and From Tactics to Strategy, with detailed chapters for each section. While technology is constantly changing, professional services is still (and will always be, I hope) based on relationships. Even if you’re a senior professional, using this as a reminder or refresher is helpful, especially when the going gets tough.
You can’t build relationships by reading a book, but studying the art and science of building rapport and staying on track with building relationships is essential for moving up in our careers. Get the book now, or request it as a holiday gift. Read one chapter per day in January, (there are 28) and you’re on your way to a huge downpour of success and satisfaction.
So What?
It’s easy to get so bogged down in day-to-day tasks that we forget to invest in our career success. I read a lot of business and personal improvement content because I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and strategies to deal with those pesky day-to-day chores. Rain Making is a tried and true book of wisdom, and I regularly review what I highlighted from my first read many years ago. I love the smell, feel, and weight of real books as opposed to electronic or audio formats. (Although stay tuned for a new reading strategy that I’m trying lately.) I make time to skim through the table of contents to see if a solution to a current problem seems to pop out.
So, what keeps you from making time each day to invest
in your professional success and satisfaction?
Busy professionals deserve access to resources that improve their minds and helps them learn new skills. I’m an AEC industry veteran who listens and learns so I can share insights and ideas that help others grow and expand their capabilities.
