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 1

Part 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 7

2 How Clients Buy Understanding the Client's Buying Decision Journey 17

3 Where Clients Come From Understanding the Key Client Pathways 25

4 Rainmaking for Introverts and People Who Don't Want to Sell Winning Client Business While Being True to Yourself 35

Part 2: The Five Skills We Must Learn If We Want to Become a Rainmaker

Skill 2: Create Your Personal Brand Identity 43

5 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 45

6 The Power of Focus The Key to Being Remembered 53

7 Choosing Your Specialty Shrink the Pond Until You're a Big Fish 61

8 You Can't Sell Beyond Your Credibility Zone The Cautionary Tale of EDS 69

Skill 2: Demonstrate Your Professional Expertise 75

9 How Clients Tell Who the Real Experts Are Clients Need Clues That We Are Really Good at What We Do 77

10 How to Toot Your Own Horn without Looking Like a Jerk Proven Techniques for Demonstrating Your Expertise 85

11 Using LinkedIn to Build Your Credibility It Won't Make the Cash Register Ring, So What's It Good For? 95

Skill 3: Build Your Professional Ecosystem 101

12 The Two Hundred People You Need to Know The Closest Thing to Knowing Something Is Knowing Where to Find It 103

13 Does Cold-Calling Work? And What to Do if It Doesn't Remember What Mom Said: Don't Talk to Strangers! 109

14 Making Friends in a Natural Way How to Get an Introduction without Seeming Pushy 117

15 I Can't See the Forest for the Trees Segmenting Your Ecosystem into Three Distinct Groups 125

16 Why Advertising Doesn't Work for Us Leveraging Your Firm's Brand Reputation and What to Do When You Don't Have One 131

Skill 4: Develop Trust-Based Relationships 139

17 What Is Trust and Where Does It Come From? Do Clients Really Hire People They Like? 141

18 Conversation Skills for Introverts (and the Rest of Us, Too) Using Small Talk to Find Common Ground 149

19 The Art of Keeping in Touch Finding Opportunities to Be Thoughtful and Helpful 155

20 Transparency Is Good, Right? How and When to Be Transparent 163

Skill 5: Practice Everyday Success Habits 171

21 The Daily Habits of Successful Rainmakers The One Hour Each Day That Will Build Your Career 173

22 Making the Rainmaker Skills Stick 66 Days That Will Shape Your Future 179

23 Finding Your Rainmaker M.O. Building a Rainmaker System That Works for You 187

Part 3: The Rainmaker's Journey

24 Thoughts on Becoming a Rainmaker Stop Trying to Be Wonder Woman or Superman 195

25 Finding the Work That You Love And What to Do When You Don't 201

26 A High Road with a Long View Parting Words as You Begin Your Rainmaker Journey 207

Appendix A: The Rainmaker Skills Self-Test

What Are My Rainmaker Strengths and Weaknesses? 213

Recommended Reading 217

Acknowledgments 219

About the Author 221

Index 223