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Marketing Rules Have Changed—and So Must You

by Michelle DavidsonSeptember 26, 2011

When you look around you, you can’t help but see marketing messages. They are everywhere—websites, TV, radio, email, text messages, vehicles, and even bathroom stalls. We see so many of them that we are tuning them out. The same goes for your prospects and buyers.
On top of that, more buyers distrust companies, says Michael Stelzner, [...]

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Not Your Grandfather’s Sales and Marketing Strategy

by Michelle DavidsonSeptember 22, 2011

B2B professional services sales and marketing are not what they used to be. Where once there was less competition and it was acceptable—even encouraged—to talk only about you and your services, now you must focus on your buyers.
That isn’t breaking news. For some time we’ve been talking and writing about how you need to uncover [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – September 21

by Jonathan CarlsonSeptember 21, 2011

Well, it had to happen sometime. We have a tie.
Congratulations to both M. Sharon Baker (Consulting Firm Attracts Large Clients, Grows Revenue 50% Using Implementation Fee and Guarantee) and Mark Hunter (The Dangers of Discounting Your Price to Create Cash Flow) for winning last week’s RainToday Readers’ Choice Award. Apparently you were [...]

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Think Twice Before Lowering Your Price

by Michelle DavidsonSeptember 15, 2011

We all love a bargain. We love when we can get something of value for less. And reductions in price pique buyers’ interest and can create cash flow for a company. So, you might think lowering your price would be a win-win situation. Not necessarily.
As Mark Hunter points out in his article The Dangers [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – September 14

by Jonathan CarlsonSeptember 14, 2011

Congratulations to Michelle Tillis Lederman for taking home last week’s RainToday Readers’ Choice Award with her podcast How Being Likable Helps You Win Sales. While Michelle basks in the glory of her victory, let’s take a look at this week’s contenders for the prize:
We’ve all thought about it: cutting the prices of our services to [...]

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Can’t Sell Your Services? Do Something About It

by Erica StritchSeptember 13, 2011

Selling is hard. Believe me, I’ve been there.
And it’s even harder if you’re trying to sell consulting services. You’re selling something that’s intangible and hard for the prospect to envision, you often deal with long sales cycles and multiple decision makers, sometimes prospects don’t even know they have a need for services such as yours, [...]

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The One-Two Punch for Sales: Likability + Knowledge

by Michelle DavidsonSeptember 8, 2011

You might dismiss the idea that being likable plays a role in your sales success or even the success of your business. But in fact, it is a key factor in whether people buy from you. For when people like you and your company, they trust you. And when they trust you, they will buy [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – September 7

by Jonathan CarlsonSeptember 7, 2011

Get excited.
It’s time to vote for this week’s RainToday Readers’ Choice Award.
After Andrew Sobel’s narrow victory last week (congrats, Andrew), this week’s field is once again chock-full of awesome advice that will help you improve your business.
I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who just don’t like to do marketing, so here’s some [...]

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A New Way to Sell Your Consulting Services

by Erica StritchSeptember 6, 2011

If you’re a consultant, chances are you’ve realized that you need to excel at selling your services in order to grow your business. It’s also a fair bet that for many of you selling is your least favorite part of the job. It makes you anxious and uncomfortable, and it’s not why you got into [...]

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Business Development Dos and Don’ts

by Michelle DavidsonSeptember 1, 2011

Every prospect is different. Every client is different. Heck, every service professional is different. So, every business development or sales conversation you have and every relationship you develop will also be different.
There are a few things, however, that stand true when developing new business for your firm no matter whom you work with—or want to [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – August 31

by Jonathan CarlsonAugust 31, 2011

You’re looking to grow your business, and RainToday is here to help. Every week we bring you a brand new roundup of articles, interviews, and case studies from the industry’s top experts that provide the advice, tools, and guidance you need to find success.
And every week, we ask you to tell us which piece of [...]

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“I’m not interested.” Overcoming Common Cold Call Objections

by Mike Schultz and John DoerrAugust 30, 2011

“I’m not interested.”
For many consultants who are making cold calls to sell their services, those words are more than enough to justify hanging up the phone and moving on to the next prospect.  After all, you can’t make a sale to someone who’s “not interested,” right?
But what if we told you that “I’m not interested” [...]

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Forget Everything You Know About Sales

by Mike Schultz and John DoerrAugust 29, 2011

“I didn’t become a consultant so I could be a salesperson.”
“My clients won’t respect me if I try to sell more to them.”
“I wasn’t trained to sell. I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m afraid I’ll look foolish.”
We hear this from consultants all the time.
Chances are you didn’t enter consulting so you could [...]

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Why Did You Lose the Sale?

by Michelle DavidsonAugust 25, 2011

Whenever you fail at something, it’s tempting to walk away—to put it as far behind you as possible and try never to think about it. Whether it’s a mistake on a project, the mishandling of a customer transaction, errors in an article you published (a recent failure of mine), or even a personal relationship, we’d [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – August 24

by Jonathan CarlsonAugust 24, 2011

Congratulations to Charles H. Green for winning last week’s Readers’ Choice Award with his article, How to Rise above Sales’ Low Trust Reputation. It was a race that went down to the wire but, in the end Charles emerged victorious.
This week, our contributors have given us content ranging from sticker shock to sales autopsies. To [...]

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Break the Blockade Strangling Your Revenue Stream

by Michelle DavidsonAugust 18, 2011

There’s a difference between working hard and working smart. You could do hundreds of little things to market your services, generate leads, and meet with prospects, and while you look incredibly busy—and probably feel exhausted at the end of the day—you don’t make any real headway. At the end of the day, week, month, or [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – August 17

by Jonathan CarlsonAugust 17, 2011

It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for another battle for the coveted RainToday Readers’ Choice Award. As always, our contributors have gone above and beyond to bring you great content, so I’m excited to see how the voting turns out.
Here’s the rundown: Janet W. Christy sees six problems with your small business that are [...]

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4 Powerful Ways to Influence Buying Decisions

by Michelle DavidsonAugust 15, 2011

When you think about a person influencing prospects’ buying decisions, an image of a sleazy salesperson might come to mind. In fact, sales has a less-than-desirable reputation because people perceive sales professionals as manipulators who use coercion to get them to buy something they don’t need, according to Charles H. Green.
There’s a difference, however, between [...]

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3 Factors that Contribute to Sales Success

by Michelle DavidsonAugust 11, 2011

Think about it. What’s the last thing you want when you’re looking to buy anything—financial services, software, web hosting services, a car, a refrigerator? I say it’s a pushy salesperson who’s interested only in getting a commission check. It’s someone who will not leave you alone until you agree to the sale or storm off [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week – August 10

by Jonathan CarlsonAugust 10, 2011

Congrats to Eric Rudolf for taking home this past week’s RainToday Readers’ Choice Award! His article, Your Marketing Communication Lacks Credibility. Here’s Why, brought in more votes than the rest of the articles combined. Nice work!
This week we’re throwing out a lineup that’s sure to generate some great competition. To lead things off, RainToday’s own [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week-August 3

by Jonathan CarlsonAugust 3, 2011

Thanks to everyone who voted last week for RainToday’s Readers’ Choice Award! We had a massive turnout and Carl Wideberg’s Ethical Selling = Effective Selling came out on top. Great stuff!
This week’s roundup focuses largely on overcoming obstacles and avoiding mistakes that might seriously hurt your sales efforts. Michael W. McLaughlin is here to describe [...]

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Why You Need to Appeal to Buyers’ Emotions

by Michelle DavidsonJuly 28, 2011

Buying things—anything—is an emotional process. We make decisions with our hearts. And how we feel about a product or service, as well as the salesperson, strongly influences us.
Successful businesses and salespeople understand that. They know they must develop trust with their buyers and build relationships with them. They also know that what buyers are trying [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week-July 27

by Jonathan CarlsonJuly 27, 2011

Well, it was anything but a blowout in the battle for last week’s RainToday Readers’ Choice Award, as Mary Flaherty’s case study about EPIC Translations fought off stiff competition from Landy Chase and Jill Konrath to seize a rousing victory.
This week should be another tightly contested affair, featuring outstanding content from more of the industry’s [...]

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Keep Customers from Slipping Through Your Fingers

by Michelle DavidsonJuly 21, 2011

How many of you have taken to the social networks when you’ve been unhappy with a company’s service? Posted on their Facebook wall when you couldn’t get someone to respond to you? Tweeted your unhappiness? Or posted comments on Yelp? I suspect a lot of you have. And if you’re doing it, you know your [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week-July 20

by Jonathan CarlsonJuly 20, 2011

It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s another chance for you to vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week.  Last week’s poll saw Eric Rudolf’s article, 9 Non-Technical Ways to Increase Website Traffic, pull away from the rest of the competition for a commanding victory.  Will this week be another blowout, or will we have [...]

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Do Buyers Trust You?

by Michelle DavidsonJuly 14, 2011

“Can I trust you?”
That’s my first thought whenever I begin researching service providers. Whether it’s a lawyer, accountant, vet, or hair colorist, I need to know that I can trust them. Do they know what they’re doing? Will they have my back? Will they make me feel like a valued customer?
I’m not the only one [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week-July 13

by Jonathan CarlsonJuly 13, 2011

Thanks to all who voted for RainToday’s Best Content last week! It was a pretty stiff competition, but Scott Ginsberg’s article, Are You Approachable? Try Doing This to Draw Clients to You, eventually won out. Congratulations, Scott!
We have another stellar lineup for you this week, with a little bit of something for everyone:
Ever wondered if [...]

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3 Ways to Turn Referrals into Clients

by Michelle DavidsonJuly 12, 2011

Most service professionals would love it if people would simply call them up and say they’d like to buy their services. Considering the chances of that happening are slim to none, the next best option is to get referrals from clients.
Once you’ve established your value and the quality of your work—and your client feels comfortable [...]

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5 Ways to Grow Your Business

by Michelle DavidsonJuly 7, 2011

Have you ever heard of a company that didn’t want to grow its business? Have you ever heard a CEO or partner say, “We’re making too much money; we need to pull back.” I didn’t think so.
All organizations—even those in the envious position of having a huge amount of work—want to generate more revenue and [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week-July 6

by Jonathan CarlsonJuly 6, 2011

It’s time to vote for this week’s RainToday Readers’ Choice Award, and we’ve got a pretty stacked field for you to choose from.  From a ridiculous way to get referrals to ensuring that you get paid to share your expertise at speaking engagements, our experts went above and beyond to bring you the best content [...]

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Preventing ‘Wired and Dangerous’ Customers from Damaging Your Business

by Michelle DavidsonJune 30, 2011

It’s a “wired and dangerous” world, especially now that social media use is in full gear.
You have adults doing inappropriate things via Twitter, ruining their professional and personal lives. You have teens bullying other teens via text messages and Facebook, pushing them into depression and sometimes suicide. And you have businesses that, when they don’t [...]

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Vote for RainToday’s Best Content of the Week—June 29

by Michelle DavidsonJune 29, 2011

Each week RainToday publishes several items to help you sell and market your services. We give you tips, expert opinions, podcasts, and case studies—using our editorial guidelines and discretion. Now we’d like to hear from you.
What RainToday content is most helpful to you? Which item from the week’s Rainmaker Report enewsletter offers the best advice [...]

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Marketing Is Not an Event or the Idea of the Week

by Michelle DavidsonJune 27, 2011

Plenty of firms employ a multitude of marketing tactics to generate leads. They run campaigns around certain events or the launch of new services, but rarely do firms have a marketing strategy to guide the growth of their business.
That’s because they don’t understand what marketing actually is, says  consultant John Jantsch, author of the bestselling [...]

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Kick These Sales and Marketing Practices to the Curb

by Michelle DavidsonJune 23, 2011

It’s time for a change. Sales and marketing practices of yore no longer pack the punch they once did, especially for professional services firms. And I’m sure you’re seeing that in your business.
Many companies firmly believe in the ABCs of sales—Always Be Closing. They jump on every Request for Proposal (RFP) with the intense hope [...]

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Do You Make These 10 Lead Generation Mistakes?

by Mike Schultz and John DoerrJune 16, 2011

Leads, leads, leads. Once the referrals and the circle of family and friends aren’t enough to keep your firm growing, it’s all about the leads. Yet, when it comes to generating leads, consulting firms get it all wrong in 10 very common ways.
Top 10 Lead Generation Mistakes
Avoid these common lead generation mistakes and you’ll start [...]

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Develop a Following and Grow Your Business

by Michelle DavidsonJune 16, 2011

You’ve seen people who have thousands of Twitter followers. Their company Facebook pages have hundreds if not thousands of “Likes.” Their blog posts get a multitude of comments. And you just know that their email list has thousands of names. They have a league of loyal followers who seem to wait with baited breath for [...]

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6 Keys to Lead Generation Success

by Mike Schultz and John DoerrJune 14, 2011

Last week we were teaching a client of ours and 100 or so of the folks on their consulting team about prospecting.
It was really quiet. And this group isn’t usually so quiet.
It finally livened up when one guy—a very experienced consultant and leader at the firm— said:
“It ain’t you guys. It’s us. Speaking for myself, [...]

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‘Cage’ Your Marketing Messages—and Throw Away the Key

by Michelle DavidsonJune 9, 2011

How do you feel when you receive an email that’s an in-your-face marketing pitch? Or, what about when you click on an intriguing headline in Twitter only to find the so-called article is an attempt to get you to buy something or sign up for something?
If you’re like me, you probably think, “Ugh! Don’t bother [...]

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Why Buyers Choose You

by Michelle DavidsonJune 2, 2011

When a client decides to buy your services, what is it that gets them to make that final move? We’d all like to believe that there’s one secret or magic bullet that will have buyers knocking down our doors. But in actuality, it’s a combination of several things that convince them to choose you.
It starts [...]

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There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Buyer Type

by Michelle DavidsonMay 31, 2011

In all your dealings with clients and buyers, I’m sure you’ve come across some who seemed more difficult than others. They might have wanted a lot of data from you before making a decision. They might have questioned everything you said. They might have taken “eternity” before making a decision. And you might have privately [...]

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Win New Clients—and Keep Them from Leaving

by Michelle DavidsonMay 26, 2011

You know you provide value with your services. But do your prospects and clients understand what that value is? Do you effectively communicate that value?
If you’re struggling to get meetings with prospects and win new clients, chances are you’re failing in that area. What you’re saying does not resonate with them, pique their interest, or [...]

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4 Things that Can Save Your Business

by Michelle DavidsonMay 19, 2011

The economic climate seems to be improving, but many businesses continue to fight for every client, every dollar. Increased competition for hesitant buyers combined with increased operational expenses can worry any firm. But there are things you can do to make client acquisition easier, as well as keep expenses from getting out of control. Here’s [...]

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Stop Boring Your Buyers

by Michelle DavidsonMay 12, 2011

When you’re out on the web checking out blog posts, articles, white papers, podcasts, and webinars, do you get bored? I know I do. Save for a few of my favorite writers, presenters, and sources, I find so many people say the same things—provide the same advice—and don’t offer original viewpoints.
Maybe I read more than [...]

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Get Sales Training and Help Japanese Relief Fund

by Michelle DavidsonMay 9, 2011

Most service professionals do what they do because they want to help people. They have discovered a need and feel they have the skills to make a difference, solve problems, and improve people’s lives.
Yes, making money is important, not to mention necessary, but it isn’t what drives them. They don’t do everything and anything just [...]

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Does Prospecting Make You Nervous?

by Michelle DavidsonMay 5, 2011

For most people, prospecting for new clients can be challenging—not to mention intimidating. While I’m not involved in sales for RainToday.com, I face a similar challenge when it comes to finding people to interview on our weekly podcast show. I need to make the calls and send the emails to people—highly regarded and influential [...]

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Don’t Make These Business Development Mistakes

by Michelle DavidsonMay 3, 2011

Whether you’ve just started your own firm or you’ve been asked to start bringing in new business, business development can be a daunting endeavor that puts you through your paces. You can find yourself wondering, “How do I even start?” Or if you’ve tried and failed, you could be asking, “What did I do wrong?”
According [...]

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Sales and Marketing Success Starts with a Plan

by Michelle DavidsonApril 28, 2011

Want to play with the big kids—the top sales and marketing professionals, the rainmakers? Then you had better have goals and action plans. Because without them, you have no direction and can end up meandering around so that by the end of the week or month you won’t have accomplished anything.
This is particularly necessary when [...]

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B2B Response Databases Maturing, But Marketers Must Remain Cautious

by Michelle DavidsonApril 26, 2011

B2B marketers often rely on response databases as a prospecting resource. Whether that data is accurate and reliable is sometimes a concern. You could purchase a list only to find that a good number of the names are outdated or filled with bogus information.
But new research from Ruth P. Stevens and Bernice Grossman—B-to-B Response Databases: [...]

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Thank You for Helping Rainmaking Conversations Become an Amazon Bestseller

by Mike Schultz and John DoerrApril 22, 2011

Earlier this week we announced the launch of our new book Rainmaking Conversations, and we’ve been absolutely thrilled with the response so far.  The book has reached the #1 bestseller spot on Amazon in a number of categories, including:
#1 in all Business books

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Don’t Get Lost in the Sales Jungle

by Michelle DavidsonApril 21, 2011

“It’s a jungle out there,” sings Randy Newman in the theme song for Monk. If you’re trying to track down elusive clients—like Mr. Monk tracks down criminals—I’m sure you’re inclined to agree. It can be challenging indeed to find your ideal clients and not only get them to talk with you but to also buy [...]

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