Most rainmakers work large networks.  The size of the networks varies with the profession—executive recruiters who sell a lot of searches in a year need more contacts than do actuaries with their evergreen services—but networks over of 1,000 are common enough. 

With that many contacts, most of the relationships by necessity are . . . well . . . shallow.

Shallow when modifying relationships has distinctly negative connotations.  Yet, we all have relationships that, though not deep, are good and sustaining in their own way.  This is not to deny the importance of deep relationships. Rather, I bring this up, because I sometimes work with professionals who are so focused on deep relationships that they forget the value they can give and receive from ones that will never be deep. 

The characteristics of a good, though not-deep relationship include mutual respect as people and as professionals and commitment to help each other, if in limited ways.  They do not need to include shared interests beyond the narrow field in which the two people network together.

At this level the born-again Christian and the atheist give to each other and get back.  The sports nut and the ballet buff work to make each others’ lives better.  People whose countrymen are at each others’ throats look out for each others’ welfare.

This is not a utopian vision.  It exists in many heavily networked markets.  It is not a formula for world peace, but can make our lives more interesting and rewarding.

Remember one more thing about these less than profound relationships:  Anyone who has been out of work or had a personal crisis learns that it is not always the people you expected to who help you the most.  Sometimes the deep relationships are not as deep as we had thought and some of the shallow ones aren’t so shallow.

I recently had a conversation with John Caddell of Shop Talk, a blog on marketing strategy and management.

Among the things we discussed was the fact that most professional services people are hired for their native intelligence, critical thinking skills, etc., and not for their sales competence. This results in an often painful transition when these folks are asked to start selling.

Listen to the podcast at Shop Talk.

“I find the business development and sales process a mystery. I don’t have a handle on it. I don’t feel like I can control the outcome.”

These are the words of a human resources consultant whom I will call Charlie. A smart and talented man of about 40 with an MBA, he had successfully changed careers and been selected to help turn a successful regional practice into a national one. This marked him as a candidate for rapid advancement at the firm.

He is well aware that advancement along this fast track will hinge on his ability to bring in business and, at his own expense, has taken a well-reputed sales course that is open to the public. He learned useful things there, but clearly something is missing.

Our firm works with many professionals in similar straits. These are full-time deliverers of their firms’ services, who must learn to sell, often at levels equivalent to or higher than is expected of dedicated salespeople in non-professional firms. It is the making or breaking of many careers.

So what’s missing? If Charlie is to gain control of his professional life, he must first identify the factors that will determine his success at business development. Being clear about his goals will allow him to focus his scarce business development hours on the right things. That is why Harding & Company coaches spend so much time on goal clarity at the beginning of an assignment.

For Charlie, as it is for many others, it comes down to:

• Lead Flow: He needs sufficient leads to win one new project at roughly $250,000 each quarter or between twelve and fifteen quality leads a year. I stress quality, because he has more than enough leads. I suspect that he spends time pursuing leads for business he is unlikely to win.In some cases we go through the simple analysis of determining how many leads a client needs, only to discover that their market is too small to provide such a quantity. Whatever your specialty, this kind of calculation can be enlightening.

• Differentiation: Charlie often goes up against competitors with lower quality services than his and who charge half of what he does. He needs to describe his services in a way that makes clear the value received for his higher fee. This is often a challenge. It is particularly so for Charlie, because he does not have a clear idea of the kinds of clients who need his high-cost service. He is a methodological purist. Rightly proud of the superiority of his offering, he believes everyone should use it in spite of its cost. But there are always people who will buy a generic product of lesser quality to save money.

• Targeting: The preceding two steps should help him better define the kinds of clients he is most likely to succeed with, allowing him to target more effectively.

• Sales Skill: He needs to discuss the client’s problem more at a business level than at a technical one and to describe his services with confidence in the value they provide. This is a matter of practice, lots of practice.

This is a lot to learn, but well within the range of the possible. Now that we have a clear picture of what he needs, we can set about helping him regain a sense of control of his professional destiny. The first step in becoming a rainmaker is a clear diagnosis of what you need to learn.

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Order your copy of Ford Harding’s new and revised edition of Rain Making, called ”…an essential guide for anyone responsible for business development in the professional services industry…” – Mark Mactas, Chairman and CEO Towers Perrin