A rainmaker, as we define one, brings in leads and converts them into business at such levels that she leaves her colleagues in awe.  Of the two talents, lead generation and lead conversion, the former is much the rarer.  That is, professionals who can sell, once given a lead outnumber those who can generate leads, but can’t convert them into business.

Yet, lead generation gets little attention relative to its importance. Brian Carroll devotes a successful blog to it, B2B Lead Generation Blog, and has written a good book on the subject, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale. A handful of books, like my own, deal with both lead generation and face-to-face selling.  In comparison, there are dozens of good (and not so good) books on how to conduct a sales meeting.

In part, that’s because of the diverse nature of leads in the professions, and, as a result, in the way they are obtained.  A lead, by our definition, is an opportunity to meet face-to-face with a prospective client to talk about a problem that she has that you might be able to solve for a fee. Leads all end up with a professional sitting across a table with a client, but there are many paths to the room.  Which path the professional takes depends on the nature of the clients and the needs he works with and on his personal preference.

For example, there are needs that are secret, like the impending default on a loan, and those that are public, like the need for an auditor.  In the former case, just finding out that a company has a need gives you an advantage, but not in the latter case.  Some needs are ongoing, like need to monitor emissions and discharges; some are frequent, like a fast food chain’s need to negotiate leases; and some are infrequent like the need for a company to pick a location for a new headquarters. 

Some may have a devastating effect, if the need isn’t met effectively, such as the recruitment of a new CEO, while others can result in an ongoing annoyance if resolved poorly, like the retention of a graphic artist to place, word and design signage for a college campus. 

Some, like the outsourcing of a company’s data center operations, evolve and develop over a long time.  With others the formal hiring takes place when the client calls up and, in effect, places an order.  M&A attorneys often hire valuation consultants this way.  The informal sale was made at some previous and usually unspecified time, when the attorney decided to give the valuation firm a try the next time he had a need.

The challenge for the aspiring rainmaker is to identify a process or processes for generating leads and then to work at that process intensely.  In the early years, the challenge is often meeting enough people with the right kinds of needs.  Here are a couple of quotes of young lawyers who did this and succeeded:

“I spent a significant amount of time giving speeches to groups of people I hoped would remember me. I spoke at chambers of commerce, hospital associations and many other groups.  Once one is on the circuit and has topics of interest, you get requests to speak.  I would ask clients if they were members of an association that would like to have me speak.  There were years when I was doing 25 speeches a year and it was very, very fruitful.  It is where I got my early business, and the people I met giving speeches form the corps of my network today.”  (The late Carol Berlin Manzoni, who in addition to being a fine attorney was a lovely person.)

“When I was 32, I started going to every business meeting I could.  I went to Chamber of Commerce Meetings, Institute of Packaging Professionals meetings, Business & Industry Association meetings—you name it and I was there. I wanted to meet everybody.  I did in every meeting and largely at my own expense.  I realized soon that I wouldn’t meet end users at these events, but I could hook people up with each other and build up chits.  I made a point of coming back from every meeting with several business cards.  Those that seemed at all promising I had a breakfast or lunch with. After about a year, I started getting some good cases.” (Attorney Eugene Killian)

Once the machines they had built began to punch out leads, neither of these people had to continue at such a feverish pitch.  Over the years the processes evolve as a rainmaker’s needs change.

The challenge is to identify a process that will work for you. Here are some simple guidelines for doing so:

1. Try what’s worked before. There are no extra points for originality in this game.  If it worked for your boss or the big rainmaker in the firm, see if you can make it work for you.  Ask the person who is already effective how she got started, what false starts she had, what she has changed over time and how long it took before she began to see solid results.  Use what you learn to adapt the technique to your circumstances.

If these people don’t make rain in a way that suits your style, explore what worked before for others in your profession.  What worked before includes what worked for competitors.  It’s amazing what you can learn about a competitor’s techniques, if you focus on finding out.  You can watch them in action at conferences, debrief their former employees and colleagues, and read what they have published.  Ask them and chances are they will tell you more than you expect.  Ask a client who knows you well how other professionals approach him to get his business.
My book, Rain Making-2^nd Edition-Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field, describes many methods for generating leads that have worked for other professionals.

2. Experiment and adapt.  Some trial and error learning is inevitable as you try to master lead generation. You are entitled to have some false starts and make mistakes along the way.  If you think of a way to get close to prospective clients to generate leads that you haven’t seen succeed, try it.  Whatever technique you choose, you will need to adapt it to your time and place and personality.

3. Don’t let up.  A few mistakes may set you back, but giving up is certain failure.  Try to do at least one thing every day, even if it is something small, that will help you get into a conversation with a prospective client.

For more advice like this, please see Ford Hardings’ new book: Rain Making, Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field, 2nd Edition

“Rain Making, in its new edition demonstrates its position as the single most sensible, accessible guide to building a professional practice…”
David Maister, author of Strategy and the Fat Smoker and co-author of The Trusted Advisor (with Charles Green and Robert Galford)
 

This entry was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 8:36 am and is filed under Leads, Rain making. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.