In an earlier post (Seeing Events Through a Rainmaker’s Eyes, Part 1) I described how rainmakers tend to see things differently from the rest of us. In that post I provided examples of two things that we might see as negative that a rainmaker is likely to see more positively. They also tend to see as positive things that we hardly note at all. Here are three examples of that:

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An extra person from a client organization turns up for a meeting about our work.

• How we might see it: A need for an extra set of the documents we provided
• How rainmakers see it: Another person in the client organization for me to know and a potential future client, herself

A client calls, asking for a small amount of additional information.

• How we might see it: A need to provide a small additional service within the scope of our work or another to-do list item
• How rainmakers see it: A possible reason to go see the client and for a conversation that can cover other things I want to hear about, too

A break is called at a meeting attended by many members of the client organization.

• How we might see it: A chance to check email and voicemail
• How rainmakers see it: A chance to meet and advance relationships

As before, it is not that the rainmakers are right and the rest of us are wrong. All of the interpretations listed are reasonable. But rainmakers see opportunities for small advances in developing relationships that may lead to more business. By taking advantage of many such small opportunities, they sometimes get an assignment. We can, too. If we work at it, we can teach ourselves to see these opportunities, too.

(This post is another in our series of Rainmaking Problems. We invite your comments on this problem and would also welcome any problems you would like to submit to get comments from other readers.)

Over the past twenty years a handful of companies have prospered by running what I call lead junkets. A class of corporate manager; human resources managers, facilities managers, financial managers or some other group; are invited on an expenses-paid trip to a resort or on a cruise ship for an event with some educational content. In return they agree to participate in a set number of short meetings with people who would like to sell to them. The sellers pay a fee to attend and also get a set number of meetings with the buyers with additional opportunities to rub elbows with all attending buyers at receptions, meals and the like.

These can be pricey events, costing a seller over $10,000 plus travel expenses.  In return they are promised twenty uninterrupted minutes to pitch their wares to each of the twelve buyers. Though some sorting and matching of buyers and sellers may be done by the organizers, the sellers do not get to pick whom they meet with. Also the organizers restrict attendance by sellers who compete with each other.

The appeal of the lead junket is having prospective clients delivered to you with little effort on your part. It all seems so painless, compared to cold calling, attending association meetings, giving speeches and all of the harder ways to generate leads.

I acknowledge that I have never attended a lead junket and my skeptical view of them is reflected in the term I use to describe them. In my experience, those who want their firms to send them on these jaunts are usually those most uncomfortable with other kinds of lead generation. They are looking for fixes with a minimal feeling of rejection.

I get asked about lead junkets four or five times a year.
My question is, when, if ever, are lead junkets worth the cost? In your response, please note whether or not you have ever attended one. If you have had good or bad outcomes, I would like to hear them.  Please do not name the operator of the event in your comment.  Also, if you work for or are an investor in a firm running this kind of event, please state that in your response.

(Two earlier posts, Networking Up, Part 1 and Part 2, described how rainmakers network with executives, who are their seniors in age, authority and income.  Here is another on the subject.)

Few of us can shanty up to a senior executive’s office and just pop our heads in to say hello.  These are busy people and they have little time for casual visits.   Gatekeepers bar entrance to those who might fritter away the executives’ time.  So, even if you meet a senior executive during the course of your work, maintaining contact is hard.  To do so requires knowing more things of substance to share with her than most of us do.  And, if you don’t maintain contact, you will lose the relationship.

Carl whose slow, easy-going manner masked a fast, hard-charging mind, was easy to talk to and even easier to underestimate.  He built relationships with senior execs and so a successful practice, also cross selling many of his firm’s other services.  The execs learned that he was an astute observer of their organizations and so, worth talking to.  He was well briefed on matters that were just beginning to filter up to the executive suite.  His way of coming up with insights into client organizations, like many successful rainmaking techniques, was simple:  He drank a lot of coffee and listened to gossip.

“People want to target the big guys in an organization and not waste time on people in lower levels. They forget that you can’t just buy a senior executive a cup of coffee and have a chat, but you can with someone lower in the organization.  Those people will tell you what is going on and what you need to know to talk with someone higher up,” Carl explained.  “Talk with enough of them and you can learn about anything you want to know.”

Of course, Carl isn’t the first to discoverer of this technique.  In modified ways, it has been used by professionals for a long time.  In some current cases, LinkedIn replaces coffee as the medium through which information is passed.  But the underlying method is the same and forever being rediscovered, because it works so well.

Two years ago I was coaching a young German strategy consultant.  When I asked him to make some calls, he refused, arguing that later in the week he had a meeting with the general manager of a major business unit of his biggest account.  “I need to spend my time figuring out what I am going to say,” he protested.  I asked if he knew people working in the business unit with whom he could gossip a bit.  He did and agreed to call and talk with them.  Half an hour later, he came back beaming; one of the people he had talked to had laid out an agenda for his meeting with the boss.

Coffee and gossip, that’s not a bad way to spend some time each day!

A friend invited me to breakfast this coming Friday.  He didn’t give me a reason, but I know why.  He’s out of a job.  Again.  Again he wants some help, especially with introductions.   I now get two or three calls a week from people looking for work, some, like this man, for the second time in about a year.

I feel honored by these calls.  But a part of me also dreads them.  I fear that what I can give will be too little, or seem so.  I worry that I have gone to my network contacts so often, asking them to make time for another friend who is looking for work, that I risk wearing out my welcome.  And I must engage in the unpleasant networking calculation of whether to spend a precious job hunt chit on this person or save it for another.

Still, now is the time to be there for people, and even more so for those who have been there for us in the past.  When I can help someone, it is a pleasure.  Better, it’s deeply rewarding.  I must keep reminding myself that I can’t be expected to succeed at helping them all and that all I can do is my best, however feeble and disappointing that may be to some.

Identifying how you can help can be challenging. Here are some things you can do:

1>    Introduce the jobseeker to a potential employer.  This, of course, is what he most wants and in this environment the hardest to do.  An introduction to a good information source, especially one with a lot of contacts comes in a close second. I try provide everyone who comes to me for help with a job hunt with a least one introduction.

2>    Review a resume.  I am always amazed at the number of resumes I see that mention responsibilities but leave out accomplishments.  Equally surprising is the lack of customization to a specific opportunity.

3>    Provide information.  You may know things about a person, position, company, or industry that will help speed a job search.

4>    Rehearse.  You can help the jobseekers figure out what to say about aspects of their work history they find it awkward to explain or concerns about a new position they finds it awkward to ask.

5>    Let them vent.  You can be a safe place for them to vent their frustrations about what happened at a former employer or the situation they are in.

6>    Encourage and support.  You can call them from time to time to see how they are doing.  I can assure you that almost no one else does.

If you are a networker, you are in the job hunt business for your contacts.  Just as you are always looking for leads for your firm, you must always be looking for job openings for your out-of-work contacts.  Especially now.

Do any of you readers have an example of a creative way you helped a network contact or that someone else helped you with a job search?

The managing partner of a firm once told me about a dinner that he and his boss had with a client in Chicago long ago. The boss, whose name is Bob, was the founder of the firm and a prodigious rainmaker. Much of his prowess was based on a detailed knowledge of certain aspects of the insurance industry. That knowledge allowed the firm to compete with larger firms with stronger reputations and deeper pockets.

Like Bob, the client had spent all his career in insurance, so all through the dinner they regaled each other with stories about people they knew in the business. The client, like Bob, could trace people then prominent in the industry back three or four jobs and describe how they had made their careers. They matched each other, story for story, from the appetizer through dessert.

After leaving the client, as Bob and future managing partner were walking back to their hotel, Bob said, “Didn’t we learn a lot!” His young colleague was baffled by his enthusiasm.

Three weeks later the two men were attending an association meeting where they were introduced to someone who had been the subject of one of the client’s stories during the dinner. “Oh, your so-and-so! I’ve heard so much about you,” said Bob. “Didn’t you . . .” and he proceeded to tell the man he had just met about one of the man’s early successes. “I’d love to get together with you some time,” Bob concluded. “Sure,” said the man, without hesitation. “Give my secretary a call and we’ll set something up.” He handed Bob his card.

If someone whom you had never met told you something about your past in detail, wouldn’t you be curious? Wouldn’t you be inclined to give the person a meeting?

In other posts, I have written about the benefits of specialization. One such benefit is the affinity it creates in your network. As in this example, the knowledge you get from one network member has interest to others that isn’t the case in low affinity networks. You do better work and you get better work because of this knowledge.

A Canadian friend recently brought a problem to me that is common enough to warrant a comment: the unproductive network.  Margareta, for so I will call her, has built a substantial network and works hard at maintaining it, but it generates only a dribble of leads.

If this happens, ask yourself three questions:

Am I networking with the right people?

Long ago a colleague of mine worked an association for two years.  She was welcomed, cultivated, wined and dined at the annual meetings.   Popular because of her personality and potential to pass out leads to the other members, she got attention, but little else in return.  On reflection she realized that few of the members would ever be in a position to give her leads.  She refocused her efforts elsewhere and had more success.

Ask yourself if your network contains enough buyers of your services and people who have influence with buyers.  If not, you must find ways to meet and stay in front of such people and reallocate your time to those activities.

Do they know what I do?

Yes, at some level they know, but how fresh and accurate is that knowledge?  Two weeks ago, I missed an opportunity to make a referral to a friend, because I didn’t see the client’s request as something he would help with.  Fortunately, he got the introduction through another channel.

I was embarrassed, and realized that I hadn’t reviewed the kind of work he did with him for over a year.  Shame on me.  Shame on him.  “We’re seeing an uptick in healthcare work.”  “We are getting a lot of requests to help renegotiate contracts.”  Remind your contacts of what you do with brief statements like these.  Sit with them from time to time to refresh your understanding of what each other do.

 But don’t, don’t, assume that they know.

Do they know what I want?

Never assume that your contacts know you want referrals, either.  Never make that assumption.  If you don’t make it clear that you want referrals, you won’t get any.  “Right now we could use a client in the casualty insurance industry.” “The revenue cliff is a little closer than we like to see it.”  “We’re busy, though, of course, we are always interested in new clients.”  “Our lead flow is down.  How about yours?”  Your words should remind your contacts of your interest in new business.

Reviewing these questions with Margareta, we developed some language she could use to make it easier for her contacts to recognize opportunities for her.  She will also make it clearer that she wants referrals.  Let’s see what happens.

In a recent post, I said that if I were betting on which of two professionals would turn up more revenue over the long haul, I would put my money on the one with a large network over the one with a few loyal clients. My books describe the mathematical reasons for this. Here I would like to show how the power a large network plays out over time.

My colleagues and I have built our firm by analyzing what rainmakers do and then training others to do the same. As a fringe benefit from our research, when we learn about something interesting that rainmakers do, we get to try it out ourselves. As a result, I have built a large network and enjoy the benefits that derive from one.

Specifically, I have a steady lead flow even in these hard times.  During two weeks in December, I have had the good fortune to land three new clients and received a lead for another. The history of this last lead provides a look at why large networks can produce this kind of results—that is, how the mathematics of networking play out in the marketplace.

The history of this lead goes back more than twenty years to a time at least six years before I established my current firm. Back then, I ran an office of a management consulting firm and was asked to attend a meeting of the Association of Management Consulting Firms (AMCF, then called ACME). There I met Ed Hendricks, who served on the organization’s staff. We became friends.

When I set up my own firm fifteen years ago, Ed referred me to a firm that became my second client. The work that derived from people who left that firm is a separate story. I also referred at least one of my clients to Ed, which joined AMCF. About a year later, Ed left AMCF and set up his own firm, too. With publicist, John Bliss of Bliss PR (I have kept Ed’s and John’s and my collleague Gary Pine’s real names. All others have been changed.), we set up a formal networking organization. Ed referred me to the head of a small consulting firm, whom I will call Dominic. I also referred Ed to several people who became his clients.

Dominic hired Harding & Company several times. That firm had two practices, one headed by Steve. (Steve moved on and has brought us into a firm he joined recently, which has become a major client last year.) Fourteen years ago, when Steve was working for Dominic, a bright young professional, Keith, was a member of his team.

When Domenic’s firm was sold to a major consultancy, Keith moved on to another firm, where he introduced us and we did a small project. Six years ago, he also introduced to Jasper. About that time, I introduced Keith to a client interested in his services; I don’t know if they ever did business together.

Jasper had a history of moving to a new firm every few years. At the time, Jasper worked for the U.S. arm of a European consulting firm. He introduced me to a former boss, the head of a prospering strategy firm, where we did substantial work for several years. When Jasper moved on, my colleague, Gary Pines, and I advised him and provided him introductions. Two years ago, when he established his own firm, we referred him to a client which became one of his first.

At about this time, Jasper introduced me to Lenny, the head of marketing at the European consultancy where he used to work. Lenny had a reputation for having instilled his organization with a sales culture. I was not sure he felt a need for our services. Before we had ever talked, he had interviewed several people we had coached who had described our services. He was clearly impressed and intrigued, though he did not hire us. I referred a couple of candidates to him for a position he had open.

Last week he spoke with one of his firm’s clients, who was looking for someone to train their professionals in sales. He referred them to us. I will find out if we get hired this week.

It is important to note that this description, as contorted as it is, is a simplification of what really occurred. Think of all the paths to business for me and for others that it introduces, which could be turned into stories of their own. And, of course, there are many unrelated paths that I pursued, including many that so far look like dead ends. Also, note that I am still in touch with almost everyone mentioned. Does it surprise you that leads turn up from all these relationships and paths, even in these tough times?

In comparison, the professional with a few strong relationships has precious little to work with, if he loses a client and has to rebuild. He has probably met as many people over the years as I have, but in the absence of contact, they rarely think of him. In the absence of the give and take of networking, they feel no urgency about helping him.

In a previous post, an exchange of comments among Andy Hoye, David Harkleroad and me brought to mind an issue that has troubled me over the years. As noted in many posts (see, for example, Mark Buckshon, Bob Burg or Tim Klabunde) on many blogs and as I have described in my books, networking is based on the belief that if you help people, the help will eventually be returned by some of them in the form of new business and referrals.

Though in each case you may give without expectation of return, it is consciously a numbers game; you count on some people giving back some of the time. You may give generously to many, but you also give sagaciously, looking for opportunities to give to buyers and influencers. You seek out stable, mutually beneficial relationships where you give back and forth over the years.

My question: At what point does this sort of mutual help cross the line and become unethical?

The term, reciprocity, doesn’t have negative connotations to most of us, but it certainly does in the professional purchasing world of corporate buyers. That should caution us, because ethics in buying behaviors is central to that profession. Earlier in my career I knew a facilities manager at a large corporation, whose handicapped son drove a specially designed van donated by a group of suppliers to the company on a major building project. Each had anteed up a part of the cost. Generous, yes, even heartwarming, but I cannot believe that accepting this gift didn’t have some impact on his judgment when making decisions about hiring professionals, thereafter.

We can, of course, draw a continuum between buying a cup of coffee and buying a beach house. And money isn’t always involved in the exchange. In recent posts I described how to help a contact’s child find a job. I like giving this kind of help—who doesn’t enjoy helping a young person get started in the world—and have never been given business after doing this, but I am aware of how grateful parents are for this help. Bluntly, I am asking, when does help become a bribe?

This is not just an issue with clients and prospective clients. In a previous post I wrote that ethical concerns about referral fees keep me from accepting them. But is a referral fee so different from a relationship based on back-and-forth referrals? I always refer people who I believe to be of high caliber and right for the client need, but I also refer those first who have been helpful to me.

Enough agonizing. What do you think?

My last post for 2007 provided five reasons for calling your network contacts, all related to the season.  Here are some things you can do as 2008 passes.  First, list the people who have been especially helpful to you during the past year.  Based on how close they live to you and the nature of your relationship to them, do one of the following:

• Send them an email thanking them for making 2008 a good year.
• Take them lunch and thank them personally.

Every other Thursday, I present a rainmaking problem for which I don’t have satisfactory answers. Here is another in our series brought to me at a coaching session by a professional whom I will call Hazel. I have seen this problem before and always have been uncomfortable with my answers. I hope you will offer your suggestions in the comments at the end of this post.

Hazel made partner at her firm about a year ago, after two back-to-back years of delivering over $3,000,000 in new business. Her biggest client in both years was an insurance company, where her primary sponsor was a man named Bill. Bill had also hired her to work on five matters already this year. Yesterday he called to inform her that he had been let go and set up a time to meet with her next week.

Hazel dreads this meeting. She knows she owes Bill a lot and wants to help him, both because she feels she has a debt to repay and because he has three small children at home. But she is reluctant to introduce him to her other clients.

After three years of working with him, she is all too familiar with his weaknesses. Though nice enough, he makes many sloppy mistakes and frequently fails to follow through on his commitments. A high-maintenance client, he requires constant attention and also takes criticism poorly.

There are ethical and practical aspects to her problem.

• The ethical problem: She owes Bill a huge debt. Without his business she would not have been promoted to partner. He has also served unfailingly as a reference. She made a significant mistake on one assignment for him, which he caught and dealt with generously. On the other hand, she also is indebted to the people he will want introductions to. And she owes her other clients and contacts fair treatment, too. She is uncomfortable giving Bill her implicit endorsement in a referral.

• The practical problem: She is most concerned about the ethical issues, but is naturally aware of the practical ones. Bill has already stated that he will give her business no matter where he lands. That pledge, she knows, would not withstand Bill realizing that she was withholding aid during his job search. If she refers him to another client who hires him, that client is bound to become aware of his shortcomings. If the new job doesn’t work out and he is let go, it could reflect badly on her.

I have been in a similar situation, myself, and felt as torn as Hazel does. What should a professional do in this situation?

(Got a problem selling professional services? Feel free to email me your problem and it may become a future “Rainmaking Problem.”)