How’s the weather in your business?
Is it raining …….pouring…….with new clients or customers? Or is your weather only partly cloudy with a chance of rain?
All businesses are dependent upon the rain of positive cash flow. Obviously, we need to keep our existing business stable but we also need more clients, more customers, more business, new blood.
Generally there are key employees in a business that are chiefly responsible for bringing in new business, “for making it rain”, if you will.
“Rainmakers” and their ability to bring in new business are often the reason that we even have our jobs. Rainmakers know how to make it rain. They take action, consistently.
Robert Ringer writes in his book “Action” that “nothing happens until something moves.”
Action. A singular but powerful verb. If you are a rainmaker or want to become one, then you need to be familiar with:
How to make it rain: 5 things to do right now
1. Create an immediate plan of action and do it! This does not mean that you need to create an elaborate excel spread sheet with complicated goals. An immediate plan of action is best created in advance, but it doesn’t have to be. The important thing is to write it down and begin. Write down the top 3-5 things that you can do right away to begin making it rain and begin right now- no matter what. On that plan it may even include discovering what you need to do to even begin! But you must begin and begin now.
2. Believe. Believe not only in your service or product but believe in yourself. But here is the kicker: believe in only what you are about to do and then do it. Make the phone call, ask the question, call for an action, etc. Be careful not to out think yourself or how difficult an action may be. Pretend that you are 10 years old again and go to the deep end of the pool and do a cannonball! Make a huge splash. Believe.
3. Re-visit prior resources. Re-visit notes (or emails) about previous clients or customers or (read what others have written) and then take a fresh new approach to their business. Remember, people change jobs and this may be an outstanding opportunity to create new alliances and form new professional relationships. Things change and you might receive a warm welcome from a former client or customer that is thrilled to hear from you!
4. Embrace rejection. In business we hear “oh..sorry..my answer is no….but it’s only business…..its not personal.”
WRONG. It is personal, at least that is how it feels. Sometimes it feels very awful………but so what? Rejection is a huge part of the DNA inherent in doing business. Ponder this: why not embrace rejection and accept it wholeheartedly for the fraud that it is? Rejection is nothing more fear anticipated.
Here is an exercise to try: accept rejection, thank it for “what it is”, and move on to the next matter at hand. Most people detest rejection and it keeps them for reaching further. What’s wrong with a little rejection? Statistically, lots of rejection means that you are just a bit closer to success.
5. Use technology and Social Media as a tool to achieve measurable results. Most of us are using linkedin, facebook, twitter and countless other ways to reach prospective new business, but what are we doing once we make the connection? What good is having over 500 linkedin connections if it doesn’t result in any measurable outcomes. Try this: after you have linkedin with someone, call that person on the phone and make a real connection. Ask “how can we help each other?’ Call all of your contacts to see if there is mutual business interests. In other words, collecting names is useless unless you can benefit from it. Create a real relationship rather than a virtual one.
Well that’s it for now here in sunny Southern California where its raining big time! Where’s my umbrella?
I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc. I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com. I welcome your phone call.