Marketing for Rainmakers E-Book

Phil Fragasso

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 338

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2008

Beschreibung

You are a successful entrepreneur with a brain for business, but you're indecisive about marketing and need a guide that will help your company distinguish itself, inspire customer loyalty and increase profits. Marketing for Rainmakers: 52 Rules of Engagement to Attract and Retain Customers for Life presents practical concepts, helpful tips and real-life examples to help you take your business to the next level with marketing that focuses on the customers' needs. Fifty-two business-building ideas will inspire you to take immediate action and develop a marketing mindset.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

MARKETING

RAINMAKING

RAINMAKER MARKETING

Section One - THE BRAND-FOCUSED RAINMAKING MARKETER

ROE #1 - BEGIN AT THE END

A LESSON FROM THE GREATEST RAINMAKER OF ALL-TIME

A COROLLARY LESSON FROM SOMEONE WHO WOULDN’T QUALIFY TO HOLD TOM WATSON’S ...

A COROLLARY LESSON FROM MY INNER “DR . PHIL”

ROE #2 - BE A HOBGOBLIN

THE BEST OF THE HOBGOBLINS

ROE #3 - GET YOURSELF SOME CULTURE

ROE #4 - BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL

ROE #5 - SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT

The Elevator Speech

ROE #6 - BROADEN YOUR BRANDWIDTH

A SELF-ASSESSMENT

ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT

SWOT ANALYSIS

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

ROE #7 - BOW TO THE WOW

ROE #8 - STAY UP , SELL OUT, CASH IN

INFOMERCIALS AND AIDA

Section Two - THE STRATEGIC RAINMAKING MARKETER

ROE #9 - SEE THE FOREST IN EVERY TREE

THE“TOO SMART FOR THEIR OWN GOOD” COROLLARY

TIPS ON BECOMING A BIG-PICTURE, INVISIBLE-DOT CONNECTOR

ROE #10 - FEED THE LION AND SPARE THE MOUSE

Appetizers

Entrees

Snacks

ROE #11 - SMARTEN UP

SMART MOVES

ROE #12 - MANIFEST YOUR DESTINY

MANIFEST YOUR WORKDAY

ROE #13 - KILL THE CAT

A CURIOUS AFTERTHOUGHT

ROE #14 - FUHGEDD ABOUT WOULDA COULDA SHOULDA

ROE #15 - MUDDY THE WATERS

HOW TO BE A DEVIL

DEVILISH QUESTIONS

DEVILISH QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED

ROE #16 - START FROM SCRATCH

Section Three - THE TACTICAL RAINMAKING MARKETER

ROE #17 - CELEBRATE SMILESTONES

ROE #18 - IGNORE THE BLISS

ROE #19 - STICK IT

HOW TO STICK IT GOOD

THINGS THAT UNGLUE

ROE #20 - SHORTEN UP TO SWEETEN UP

POSTSCRIPT

POST-POSTSCRIPT

ROE #21 - FACE THE FACTS

ROE #22 - SAY NO TO YES BUT

IDENTIFY YOUR OWN YES- BUT

ROE #23 - SWEAT LIKE A PIG

A NO-SWEAT COROLLARY

ROE #24 - LOSE YOUR HEAD

HOW TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT HUMOR

ROE #25 - SLOW DOWN TO SPEED UP

ROE #26 - DON’T JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN

ROE #27 - SHOW THEM THE MONEY

A CONTEMPLATIVE FOOTNOTE

Section Four - THE CUSTOMER-FOCUSED RAINMAKING MARKETER

ROE #28 - WALK A MILE IN YOUR CUSTOMER’S SHOES—BACKWARDS

ROE #29 - REJECT IOUs

IOU TIPPING POINTS

ROE #30 - ACT BIG , FEEL SMALL

ROE #31 - SPEAK GREEK ONLY IN GREECE

ROE #32 - LISTEN TO BE HEARD

ROE #33 - SAY NYET TO NYUK!

ROE #34 - LOVE’EM OR LEAVE’EM

ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE

ROE #35 - GO THE EXTRA 18 INCHES

ON THE OTHER HAND

ROE #36 - TARNISH THE GOLDEN RULE

THE GOOD PARTS OF THE GOLDEN RULE

Section Five - THE COMPETITIVE RAINMAKING MARKETER

ROE #37 - SEE THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES

ROE #38 - SHOP TILL YOU DROP

ROE #39 - EXPERIENCE THE EXPERIENCE

HOW CLIENTS EXPERIENCE YOUR FIRM

HOW CLIENTS EXPERIENCE YOUR PRODUCTS

HOW CLIENTS EXPERIENCE YOU

ROE #40 - CHOOSE TO LOSE

ROE #41 - ANALYZE THIS

ROE #42 - EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

ROE #43 - GIVE UP

Section Six - THE HARDWIRED RAINMAKING MARKETER

ROE #44 - TELL A STORY WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES

ROE #45 - FRENCH KISS

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER FRENCH KISSER

WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

ROE #46 - LIGHT YOUR LYING PANTS ON FIRE

MAKE THE MOST OF A BAD SITUATION

MAKE THE CHOICE

A FINAL NOTE

ROE #47 - SELL SOFT, MARKET HARD

ROE #48 - REDUCE YOURATTENTION SPAM

PRIORITIES ARE NOT

ROE #49 - CHOOSE THEM OVER US

A WORD FROM MARKETING’S UNDISPUTED RAINMAKER

ROE #50 - JUST DON’T DO ID

ROE #51 - SUCK IT UP

NO DOWN TIME

THE BIG Q

ROE #52 - BURN THIS BOOK

INDEX

Copyright © 2008 by Phil Fragasso. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Fragasso, Philip M., 1950- Marketing for rainmakers : 52 rules of engagement to attract and retain customers for life / Phil Fragasso. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-41953-3

1. Customer relations. 2. Customer services. 3. Marketing. I. Title. HF5415.5.F68 2008 658.8—dc22 2008002740

For Laura Marie My Rainmaking Soulmate

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The person most responsible for Marketing for Rainmakers, as it exists today, is my literary agent, Michael Snell. Michael is a rare breed. I approached him unannounced and he took me under his wing—freely giving of his time and attention, with no guarantee that his efforts would be rewarded. Michael has been a delight to work with, and I look forward to thanking him in future volumes.

So much of what I know and believe about marketing grew out of the relationships I had with colleagues at Wang, Honeywell, Sun Life Financial, Columbia Funds, and Rydex Investments. I have been blessed to work with many highly creative, energetic people who continually amazed me with their insight and commitment.

My business partner, Jane Mancini, is a rainmaker without peer. We have worked together on three different occasions, and I never fail to learn from her, laugh with her, and blaze new trails with her. Had I never met Jane, this book would never have been written.

Matt Holt’s team at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., has been a model of efficiency and support. Jessica Campilango, Christine Moore, and Kate Lindsay have helped and advised at every stage of editing and production, and have done so with personality and humor.

And then, of course, we come to my family. There are few joys in life equal to watching your children grow and discover themselves. My son and daughter, Michael and Julia, have brought smiles and made us proud countless times in countless ways.

The woman in my life also deserves credit—not just for this book, but for putting up with my somewhat idiosyncratic ways. Laura is a partner in the fullest sense of the word and contributes greatly to everything I have accomplished and, as she is wont to point out, everything I have screwed up. It was love at first sight, and it remains so today.

INTRODUCTION

MAKING RAIN WHILE THE SUN SHINES

In a world where even brain surgery isn’t as hard as it used to be, marketing remains sheathed in mystery. And who’s to blame for that? Marketers. As a group, marketers tend to be overwrought, shamelessly self-indulgent, and off-the-charts in self-aggrandizement and self-importance. And I ought to know, because I’ve been one of them for over twenty-five years.

On the rainmaking side of the equation, there exists broad consensus that rainmaking is a divine gift. It is present at birth, and no amount of familial or professional nurturing can make it blossom if the seed wasn’t planted at conception. It is a genetic predisposition not unlike Tom Brady’s arm, Tracy Chapman’s voice, and Nicole Kidman’s face.

Except it’s all hogwash.

Marketing is simple, and rainmaking can be taught and learned. Put it all together and you’ve got the best of all worlds—rainmaker marketing, the Holy Grail of the business world. Let’s begin the quest by looking at the two components (marketing and rainmaking) and then discovering how the whole (rainmaker marketing) is far greater than the sum of the parts.

MARKETING

Over the years, marketers have embraced—or had thrust upon them—many definitions of their craft. The textbook definition—which is still taught today in some of our most hallowed halls—distills marketing down to the 4Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. In addition to being annoyingly alliterative, this four-part litany is simplistic to the point of being meaningless. It also omits the two most important Ps of all—passion and people. The bottom line is that regardless of whether the 4Ps ever had any relevance to effective marketing—they don’t today. They’ll only slow you down, hold you down, and keep you down.