Authors: Ford Harding
ISBN-13: 9781598695885, ISBN-10: 1598695886
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Adams Media Corporation
Date Published: March 2008
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Ford Harding is the president of Harding & Company, which trains professionals to win new clients. For thirty years, he has worked with corporations ranging from Aetna to Xerox. His articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He lives in Maplewood, NJ.
Book Synopsis
In this new edition of his classic book, Rain Making, Ford Harding reveals step by step how-even if you've never sold a product in your life-you can become a top performer in your organization. Filled with easy-to-use strategies, checklists, tables, and guides, this book shows you how to:
- Write articles for professional publications
- Make cold calls like a sales pro
- Network to build a lasting customer base
- Develop a winning sales strategy
With this book at your fingertips, you'll get the marketing and sales skills you need to survive-and flourish-one sale at a time!
Table of Contents
Preface to Revised Edition vii
Acknowledgments to the Revised Edition viii
Acknowledgments x
Introduction xii
Marketing Tactics: How Professionals Build Reputations and Generate Leads 1
Writing and Publishing Your Article 4
Finding a Podium 16
Marketing by Mail 25
Organizing Seminars and Conferences 34
Getting Publicity 48
A Few Words on the Web Matt Caspari 61
Eliminating the Dread of Cold Calling 66
Building a Network: How Professionals Develop a Sustainable Source of Leads 81
Networking: The Alternative to Cold Calling 82
Special Rules for Special Networks: Trade Associations, Formal Networking Groups, and Internal Networks 105
Increasing Network Quality Mimi Spangler Gary Pines 122
How Markets Structure Networks 134
From Networks to Leads 152
Building Client Relationships That Last 155
Sales Tactics: How Professionals Advance and Close a Sale 163
The Sales Meeting: The First Five Minutes 165
The Sales Meeting: Questioning and Listening 176
The Sales Meeting: Offering Your Solution 188
The Sales Meeting: Formal Presentations 199
The Sales Meeting: Handling Questions and Concerns 210
Team Selling 218
Shortening the Sales Cycle 222
Writing a Proposal 226
Quoting a Fee 235
Turning Down Small Work 250
When You Lose a Sale 254
From Tactics to Strategy: What Works and What Doesn't 265
The Logic of a Sales Strategy 267
Simple Strategies That Can Help You Now 272
Self-Marketing: Experts Make Themselves 277
Market-Based Strategies 288
Conclusion: Becoming a Rainmaker 303
Appendix 304
Notes 306
Index 309
Subjects