Customer Reviews

Making Rain: The Secrets of Building Lifelong Client Loyalty

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received this book and I've already read some of the chapters twice. Making Rain is full of practical ideas for how to increase your effectiveness at building client relationships and keeping clients for life. Sobel's concepts are fresh and highly original, and they are supported by client interviews, contemporary anecdotes, and fascinating historical profiles of people like Ben Franklin, who used humor to disarm and influence both his friends and adversaries. In my own business I've worked with clients for many years, and virtually everything in this book rings true for me. What's particularly valuable is the "how to" and the detailed ideas and strategies that Sobel sets out. Making Rain is well-written, easy to read, and quite funny in places. Anyone in business could pick up a handful of powerful tips on improving client retention from this book (one of the last chapters is "Managing Clients in Uncertain Times," which has a lot of useful reminders in it). If you work with either individual or corporate clients, Making Rain provides much-needed guidance.

I highly recommend Making Rain to anyone who works with clients. It's a terrific book that's also entertaining and enjoyable to read. I loved Sobel's first effort, Clients for Life, and was pleasantly surprised when I read Making Rain. Many second books on a similar topic end up being rehashes, but Sobel has created a number of intriguing new ideas and taken some of his original material to a new level. Sobel's basic premise is that experts for hire who simply do a good job delivering on the letter of their contracts (what he calls "core value") will never command much loyalty from their clients and customers, who can pick and choose from many suppliers. To build loyalty, you first have to add not just core value but also surprise value and personal value. Second, you have to go beyond "professional credibility" and build personal trust. And finally, you have to go the extra mile-demonstrate that you truly care and are willing to do whatever it takes. Easy to say, not so easy to do. What I like about Making Rain is that it has 28 short, readable chapters, each of which contains strategies and suggestions for actually delivering on these things. The chapters are grouped around the different phases of any client relationship (i.e., first you're an expert for hire; then you win repeat business and become a steady supplier; and finally, if you're especially skilled, you may become an advisor who is really part of the inner circle). There's a chapter on "breaking through" with clients at the start of the relationship; on building trust in a first meeting; on developing relationship capital (an very useful framework about five types of relationships you need in your career); and others on sustaining relationships over time, multiplying relationships, developing "the mindset of independent wealth," etc. The book also contains some nice cartoons about advising. In this difficult economy (or in a good one, for that matter) Sobel's advice is right on target.

The secrets of making rain or client loyalty consist of three factors: the value you add, the degree of trust you develop, and the extra mile you are willing to go. Most of the information is helpful but some important considerations are omitted.

Positives
He provides an excellent overview of the issues that affect client loyalty. His examples, past experience, and clear style of writing are helpful. He also focuses on interpersonal relationships as the key to success. For those trying to improve, it answers the question "what do I need to do to become more proficient?".

Negatives
Interpersonal relationships are formed by exercising a variety of skills. Skill acquision and practice are vital to improvement. He is not clear about this and does not prescribe how to acquire the needed skills. He also fails to show how his approach will "lock in" a client. For example, what if you and your competitor across the street read the book and follow all the suggestions. Why would the client stay with you? The client can recieve comparable services without crossing the street. He tries to make the case of using persuasion techniques but his argument is not compelling. Any complete system needs a "hook" for keeping a client. Making the provider irreplaceable is a requirement and he falls short of accomplishing this goal

While Mr. Sobe's premise is interesting -- client relationships are developed through the sequence: expert-inner circle-trusted advisor; his approach to following that path is filled with clichés (e.g. client loyalty = value + trust + going the extra mile) and generic terms (e.g. becoming an expert requires you to: (1) do it faster; (2) do it better; (3) be different; (3) be better prepared ...). He continuously uses terms such as trust, integrity, rapport, but fails to put them together into coherent algorithms or work programs to allow the reader to understand how to work through the author's "expert-inner circle-trusted advisor" paradigm.

Nothing new here.

This is a subtle book which contains a lot of wisdom about building client and customer relationships. It's a well written and engaging read. The premise is that traditional "sometimes wrong but never in doubt" rainmakers are increasingly dysfunctional in service organizations, whose clients demand value-added in the very first meeting. They are too sales-focused, they are in-and-out, and they don't bring enough content or client knowledge to early client meetings. The alternative is to teach every professional to make a bit of rain every day or every week. Each chapter looks at a different skill or strategy which will help readers "make rain" with their
clients. Chapter three is useful because it summarizes the advisor skills which are set out in Sobel's superb first book, Clients For Life. Other chapters cover topics such as rapidly building trust; adding core, surprise, and personal value to relationships; exercising the mindset of independent
wealth; and developing institutional mechanisms to "make rain" at the firm level. I think Making Rain appeals to a sophisticated reader, with its engaging anecdotes about client relationships and several chapters about historical figures who were great makers of rain (for example, Benjamin Franklin and the Welsh mystic, Merlin). This is an excellent read.

"Making Rain" is a wonderful follow up to "Clients for Life". Where "Clients for Life" answered the question, "What can you do to keep your clients for life?", "Making Rain" offers the reader a series of practical suggestions on how to get beyond the label of a mere expert-for-hire and develop long-term advisory relationships. It helps you answer the question: "Can you help me figure out how to actually become that great client advisor who never loses a client?"

Sobel argues that most professionals can in fact learn to "make rain" on an ongoing basis with their existing clients. Sobel's writing is clear and concise.

A great book overall!

Sobel identifies three keys to earning lifelong client loyalty: (1) give them great advice, (2) exceed their expectations, and (3) build trust. The first chapter of Making Rain is a confusing introduction to those three key ideas, with hazy, overlapping definitions.

Most of the book is an elaboration on the three keys to earning client loyalty. Sobel uses anecdotes from his consulting experience and from his varied knowledge of world history to try to illuminate his theme. Some of the anecdotes are right on point, some are far wide of the point; some are illuminating but most are superficial. In fact, Sobel wouldn't have been too far off if he had named his book "101 Superficial Anecdotes About Building Client Loyalty."

In general, there is not much here that is fresh, nothing at all that could be considered breakthrough. Still, some chapters are useful for reviewing fundamentals that you've already been exposed to in many other books, seminars, and training courses. Chapter 7, for example, sets forth "six major factors that influence whether and to what extent [a prospective client might like you] at a first meeting." They are: similarity, familiarity, positive association, praising what's good, openness, and rapport. Each of the six factors is supported by research and anecdotes.

Chapter 15, "How to Identify Client Needs," presents "seven strategies that can help you get in touch with your clients' needs." Again, none of these strategies is seminal or ground-breaking, but they enunciate sound fundamentals.

Chapter 18 is one of the most valuable: "Five Ways to Grow Your Client Relationships." Most notable are the following three:

* Migrate to new issues where your expertise is valuable.
* Migrate to working for other executives in the same company.
* Help your client with implementation [after you give them great advice].

Because the book is disjointed, you can jump around to chapters that pique your curiosity, maybe learn a few new tricks, and brush up on fundamentals.

As someone new to the consulting game, I needed a bit of guidance. After 15 years of teaching in high school classrooms, I have moved on to teaching teachers through a consulting company. It's been fun but challenging as my entire world up until now has been academia. So, a fellow consultant suggested this to me and I read it. It did me a world of good.

I can't say it answered all my questions; however, it is very good for giving a good overview of the life of a consultant. It looks at both the big picture--growing a business through gaining and keeping clients--and the small picture--practical tips on how to deal with individual clients. But what really appealed to me was his apparent willingness to be honest. He backed up his claims with experience (both his own and that of his colleagues) and he didn't shy away from pointing out how both consultants and clients can fail. He's not afraid to tell someone he's going to walk away from a contract.

I'm too green in my career at this point to appreciate all of Mr. Sobel's words. It would be worth coming back to this book later as I gain experience. Still, I'm already seeing more and more of the truth of his advice as I work from day to day. I can't say if Mr. Sobel has all the answers, but he clearly has valuable things to say and I would recommend it to anyone who works in a client-based job.

There are very few worthwhile books about building client relationships, and this is definitely one of them. Sobel's main focus is how you de-commoditize yourself in increasingly competitive service markets. What I like is that he doesn't pretend to offer a grand strategy or one-size-fits-all prescription, but rather a series of thoughtful ideas for distinguishing yourself from the pack. These include thinking holistically about your "relationship capital"; the seven attributes of client advisors; the mindset of "independent wealth"; and some interesting history about great client advisors. The case studies/anecdotes are educational and often funny, and the writing is excellent. The chapters are short and easy to read.

Author Andrew Sobel has written a wonderfully informative and entertaining business book - a near impossible feat.

Chock full of stories and examples of historical figures (Franklin, Merlin, da Vinci) as advisors, Sobel's provocative book is a must-read for anyone who consults or advises for a living.