Making Rain: The Secrets of Building Lifelong Client Loyalty

Praise for Making Rain
"An entertaining and practical guide to building lifelong client loyalty, Making Rain is profoundly insightful as well as motivating. A must–read for all professionals who aspire to distance themselves from their competitors by growing client relationships that are stronger, deeper, and more valuable–for them and for their clients."
–Dale Gifford, Chief Executive, Hewitt Associates
"Few understand the advice business like Andrew Sobel, and his well–written book, Making Rain, is overflowing with insight and sage advice on how to create value for clients and earn their enduring loyalty."
–Jim Robbins, Chief Executive, Cox Communications
"This is a book that is both fascinating and fun. Brilliantly written, meticulous in detail, and penetrating in analysis–anyone who wants to master the art of being a professional advisor will benefit from it."
–Sir Brian Pitman, Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley and former chairman, Lloyds TSB Group
"In a world where managers seem to churn over more frequently than inventories, Andrew Sobel′s new book, Making Rain, is a welcome respite, a savvy guide to lasting client and customer relationships."
–Stan Davis, author, It′s Alive and Blur
"Making Rain appeals to everyone in business, not just in professional services. Andrew Sobel highlights how the interaction of relationships, longevity of trust, innovative ideas, and expertise combine to produce results and long–term loyalty. An excellent read that is full of insights."
–Sir Win Bischoff, Chairman, Citigroup Europe
"In Making Rain, Andrew Sobel demonstrates a deep understanding of how resilient client relationships are formed and why some professionals are pulled in closer and closer by their clients while others, just as skilled technically, do not establish such relationships. His description of the attributes of extraordinary advisors is a must–read for leaders of professional services firms."
–Steven B. Pfeiffer, Chairman, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP

Spis treści:
Introduction: Learning to Make Rain All of the Time.
PART I: BREAKING THROUGH AS AN EXPERT.
The Loyalty Equation: Three Factors That Determine Your Client′s Loyalty.
Are You an  Extraordinary Advisor?
Breakthrough Strategies for Experts.
Building Trust in the First Ten Minutes.
More Important than Your 401(k): Building Your Relationship Capital.
Benjamin Franklin′s Secret Weapon.
Why a Client Might Like You.
The Myth of Meeting Client Expectations.
Leonardo da Vinci: Why Lutes and Madonnas Matter.
Finding the Hidden Creases: Influencing Your Clients.
Part One Summary: Are You Breaking Through as an Expert?
PART II: MOVING INTO THE INNER CIRCLE.
I Love My Guru…and Other Client Pitfalls.
The Relationship Masters.
The Doubting Mind.
The Deep Generalist and the Branded Expert.
How to Identify Client Needs.
The Power of Size: Developing Large, Multi–Year Client Relationships.
The Right Foot: Four Ways to Start a Relationship and Position It for the Long Term.
Five Ways to Grow Your Client Relationships.
Are Clients Meeting Your Expectations?
Part Two Summary: Are You Moving into the Inner Circle?
PART III: SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS YEAR AFTER YEAR.
Sustaining and Multiplying.
Merlin: Working a Little Magic with Your Clients.
Five Steps to New Business with Old Clients.
The Rothschild Bankers: The Power of Unique Capabilities.
Cultivating the Attitude of Independent Wealth.
Managing Client Relationships during Uncertain Times.
Developing Relationships with Foreign Clients: Try Not to Commit These Gaffes.
Becoming a Firm That Makes Rain: How Great Organizations Build Clients for Life.
Part Three Summary: Are You Sustaining Your Relationships Year after Year?
PART V: GETTING STARTED: A SELF–A SSESSMENT.
Do You Have the Ability to Make Rain? Two Assessment Tools for Individuals and Organizations.
A Pantheon of Client Advisors.
Notes.
Index.

Nota biograficzna:
ANDREW SOBEL is a leading authority on the skills and strategies required to build enduring client relationships. A noted business strategist and popular speaker, his clients have included such prominent companies as Citigroup, Cox Communications, Fulbright & Jaworski, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Hewitt Associates. He is coauthor of the acclaimed book Clients for Life, as well as dozens of articles on relationship building and loyalty. Formerly a senior vice president of one of the world′s largest management consulting firms, he is now President of Andrew Sobel Advisors, a strategy consulting and professional development firm. He earned his BA at Middlebury College and holds an MBA from Dartmouth′s Tuck School of Business.

Okładka tylna:
Praise for Making Rain
"An entertaining and practical guide to building lifelong client loyalty, Making Rain is profoundly insightful as well as motivating. A must–read for all professionals who aspire to distance themselves from their competitors by growing client relationships that are stronger, deeper, and more valuable–for them and for their clients."
–Dale Gifford, Chief Executive, Hewitt Associates
"Few understand the advice business like Andrew Sobel, and his well–written book, Making Rain, is overflowing with insight and sage advice on how to create value for clients and earn their enduring loyalty."
–Jim Robbins, Chief Executive, Cox Communications
"This is a book that is both fascinating and fun. Brilliantly written, meticulous in detail, and penetrating in analysis–anyone who wants to master the art of being a professional advisor will benefit from it."
–Sir Brian Pitman, Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley and former chairman, Lloyds T SB Group
"In a world where managers seem to churn over more frequently than inventories, Andrew Sobel′s new book, Making Rain, is a welcome respite, a savvy guide to lasting client and customer relationships."
–Stan Davis, author, It′s Alive and Blur
"Making Rain appeals to everyone in business, not just in professional services. Andrew Sobel highlights how the interaction of relationships, longevity of trust, innovative ideas, and expertise combine to produce results and long–term loyalty. An excellent read that is full of insights."
–Sir Win Bischoff, Chairman, Citigroup Europe
"In Making Rain, Andrew Sobel demonstrates a deep understanding of how resilient client relationships are formed and why some professionals are pulled in closer and closer by their clients while others, just as skilled technically, do not establish such relationships. His description of the attributes of extraordinary advisors is a must–read for leaders of professional services firms."
–Steven B. Pfeiffer, Chairman, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP