Vote for RainToday's Best Content of the Week - May 15

By Jonathan Carlson

Another week, another victory for Mike Schultz. Last week, Mike gave a great interview about why relationship-based selling is alive and well despite reports to the contrary. And people must have liked what he had to say because he won the May 8 Readers' Choice Award! Great work, Mike.

We don't have any new content from Mike this week, so someone else is going to have to step up. Let's take a look at the content from the new Rainmaker Report (May 15) to see who it will be.

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Sometimes You Are Your Own Worst Enemy

By Michelle Davidson

Do you ever have a great idea to do something—create new content for your clients, try new social media marketing tactics, set up a new lead generation system, to name just a few things—but the world seems to conspire against you and they never get done?

In some cases, the culprit is you. You're too busy to put ideas into action.

As C.J. Hayden says, sometimes life gets in the way, you get busy, and your big plans get put on the back burner and eventually fall off.

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Vote for RainToday's Best Content of the Week - May 8

By Jonathan Carlson

Congratulations to M. Sharon Baker for winning the May 1 Readers' Choice Award! Her case study, which analyzed how Mahoney Internet Marketing used LinkedIn and conent marketing to revamp its sales process, provided a great example of how to attract ideal clients, and it clearly resonated with our audience. (Note: RainToday case studies are available only to Premium Members. To read our full case study library, start your free membership trial here.)

The May 8 edition of the Rainmaker Report has another stacked lineup of content from some of the top sales and marketing thought leaders, so let's get to it. As usual, you'll find a quick rundown of the content below. Once you've finished reviewing it, head over to our Facebook page to vote for who you think should win the Readers' Choice Award.

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Create a Referral System Now

By Mary Flaherty

If you're looking to add new clients to your roster, take some time to make sure you have a working referral program in place. Referrals are still one of the top ways in which service providers get clients. Nothing new there. But what you may not know is that most buyers are willing to recommend their providers—if they were only asked. (See Hinge Marketing's research on How Buyers Buy Professional Services.)

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How Strong Are Your Client Relationships?

By Michelle Davidson

In recent weeks I've been reading a lot about relationship-based selling and whether it still works. Some say relationship- and solution-based selling are dead. While others (including RAIN Group in its new research) say those approaches are very much alive but need to be revamped.

Judging by the articles I edit from services professionals about their selling and marketing strategies, relationships remain a key aspect of their sales success. It is the strength of the relationship between them and the buyer that determines the sale and whether the buyer becomes a longtime client.

It all starts with how you approach prospects, many say. Stay away from generic full-on sales emails and phone calls. Those get you nowhere. Instead, determine your ideal client, research prospects, and demonstrate your expertise. That may involve email marketing, content marketing, calling prospects, or social media marketing.

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Vote for RainToday's Best Content of the Week - May 1

By Jonathan Carlson

Well, it looks like our fearless leader here at RAIN Group deserves a pat on the back: Mike Schultz is the winner of our April 24 Readers' Choice Award. His winning article introduced the world to our new research on what sales winners do differently from their competition. If you missed it, be sure to take a look (and download the full report here).

While we don't have any new groundbreaking research to share with you this week, we do have another stellar lineup of content for you, so let's cut to the chase. Here's a rundown of the new content you'll find in this week's Rainmaker Report (May 1):

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Sales and Marketing Changes Alter Path to Business Success

By Michelle Davidson

Can you feel that? Changes are underfoot in the world of sales and marketing. They didn't come with a bang, but gradually as sellers, marketers, service professionals, and the companies they work for have altered how they market and sell services.

Some of the sales changes were uncovered in recent RAIN Group research about buyer behavior. It found sales winners do things radically differently than second-place finishers when it comes to winning over buyers and gaining the sale.

Some of the things sales winners do differently, according to the buyers surveyed:

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Vote for RainToday's Best Content of the Week - April 24

By Jonathan Carlson

Congrats to Charles H. Green for winning the April 17 Readers' Choice Award! His article It's Always Risk-on for Selling tackled some important issues regarding how we approach risky business situations, and it clearly resonated with our audience. Great work, Charles!

As for this week, we have some exciting new content to share, so let's get right to it:

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