Making Rain shows how to separate oneself from the crowd by building deeper, more personal relationships with clients. Sobel tells how "going the extra mile" for clients results in loyalty and, ultimately, long-term accounts.
With anecdotes from his many clients, Sobel explores various obstacles and solutions for creating confidence in clients. He describes how to create trust in the first ten minutes of a meeting. He also details ways for adding value to your client's expectations by going from an expert for hire to an invaluable advisor. Chapter 11 offers advice for dealing with clients who resort to gurus and impresarios. Although the warning signs are familiar and informative, Sobel fails to illustrate concrete solutions for this scenario. More interesting is the discussion about the need for small and large firms to invest in being "the deep generalist," as well as "the branded expert." Overall, Making Rain offers specific principles for creating resilient client relationships. ----- Title Making Rain: The Secrets of Building Lifelong Client Loyalty Author Andrew Sobel Publisher John Wiley & Sons, 238 pages Reviewed by Darcie Rowan, Partner, McAllister Communications
