Paul Kuck is the founder of Fitness Tutor (www.fitness-tutor.com) and owner of a personal training studio in Singapore that focuses on helping busy professionals transform their body and health. He has more than 10 years of experience working as a personal trainer, manager, speaker and writer. Kuck has a master’s degree in exercise and nutrition science, and is an ACE-certified clinical exercise specialist. He can be contacted at paul@fitness-tutor.com.
A rainmaker is someone who has the intellectual and social clout to bring in huge revenues for a company. Specifically, he or she is a professional who consistently does two things well:
Generates leads to gain new business.
Uses his or her selling skills to turn a portion of those leads into new business.
Rainmaking is a widely used term in the legal industry but is also applicable to fitness. The rainmakers in a fitness setting can be the sales consultant, studio owner, club manager, personal trainer or the CEO, as long as the person is responsible for bringing in revenue for the company.
Are you the rainmaker in your club? If not, here’s what you can do to make the rain fall:
Work hard. You’ll be hard pressed to find a rainmaker who is not constantly finding ways to seek more business. Be prepared to work 60 hours or more a week if you want to reap the fruits of your labor later.
Work smart. Working hard blindly is not going to help much if you don’t know where to find the right prospects, close deals or leverage your time. These are the skills that can be acquired with experience, which is another important skill that can only come with the above pointer: working hard.
Be optimistic. Rainmakers are positive people who make the best of any situation. If a deal does not come through, find out why, and improve on it. If you don’t see results from implementing certain strategies, don’t give up. Stay positive, and keep trying.
Find your own way(s) to make rain. There is no universal method to make rain. All rainmakers develop their own unique ways of generating business and usually keep them as a trade secret. However, they often employ one or more of the following methods:
Public speaking
Writing articles, books, etc.
Direct mailing
Cold calling
Generating referrals
Internet presence
Pro bono work
Newsletters
Trade shows and events
Directory listings
Listen more and talk less. Why do you think we are born with two ears but only one mouth? OK, maybe that’s coincidence, but it is an undeniable fact that rainmakers are excellent listeners. If you come across to others like a car salesman, you will lose the credibility that is necessary to close big deals. Listen to what your prospects want, and give the best recommendation, which sometimes can lead to sales much bigger than what you first intended.
Never lose track of a client or prospect. Rainmakers love all of their prospects and clients. Find ways to educate, nurture and care for your clients. Send them information, cards and reminders to tell them you really care.
Learn to love marketing and selling. All rainmakers enjoy every minute of prospecting and selling. If you truly want to be a great rainmaker, you must be an expert in these areas. There is simply no other way.
Take great care to credential yourself. Most rainmakers have good degrees and are well certified. They know that by doing so, they can sell things at a premium price. Although paper qualifications alone won’t necessary land you big business, they help.
Became a specialist. Rainmakers know that they cannot be seen as a jack-of-all-trades early on in their career. They know they must carve a niche for themselves and dominate the market. Once you start to become known as a specialist, you become focused and know where to channel your energy. Prospects then recognize that you are the expert and have greater trust in you.
Use an education-based marketing approach. Instead of trying to sell your services or memberships, educate your prospects. Let them know through newsletters, seminars or other means that you are the real fitness guru. Once you have achieved that, they wouldn’t want to go to another source. Many rainmakers swear by this strategy.
Be persuasive. What’s the point of having a lot of prospects if you can’t sell them a single item? Rainmakers are not only good at finding prospects, but they are also deal closers. Learn about sales scripts and how to handle objections to ensure that your prospects will become your clients.
Never stop learning. Rainmakers are hungry for knowledge. If you want to make it big, you’ve got to be humble, learn the ropes and don’t ever stop.
Be on the lookout for innovative ways to generate publicity. The top rainmakers have their names everywhere. On TV and radio, in books, newspapers, magazines -- everywhere you look, you see and hear their name. Find ways to get your name out there.
Take immediate action. Nothing moves until something happens. Rainmakers go beyond their fears and simply take constructive actions to make magic happen, which is to make rain. If your actions are massive enough, you’ll create a heavy downpour.
