Marketing For Rainmakers is a great book for both experienced and novice marketers alike. 
For one who has been in the marketing business for years, the book helps you approach known techniques from a different perspective. And for those new to marketing, Phil uses a formula in each chapter to make the book easy to understand, digest and most importantly- implement. He first introduces a concept, then illustrates the concept and how it relates to marketing, and finally gives real life examples of how you can implement the concept introduced immediately into your business.
I liked the format of the book, which is divided into 52 short chapters, full of colorful examples of the author's points delivered in a straight forward, yet humorous style. My recommendation would be to read the book through once to get a general overview to being a Rainmaker marketer. But then, keep the book at your desk and focus on implementing a concept in a chapter each week (book is conveniently has 52 chapters or 52 Rules of Engagement).
An example of the sage advice offered throughout the book, and one that I found particularly relevant to my industry of Real Estate, was Chapter 11- Smarten Up. Again the formula of 1) introduce concept 2) illustrate the concept then 3) describe how a marketer can use this information is applied.
The first part of the chapter talks about how much information is available to people today, before needing to enlist a professional, something real estate professionals frequently hear. He humorously notes that this is "exacerbated by human beings' tendency to overestimate their knowledge of just about everything", which can sometimes make the professional's job that much harder.
What is the opportunity in this? "...it can be addressed by ‘knowledge-added' marketing.. the focus of this marketing is identifying the only things in your business that can never be commoditized (your expertise)... become an invaluable resource and partner to your customers..."
How do you do this? "provide all the information a client needs to make an intelligent ..decision ...this education process also serves to help clients better understand the value you bring to the table". Educate through human-interest pieces, case studies, integrate knowledge-added marketing into your promotional pieces, put less focus on your brand/product and position yourself more as a resource or partner.
Phil's book will help you see that there are marketing lessons to be learned all around you that can be applied to your specific industry. The book will help you get in the frame of mind to look at things in ways that your competition traditionally hasn't, and then act with this new-found insight and perspective. And while reading this book, you'll not only get educated, you'll also be entertained.
About the author: Phil Fragasso is a marketing expert with more than 25 years of marketing experience in the high-tech and financial services industries. You can visit his website at www.marketingforrainmakers.com.
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