Marketing for Rainmakers

What a bizarre week for non-rainmaking wannabe’s. First we have Rep. Joe Wilson shouting at President Obama and calling him a liar during a live address to the nation (and the world). And then last night, the irrepressible and always self-obsessed Kanye West jumps on stage at the Video Music Awards show, grabs the microphone from Taylor Swift as she’s accepting her award, and announces that (in his humble opinion) Swift did not deserve the award and it should have been presented to Beyonce.

These two incidents are not isolated events. Similar nonsense happens every single day on lesser stages and with smaller audiences. We are becoming a society in which the “center of the universe syndrome” has become epidemic. We don’t care what other people think or how they feel. It is increasingly all about hearing ourselves and seeing ourselves and drowning out other people’s beliefs. It is decidedly counter to the rainmaking approach to life and business which places the focus on the other party’s needs.

And so, Rainmakers of the World Unite! Set an example for the Joe Wilsons and Kanye Wests of the world and show them that their boorish behavior is not amusing or “cool” and simply will not be tolerated.

Michael Resler, professor of German studies at Boston College, used a classic rainmaking technique to boost flagging enrollment in his “German Literature of the High Middle Ages” course. He renamed the course “Knights, Castles and Dragons” and immediately tripled enrollment. Similarly, Jessica Holmes, an economics professor at Middlebury College, has enjoyed considerable interest in her “Economics of Sin” course that examines the societal impact of gambling, prostitution, and the drug trade.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, Prof. Resler observed that “we live in an age where everything has to be marketed in order to find a willing audience.” That means facts and good content alone cannot rule the day. Instead, the factual content needs to be woven through a compelling storyline that attracts attention and increases retention.

It’s an approach that works in the academic world, in the boardroom, at home, on the golf course, and in one-on-one meetings across the kitchen table.

If your words bore you, imagine their effect on your audience.