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Testimonials
Rainmaking Made Simple
“Maraia has put together what may be the most practical book available on building a professional practice. His advice is straightforward, readily implementable and eminently sensible.”
David Maister, consultant and author of Managing The Professional Service Firm, True Professionalism and co author of The Trusted Advisor
“Rainmaking Made Simple is a practical primer on the rewards of relationships. Too often, we forget that people want to do business with people they know and trust, not with companies or firms. Taking the time to build relationships is the key to increased business and long-term success. Mark Maraia gives us a commonsense, disciplined approach to sharpening our skills.”
Thomas C. Nelson, President and CEO, National Gypsum Company
“The ideas and methods Mark has set forth in Rainmaking Made Simple have energized our lawyers with a fresh perspective, not only on marketing but on building relationships with our clients. His approach works.”
Eric D. Daniels, Managing Partner, Robinson & Cole LLP
“Rainmaking Made Simple is engaging and absolutely on target. It is packed with practical truth about rainmaking. The principles outlined offer an invaluable roadmap to marketing success in the advisory professions. Mark Maraia has blown away the mysteries as to rainmaking. He offers great insights and definitive actions in simple terms. The book blends important practical advice and sound scholarship.”
Mont P. Hoyt, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP,
“Rainmaking Made Simple is on the “required reading” list for new associates and senior partners alike. We’re already waiting for Mark’s next book!”
Martin A. Bloom, Bloom Murr & Accomazzo, P.C.
“All of us are given and many of us choose to develop unique and valuable skills. Coach Maraia is in the “development” business with short and simple suggestions for success. He is also in the “benefits” business because at the end of the day the person being coached, his/her enterprise and society can all benefit.”
Ron Kessler, Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
“The master business development coach has finally taken his common sense, results-getting techniques and put them in a comprehensive book Rainmaking Made Simple. After utilizing his marketing approach in my firm of 150 lawyers, my only regret is now everyone will have access to his methods!”
Beverly Hedrick, Director of Business Development, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis
“Mark Maraia presents the keys to the marketing side of law the way no one else does. Clear and concise, he presents useful tools in a compelling and highly readable manner. Make all your young lawyers read it”
Sidney N. (Skip) Herman, Managing Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott
“Rainmaking Made Simple is a highly relevant and significant contribution to the art of marketing and firm management.”
John E. Tener, Partner, Robinson & Cole LLP
“In Rainmaking Made Simple, Mark Maraia takes the mystique out of rainmaking, cultivating relationships, and marketing. Open the book to any page, and you’ll find specific ideas you can use immediately—ideas that you haven’t thought of previously or that reinforce your ongoing efforts. Mark offers step-by-step guides on how to take action; this is real world, practical information presented with clarity and brevity. No matter what your level of experience as a rainmaker, Rainmaking Made Simple is a worthy addition to your library.
Barbara Leff, J.D., President, Legal Web Works
“As Chairman of the Client Development Committee for our 400-lawyer Texas headquartered firm, I have crossed paths with a number of law firm consultants on client development in the fifteen years I have served in this position. Mark Maraia is at the pinnacle among law firm consultants in the area of client development. He has worked with our attorneys the last several years and measurable client development results have emanated as a result of his superb guidance. Even attorneys reticent about consultants have become Mark Maraia believers.”
Jeff B. Love, Managing Partner – Houston Office, Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
“Maraia teaches skills everyone can learn. In Rainmaking Made Simple he provides a program of practical, easy-to-use ideas for developing the relationships that lead to business. Use one, use a few, or use them all: you will make rain and friends in the bargain!”
Kevin J. Lyons, Davis & Kuelthau, s.c.,
“I love what I do, but I hate to market it, primarily because I never developed the skill. This book has coached me to make marketing a priority. It has shown me in simple steps how to develop an approach to marketing that is comfortable to me. The process described by Mark Maraia will help me create opportunities to better meet my clients’ and potential clients’ needs. Improved client service is the focus. Increased business is the inevitable outcome.”
Bobbie Wilson, Life and Business Coach, Personal Solutions Institute
“Mark Maraia has written the indispensable guide to selling services. In this comprehensive and practical guidebook, Mark addresses the human issues as well as the skills issues, and gives the professional a clear path through the selling and relationship process. This is an essential addition to any professional’s library.”
Rick Freedman, author, “The IT Consultant”
“For any service professional who wants to unlock the keys to successful rainmaking, Rainmaking Made Simple: What Every Professional Must Know is a must read! A consummate coach in business development techniques, Mark guides the reader through every conceivable business situation with a practical step-by-step approach. A terrific reference tool with stand-alone chapters, build your professional services library with this one.”
Susan Tatro Slifer, National Marketing Director, Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP
“Mark Maraia, who is known for his dynamic oral presentations, has brought that same excitement to Rainmaking Made Simple. Mark’s coaching is simple, straight forward, and replete with common sense suggestions about generating and retaining clients in a cost effective and professional manner. Most professionals are uncomfortable with the prospect of approaching potential clients for business. Mark’s book is an invaluable tool for a professional seeking to improve his or her rainmaking skills.”
Mike O’Donnell, President, Wheeler, Trigg & Kennedy
“Mark Maraia set out to provide lawyers and other professionals with a deskbook for business development. He has accomplished that goal—and much more. Like his newsletters, “Rainmaking Made Simple” is full of very practical, extremely useful tips and reminders of the (obvious but often forgotten) things we should be doing every day. Pick any chapter and you will quickly find a suggestion that will instantly translate into an action step to expand your practice.”
Howard L. Bernstein, Partner, Neal, Gerber & Eisneberg
“Rainmaking Made Simple is a tremendous resource, literally overflowing with proven how-to techniques. I know, because I sought Mark’s advice in preparing for a ‘beauty contest’ to defend one of the most serious cases filed in Virginia in the last decade, and we got the work. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in creating new relationships and enhancing existing ones, all the while deriving more satisfaction from your professional endeavors.”
Stephen D. Busch, McGuireWoods LLP
“Rainmaking Made Simple is unquestionably one of the best resources ever produced to assist professionals in developing business. It’s a basic survival tool for marketing professional services. You have compiled an easy to read, step-by-step method of developing meaningful relationships with clients.”
Lise Monette, National Marketing Director, McCarthy Tétrault
“Fast read, sound advice, practical suggestions to grow your business: What more could the busy entrepreneur want? The number of easy-to-implement, money-making ideas Mark has packed into this little book is mind-boggling! I am overwhelmed with the powerful suggestions between these covers!”
Elaine Biech, author “The Business of Consulting”
“This book, written to and for professionals who want to ramp up their marketing effectiveness, is right on the money. From generating referrals to assessing client satisfaction, this book is a must-read for professionals who want to build a practice they can be proud of. Young professionals particularly should read and heed Mr. Maraia’s instructions—this book could have been titled, “The Marketing Habits of Highly Effective Professionals.”
Ann Lee Gibson, Ph.D., Legal Marketing Consultant
“Rainmaking Made Simple” takes the mystery out of process that many professionals ignore because they aren’t comfortable selling themselves or their organizations. Mark’s common-sense, practical approach to the subject is refreshing. Every aspect of the process is included, along with suggestions for actions to be taken to get the advance and record a success. It should be on everyone’s desk as a quick reference!
William C. Migneron, Chief Information Officer, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.
“Lawyers should read and then retain this book as an easy and quick reference on how to build client relationships. It contains a wealth of useful tips and reminders which can help all of us in achieving our practice goals. Mark Maraia is a stand out in his field, and this book shows why!”
R. Bruce LaBoon, former co-managing partner, Locke, Liddell & Sapp LLP
” Far more than just added value, this book is amazing in its delivery of crucially important rainmaking advice that should not be overlooked by even the best of rainmakers. Rainmaking Made Simple is the very best business development partner you can have, aside from the author himself!”
David I. Matheson, Q.C., McMillan Binch, Toronto
“Mark Maraia gets it. His new book, “Rainmaking Made Simple” gives practical, common sense advice on how to market professional services based on his years of experience coaching thousands of attorneys, accountants and other professional service providers. Personal marketing is about personal relationships and this book helps take the fear out of establishing productive relationships with associates, partners, clients and potential clients. It is the definitive textbook for anyone who wants to grow their professional practice.”
Mark Beese, Director of Marketing, Holland & Hart, LLP
“This book is a masterpiece! Mark has managed to pack much of his knowledge and experience into one volume. Rainmaking Made Simple has immediate daily application for our accountants. Just today I shared the chapter on networking with a colleague. This is one terrific resource I will use on a daily basis.”
Carol A. Poulson, Market Strategist, RSM McGladrey
“Mark Maraia shares the secrets of his own success at building one of the professional service industry’s leading business development coaching practices. A must read, Rainmaking Made Simple is a one-of-a-kind encyclopedia of practical, ready-to-use tips and tactics for finding, qualifying, pitching and closing prospects. Short on theory and long on pragmatism, this book is for lawyers and other professionals who want to rise to the top by incorporating sales, marketing and the highest levels of client service into all of their client interactions. Putting Maraia’s tips into action is the closest any professional can come to guaranteeing his or her own success at making rain.”
Peter Zeughauser, Managing Partner, Zeughauser Group and Management Columnist, The American Lawyer
“Mark Maraia has written a book that will make lawyers stop and change their ways. It’s a practical, down-to-earth guide on how to get new clients. Mark offers realistic and useable marketing ideas for professionals in every firm setting and sets the readers’ priorities straight. It’s tremendously useful to any professional who wants to have a steady stream of new business.”
Larry Bodine, LawMarketing Portal
“A great guide, for professionals who want to master the art and skill of marketing their services.”
Milton W. Zwicker, B. Comm., LL. of Zwicker Evans Lewis LLP
“Rainmaking Made Simple is a compilation of Mark’s best stuff and a fabulous resource. I will be sharing this volume (which is packed with practical tips) with our accountants and consultants.”
Amy Hoppenrath, Director of Strategic Marketing, CBIZ Midwest Region
“Rainmaking Made Simple is in essence a marketing coach. I think both in-house marketing professionals and practicing lawyers would find it a valuable tool.”
Jennifer Manton, Director of Marketing and Communications, Thelen Reid & Priest LLP
“Mark’s book captures the essence of business development: doing. This “how to” primer is packed with the information professionals need to be successful in virtually every situation. Beware! After reading it you will have no more excuses for getting started.”
Greg Null, Long Aldridge & Norman
Relationships are Everything!
“In Relationships Are Everything!, Mark Maraia provides insights that lead to more powerful networking and business building. This must-read book outlines the relationship skills you need for success!”
Marshall Goldsmith, NYT and WSJ #1 best-selling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and the recently published Succession: Are You Ready?
“As a senior executive with a growing company there are dozens of crucial relationships I must cultivate from the CEO and board to my executive assistant. No matter how difficult the conversation nor how high the stakes Mark Maraia never let’s you forget that the relationship is truly everything. If a leader doesn’t grow, then his business won’t grow. Mark’s continual reminders to put relationships first has made me a better leader and has delivered profoundly more satisfying relationships in my work. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have Mark as your coach, then reading his book, Relationships Are Everything! is the next best thing.”
Christopher J. Zinski, General Counsel, PrivateBancorp, Inc.
“Relationships Are Everything! serves as an excellent companion to Maraia’s first book and is a must-read for anyone looking to build their professional practice. The book is clear, concise and full of great ideas that can be put into practice immediately. This is a tremendous resource.”
Steve Gluckman, Senior Director of Talent Development and Acquisition, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
“At last! A practical guide to helping professionals thrive in an increasingly competitive market. We will be recommending this to all aspiring partners.”
Giam Swiegers, Chief Executive, Deloitte Australia
“Maraia’s second book, Relationships Are Everything! is a clear roadmap for excelling in a tough economy! It’s teeming with practical advice you can implement immediately and count on to produce real results. Relationships have never been so critical to success.”
Mark Thienes, Senior Vice President – Retail, Office Max
“Relationships Are Everything! is another goldmine of ideas for professionals who want to build their book of business. A Mark Maraia classic: chock full of pragmatic and creative ideas and action steps that will take your business development to the highest levels. Each chapter serves as an inspiring call to action. This book will not collect dust on your shelf.”
Peter Zeughauser, author of Lawyers Are From Mercury, Clients Are From Pluto and Chairman of Zeughauser Group
“Maraia has hit it out of the park again! Developing authentic relationships with clients, prospects and referral sources is the foundation for a successful and rewarding career. Maraia’s latest desk reference guide provides practical, pithy and proven tips that will help professionals at all levels build or expand their practice. It will be on the must-read list at our firm.”
Dean Harakas, Executive Director – Marketing & Strategic Development, Sherman & Howard L.L.C.
“There are many books about growing business relationships, but I know of none more pragmatic. From how to meet decision-makers and getting unresponsive partners to market, to inspiring client confidence and securing third-party endorsements, this is a book written from the trenches; 48 chapters of inspired insight applied to the real world. You can read Relationships Are Everything! cover to cover or flip through it with your particular issues in mind. It is a work destined to bring positive change to your business development efforts.”
Patrick J. McKenna, Principal, McKenna Associates Inc. and co-author of First Among Equals: How to Manage A Group of Professionals
“Relationships Are Everything! is straightforward, down-to-earth, simple without being simplistic, and an essential tool in the rainmaker’s kit. Whether you read from cover to cover or dive in whenever your efforts need a boost, you’ll find a crisp collection of short, lively and highly readable chapters loaded with effective, easy-to-take action steps. Maraia has poured both his passion and the wisdom gleaned from decades of effectively coaching lawyers into what is sure to become a go-to handbook for novices and experts alike.”
Debra Snider, author of A Merger of Equals, The Productive Culture Blueprint, and Working Easier; former Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer of Heller Financial, Inc.
“Having the benefit of experiencing the power of effective relationships from the perspective of the salesman in the field through CEO of two publicly traded companies, dean of a graduate school of business to now serving on the boards of five publicly traded companies I couldn’t be more pleased to read Mark Maraia’s useful insight into the how and why of developing personal connections. Regardless of your age or experience all will find something of use; I highly recommend it.”
Peter Browning, Former CEO of Sonoco Products Company, and member of five Board of Directors including Nucor Corporation
“Mark Maraia has zeroed in on the essential component of successful selling – relationships. Our industry leading sales force knows this. It is often said – It’s not what you know, but whom you know. I believe it is both. By building strong relationships, we become trusted advisors to our clients, our associates, and our friends. They in turn confide in us. Mark outlines the importance of this symbiotic relationship and how to develop it in his book. It is a practical guide to relationship building.”
Thomas C. Nelson, Chairman, President & CEO, National Gypsum Company
“The title Relationships Are Everything! accurately sums up Mark Maraia’s most important message—put the emphasis on the PEOPLE and the work will follow. This book shows the reader how to make business development fun, as well as profitable. Each chapter is a quick-read checklist of practical, easy to apply suggestions, which will leave you instantly energized and motivated to take action. Read the book; reap the rewards.”
Howard Bernstein, Partner, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
“Mark has done it again. I thought Rainmaking Made Simple was excellent but Relationships are Everything! says it all in the title. If you are not sure how to begin, build and leverage personal and professional relationships, this book is for you. This is a no-nonsense, common sense approach to developing business while still practicing law – and making it fun. Mark wraps it up in one neat package. In a world where common sense is not always common – this is a must read book.”
Beverly J. Hedrick, Partner, Cleland Consulting Group, Inc.
“Mark Maraia takes wonderfully practical insights gained from years of coaching busy, high performing professionals and distils them concisely into this manual for action. Take a paragraph, a page, a chapter and just apply it! If there was ever a time for professional services firms to understand the differentiating power of truly effective and enduring client relationships, it’s now.”
Nigel McBride, Chief Executive Partner, Minter Ellison
“In this companion volume to his extremely useful Rainmaking Made Simple, Mark Maraia gives practitioners at all stages of their careers the tools they need to build successful practices by building successful relationships. Mark’s insights and practical knowledge are presented in a format that makes his advice easy to access and easy to implement.”
Carl E. Anduri, Jr., President, Lex Mundi
“Our firm is keenly focused on teaching our lawyers how to deepen relationships with clients through more thoughtful networking and relationship building. Your newest book fits perfectly with that goal and is the perfect tool in alignment with our values and culture. We intend to make this book available to every professional in our firm.”
Pierre Paquet, Chair of National Business Development Committee, Miller Thomson
“Relationships Are Everything! expresses a fundamental and overlooked truth about business. This book lifts the hood and gives the reader a first hand look at what really drives a professional practice. If every leader took to heart the mother-lode of wisdom contained in this book, they and those they lead would be happier and more content, and their practice and their practice group would be much more successful. This book may evoke some painful self evaluation, but it will be well worth the experience. After 25 years in private practice and 7 years in the corporate world, I only wish I’d had and heeded the insight from this book a long time ago.”
Cleat Simmons, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, SunGard Higher Education
“In his latest work, Mark Maraia once again demonstrates his unique ability to cut through the theoretical clutter and present common sense and proven relationship-building strategies that you can immediately apply to your practice. By providing an easy-to-follow process for applying various skills, he helps you address challenges and barriers to success that you face on a daily basis. The light bulb went on for me throughout the book and I routinely use a combination of his cross-selling and networking suggestions to forge connections with previously hard-to-access potential clients and referral sources. I have no doubt that this book will become an indispensable reference tool for those professionals truly looking to master the art of networking and build a successful business.”
Chuck Keller, Partner, Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.
“Mark’s first book Rainmaking Made Simple was very practical and a great reference guide for our busy attorneys learning to build their practice. Relationships are Everything! complements Mark’s first book perfectly and is a very easy read. It is full of practical situations and checklists that our attorneys can incorporate effortlessly into their daily practice. Mark shows you how to make marketing fun while remaining true to your authentic self.”
Sonia Menon, Director of Professional Recruitment & Development, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP
“Common sense reigns. Relationships are Everything! provides simple, practical steps to improve a professional’s ability to build meaningful, lasting relationships. Although much of Mark’s approach seems obvious, I constantly found myself wondering, “If it’s so obvious, why don’t I do it that way?.”
Mark E. Golman, Partner, Strasburger & Price, LLP
“Mark Maraia has done it again! Relationships Are Everything! is the definitive easy-to-implement system for teaching the “hows and whys” of building lasting business relationships. The wisdom shared in these pages has proven indispensable for me in building one of the fastest growing national franchise companies in the United States.”
Keith Gerson, President/COO, PuroClean- The Paramedics of Property Damage
“Relationships Are Everything! isn’t hyperbole. Mark Maraia’s newest book captures what I have known for decades—the principles of true friendship building are the keys to a great and rewarding career! As a rainmaker in a global Canadian law firm doing extensive business in the Far East for decades and now in international business along with my legal practice I have found that Mark’s books are perfect if you want hands on, practical advice packed with anecdotes and checklists. “Become a better friend and you become a better rainmaker.” This is just one of hundreds of gems you will find in this book that, if applied, will transform your career and convince even the hardened cynics that you can enjoy and excel at business development.”
David I. Matheson, QC, Chairman, Matheson Global Advisory Group, Toronto
“The breadth of this book is remarkable: from planning to team building to developing unappreciated resources and continued improvement. Mark has once again synthesized what real leaders in the field do best. His book speaks as much to those of us in the corporate world as it does to professionals in private practice.”
Fred W. Headon, Avocat principal – Droit du travail, Senior Counsel – Labour and Employment Law Air Canada
“Mark Maraia is a gifted coach when it comes to relationships and networking for professionals. What sets Maraia apart is his refusal to focus on short-sighted technique; instead, he delivers an overarching theme that drives all aspects of a professional’s relationships, and brings true beauty to the practice of law. This book of short, sophisticated vignettes is a yet another example of his extraordinary talent, and a must read for the serious professional.”
Bobby Guy, Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
“Relationships Are Everything! stands in a class of its own as the “must read” of 2009. If you only have the time to buy, read and apply the learnings from one book then make it this one and re-read it every year because the lessons are timeless.”
Trish Carroll, Director, Galt Advisory
“Relationships Are Everything! is a perceptive treatise that should be read by every aspiring attorney, and also by partners who interested in getting more satisfaction out of the law practice while being more successful. Mark Maraia’s principles have yielded remarkable results for me, not only in establishing valuable relationships that have lasted for decades, by in handling highly complex cases and difficult situations. The reader will be rewarded by the persistent application of Mark’s lessons with respect to focusing business development efforts, identifying the client’s needs, being alert to feedback, giving of yourself without expecting a quid pro quo, and enjoying your professional activities.”
Lee A. Freeman, Jr., Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
“In my role as client relations partner I found Mark’s first book so valuable I bought 5 extra copies and lent them out to my partners because of the wisdom found in its pages. One reading is never enough. The same can be said about his second book, Relationships Are Everything! It is destined to become the most frequently consulted book on your bookshelf.”
Milt Stewart, Client Relations Partner, Davis, Wright & Tremaine
“My formal education and “on the job” experience as a professional engineer and utility executive had led me to seek results largely through technical solutions or business process improvements. Mark’s new book Relationships Are Everything! reinforces what I learned from working with Mark: relationship skills play a critical role in this success equation. I would heartily recommend it to any engineer or business executive who wants to succeed.”
Steve Schmitt, Vice President – Operations Services, American Water
“Mark’s second book is not only for people who have the aspiration to become a rainmaker but for the seasoned professional who wants to pass the torch to the younger generation. As a professional accountant trained in both Canada and the United States and now working in Hong Kong, Mark’s ideas are universal across different professions, cultures and countries. It is all about the attitudes to people and life in general. It is a fantastic follow up to his first book!”
Eugene Liu, Partner, RSM Nelson Wheeler
“A respected colleague referred me to Mark Maraia as a business coach. From our first conversation I was impressed with his insightful approach to problem solving. Mark has the ability to ‘drill down’ to the essence of an issue, while demonstrating understanding and compassion for the human aspects of the relationships involved. I have given his first book Rainmaking Made Simple as a gift to business associates whom, without exception, have thanked me for the tools and insights which they gleaned from Mark¹s book. I have no doubt that his next book will deliver even more depth on the subject of building relationships.”
Mark S. Beauchamp, President, Beau Delicious! International, LLC Franchisor of Café Yumm! Restaurants