It's one thing to be good at what you do, but it's quite another to convince others of that fact. That's the role of marketing - to craft a truly compelling message about your business, product, or service, and to engage others to take action. But that's easier said than done.

In his new book, Marketing for Rainmakers, Phil Fragasso, a veteran marketing expert with more than 25 years of experience in the high-tech and financial-services industries, provides the steps - 52 to be exact - for anyone who wants to grow his or her customer base and enhance customer relations. However, the fundamental message of Fragasso's book extends well beyond the sales and marketing disciplines and applies to anyone who is interested in enhancing his or her personal and professional effectiveness.

In explaining the origins of his book, Fragasso takes us on a journey from the tactical into the strategic and, ultimately, into relationships with others. "So if marketing's goal is to motivate and rainmaking's focus is on building relationships," he writes, "then rainmaker marketing should be all about motivating the target audience to enter into a deep-seated relationship with the company, brand, product, or service that's being offered."

More a Conversation Than Reading
Like the relationship-building philosophy at the core of his message, Fragasso works hard to build a relationship with the reader, steering well clear of the professorial tones that hamstring too many other business manuscripts. For instance, he dismisses the four P's of marketing - product, price, place, and promotion. "In addition to being annoyingly alliterative," he writes, "this four-part litany is simplistic to the point of being meaningless. It also omits the two most important P's of all - passion and people."

Rather, he guides the reader on a quick and lively tour, popcorning Marketing for Rainmakers with self-assessment tools, questions, examples from the worlds of business and sports, clever turns of phrase, and illustrative quotes - all of which not only provide context to Fragasso's message, but also make it eminently more readable and enjoyable.

Each of the 52 rules of engagement bears a pithy title that relates to the subject matter. For instance: "Get Yourself Some Culture," where he talks about the importance of developing the right culture to attract and retain the best people; "Be True to Your School," where he draws a parallel between high-school pep rallies and the need to become passionate about whatever it is you do; "Sweat Like a Pig," in which he talks about focusing on the details; and "Kill the Cat," where he decries the decline of curiosity and challenges business leaders to keep the creative spark of curiosity alive.

A Fun and Inspirational Read
Fragasso's sense of humor serves as a backdrop for many of the 52 examples of the ingenuity inherent in rainmaking marketers and how they approach all aspects of their business - branding, strategic planning, tactical execution, customer relations, and building relationships.

Perhaps the most compelling message of Fragasso's book is that rainmakers don't sell. Instead, they form a genuine relationship with the client by sharing all the information needed to make an informed decision. This environment of trust will ultimately be rewarded in the marketplace.

Excerpted with permission. Copyright © 2008 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. www.summary.com, 1 (800) SUMMARY, 1 (610) 558-9495.