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August 1, 2011 THE RAINMAKER

In Rainmakers' world, climate does matter

Ken Cook

The foundational premise for Rainmakers is that relationships are at the core of everything we do. Relationships develop over time through a series of interactions. Critical to each interaction is the climate that surrounds it. Climate is the feeling or sense one has about an interaction, ranging from totally positive to totally negative. Rainmakers work hard on this, seeking to make the climate for each interaction as positive and productive as possible.

Dave Jackson is a Rainmaker who really appreciates the power of climate. He is all about relationships and trust. During a conversation we were having, Dave shared a very powerful insight. For Dave, connections are electrical and molecular at the same time. They occur at levels you don’t recognize, but feel either in the moment or over time. These connections build a safe environment where everyone feels they are on the same side.

What Dave is describing is the climate associated with every relationship we have in our life. It is the nature of this climate that dictates behavior and results. If you create a trusting collaborative climate then everyone can be engaged in the moment. A negative or punishing climate results in people protecting themselves, as the diagram illustrates.

Climates that are collaborative and supportive give people freedom to use there energy in the moment. The focus is on the here and now. If a climate is adversarial or punishing, energy use shifts. The focus is on protecting oneself and one views everything through that prism.

The need to be safe is built into our DNA. If we perceive a threat, we naturally and usually without thinking take actions to alleviate the threat. We move to the left side of the chart, using our energy for safekeeping purposes.

Now consider a typical sales situation. We all know when someone is trying to sell us something and we naturally put up defenses. Our defensive posture takes us away from the here and now. We move left on the chart above, protecting ourselves and questioning the salesperson’s positive intent.

Let’s go back to Dave for a moment. Dave doesn’t sell. He knows that as soon as you start selling the collaborative and supportive climate diminishes. Rainmakers focus on the relationship and the climate first before thinking about any opportunities. The goal is to keep interactions in the here and now as opposed to shifting to safekeeping.

I polled several Rainmakers and asked them what characteristics they focus on when building a relationship. Their answers included:

“The relationship always precedes the sale or the product”

“Rainmaker criteria — honesty, integrity, feeling safe”

“Be real about yourself and who you are. Be open and honest to build trust.”

“Empower the other person to trust in your honest motives”

“Feeling safe = the ability to build trust”

“History and stories provide a good path for building relationships”

You’ll note that not once did the words needs analysis, profit improvement opportunity or pain point come up. These are all important, but they follow the relationship and trust. They follow the building of a collaborative and supportive climate.

Rainmakers want people engaged and building relationships, they do not want people sliding into a self-protection mode. Rainmakers know that climate matters.

 

Author Ken Cook is founder and managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors and developer of the Rainmakers System. For details on the Rainmakers approach, visit www.therainmakersrevolution.com.

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