Rain: What a Paperboy Learned About Business

by Jeffrey J. Fox

Overview

RAIN is the first business parable written by bestselling business book author Jeffrey J. Fox. The parable follows a young New England paperboy, named Rain, as he learns the business of being in business and quickly becomes the best paperboy in town.

Through a series of humorous poignant vignettes, Jeff illustrates forty "rainmaker" business lessons that can be applied to not only paperboys, but anyone in business and sales. Rain's time as a paperboy proves to be just as valuable as getting an MBA.

As with Jossey-Bass' popular Lencioni business fables, the format for Rain includes an actionable business model at the end of the book with instant takeaways and practical advice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470408537
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/17/2009
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

THE AUTHOR

JEFFREY J. FOX is the founder and president of Fox & Company, Inc., a marketing consulting firm that specializes in marketing strategy development, innovation, enhancement, and selling skills training. In addition, Fox is a popular speaker and the acclaimed author of a series of hard-hitting international business best-sellers, How to Become CEO, How to Become a Rainmaker, and Secrets of Great Rainmakers among others.

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Table of Contents

Preface viii

Acknowledgments xiv

Get Up: A Prologue 1

1 Opportunity 3

2 Interview Planning 8

3 Interview 11

4 Money 17

5 The Dinner Table 22

6 Day One 25

7 Mean Dogs 30

8 The Ten Customer Commandments 34

9 The Sundays 36

10 Referrals 40

11 The Contest 45

12 Luck 50

13 Bonus 53

14 The Bully (Part I) 56

15 Green Lightning 61

16 Innovation 64

17 Coffee 67

18 Rookie 71

19 Photo 75

20 Crime and Punishment 77

21 Collections 85

22 Ice 90

23 Exit Strategy 94

24 Valuation 96

25 Negotiation 105

26 The New Kid 109

27 The Bully (Part II) 111

28 Vern 116

29 Getting an M.B.A. 120

The Rain Reader 129

Epilogue 193

About the Author 194

Editorial Reviews

Sounding both earnest and relaxed, Jeffrey Fox’s outstanding reading helps make his latest audio a powerful lesson for salespeople, negotiators, managers, and entrepreneurs. It starts with the story of Rain, a young paperboy who wins customers, influences people, and builds his business with pluck and determination. Fox’s soft vocal urgency, along with his ability to write and deliver dialogue, creates enormous curiosity about where the story is going and when the lesson’s abstractions will be delivered. In the program’s second half, each phase of Rain’s adventure becomes a springboard for Socratic teaching on topics like ethics, customer service, negotiating, innovating, and respecting one’s teachers. The strategies are intelligent, but it’s the author’s warm reading and skillful moderation of mood that make the production's message endure. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Awardm 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2009 - AudioFile