It is a unique day, of course, so it seems like it deserves some recognition.  My friend Clayton Shold over at Salesopedia has posted some interesting, trivial facts regarding this day.

To pique your interest:

The last time February had five Fridays was 1980.

The chances of being born on February 29th are 1 in 1461.

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Here’s a good post on sales “rainmakers” from my friend Bob Rosner.  I suspect that most of you are aware of our emphasis on salespeople with strong listening abilities.  Part of a rainmaker’s skill set?  Absolutely:

DO Listen and synthesize. The biggest difference between an average salesperson and a rainmaker? Mr. Average assumes his most important tool to making a sale is his golden tongue. While Ms. Rainmaker knows that it’s her ears.

That may be the most important aspect of their abilities.  Unfortunately, we have seen this work against them in an interview.  Some hiring managers want to be wowed in the interview by some form of verbal gymnastics.  Often, we have to point out to the manager specific instances from the interview where the candidate was qualifying them.

One other factor that I think is common to all rainmakers is pointed out early in Rosner’s post:

It’s a story that I heard from a sage salesman at my dad’s car dealership when I was a kid. Two shoe salesmen land in Africa. Upon seeing hundreds of people walking around barefoot, one salesman sends a telegram back to his home office. “No sales here, no one wears shoes.” While the second salesman wrote back, “Huge market, everyone needs shoes.”

Rainmakers aren’t witch doctors who dance to make it rain. Rather, they’re salespeople who see markets overflowing where most of us see nothing but desert.

Exactly.  Rainmakers have the ability to see opportunity through what appears to be obstacles to others.  This reason is why some rainmakers are boat-rockers within a company.  They desire to power through these obstacles to reach the goal.

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Navy blue hopefully.  I say that with confidence based on this article from Selling Power – Design Your Image of Success.  From the article (my editing):

While good posture, eye contact, and direct, well-modulated speaking voice have long been deemed important in sales, only in recent years has dress come into its own as an influential factor. And even more recent, says Ms. York, is the realization that colors can also play a basic role in the business of motivating people to buy.

“Colors have a lot to say, and just as sales people should pay attention to the types of clothes they wear, they should also know what colors can say.”

“Salespeople should never wear black, for example,” she says, “because it’s too powerful and overwhelming. However subconsciously, people associate it with death, or the Mafia.”

On the other hand, navy blue is considered the power color, because it is authoritative, like black, but it also evokes trust. Another trustworthy combination is a gray suit with a blue shirt, “just like bankers wear. It commands respect, but it also evokes trust.”

Ms. York agrees with John Molloy (Dress for Success) that solid suits make a man seem more likable than pinstripe suits, and pinstripe suits make a man seem more authoritative. The following are several suggestions for suit and shirt combinations “for the man who want to be well liked”: gray suits with pale blue shirts and maroon ties, beige suits with blue shirts, and dark blue suits with pale yellow shirts.

I’m certainly no slave to fashion so this is valuable advice to me.  As we say, much of closing new business comes down to slight advantage.  No suit has ever closed a deal, but I bet some attire has cost salespeople a deal.

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