This is Part 2 of John Cunningham’s guest post on rainmakers and writers.

6. Fearlessness. Developing your own identity and your own message in your own voice can be a daunting task for a writer or a rainmaker. When go outside of the safety of the herd, you can offend those who lead the herd and those who fear the unfamiliar (recall “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.”).

The rewards for following your own compass to your own unique position in the world are great, but both writers and rainmakers must steer past dark and nattering naysayers along their paths.

7. Something to Say. I have connected with some renowned writers at conferences, and they all seem to share a deep-seated sense that they have something they need to say. It is not just that they want to communicate with the world. They have a sense that it is part of their purpose.

Really good rainmakers, in my experience, also feel they have something important to say about their work. They thrive on talking about it and their voices reveal their passion for it, as well as their passion for helping their clients.

8. Memory. Both rainmakers and writers need good memories. I have noticed that rainmakers often remember names and they can recall details about their clients and prospects because they become genuinely interested in them.

Writers also must remember everything about their characters and their narratives in order to develop stories that are believable, internally consistent, and powerfully cogent.

9. Working Well With Others. You might think that great writers need nothing but their keyboards. But they need to get along with editors and publishers, and if they want to sell their work, they need to get outside their offices and make connections. Otherwise, their work will die along with them.

Rainmakers too need to work and play well with others. This was a theme I heard often from successful rainmakers at the conference I recently attended. All of them agreed that successful long-term marketing of professional services requires cooperation with partners, referral sources and others in your network.

10. Written Content IS Marketing. Now more than ever, someone who can create thought-provoking and original written content can be a rainmaker. As service providers start to invest more in content creation and distribution, they find it is one of the most effective forms of advertising they can do.

The Internet and social media have created an abundance of publishing platforms that can make a truly distinctive message or story go viral at very low cost, offering a huge return on investment.