Let’s spend a little more time on The Five Characteristics of a Rainmaker Today (and in the Future). These ideas are based on an instructive and motivational presentation I do for sales groups.

Last week, we discussed the power of having passion for what you do. People who are passionate about their work enjoy (better yet, they love) investing their time, talents and resources to do what they do better. And their passion for their work puts them at the top of their profession.

Another key rainmaker characteristic is an eagerness to compete and, indeed, almost a need to be competitive. Rainmakers live to compete, and my experience is that they are competitive not only at work, but also in pretty much all areas of their lives. Competing seems to be part of their DNA. If there is a ping-pong table available, this type of personality would want to organize, play—and win!—an impromptu tournament with everyone in the room. At the beach, they would strive to build a sandcastle as impressive as the condo they are staying in (and probably own). They just can’t help themselves—they love competing.

Since rainmakers compete so much at work, they develop a sort of “sixth sense” about what is—and what is not—a deal. They gain that understanding through experience. These are people with lots of game experience on deals of all sizes—because they constantly compete! Also with rainmakers, I’ve noticed a certain sense of urgency when working on a deal. They just can’t wait to see if they’ve won or lost. They are focused, intense and have that insistent urgency all the time.

Another thing about rainmakers and competing: If they lose, they don’t focus on that loss for very long. Of course they hate to lose, but they don’t fret about the disappointment for days, weeks or even longer. Instead, they take action. They learn from their mistakes and move on.

Several rainmakers have hired us to do a post-assessment and analysis on lost goals to see precisely what they can do better (and increase their chances of success) regarding future competitions. Many of these same people are now looking to us for pre-competition plans to help them develop a successful strategy to maximize their efforts at winning deals.

If you’d like to hear our entire presentation on The Five Characteristics of a Rainmaker Today (and in the Future), sign up for our Summer Sales Conference on Wednesday, August 25 in Birmingham. You’ll also hear from other experts that day on timely sales topics. (Click here for details.) Please keep in mind that this presentation also works as a powerful, motivating seminar I do for sales groups of all sizes especially during their mid-year meetings.


Rainmakers in any field love competing! It’s almost like it’s in their DNA. They wake up each day ready for competition. All day long, they look for opportunities to compete and then go home assessing their performance and thinking about possible deals for tomorrow. We know from coaching many rainmakers over the years that they have a kind of “sixth sense” when it comes to knowing if a deal exists or not. Then they have a certain degree of urgency once they realize there is indeed a deal to be had. If they lose, they don’t dwell on it. They learn from their mistakes and get ready for the next opportunity to compete.

Next week, we’ll talk about one of the characteristics that will best serve rainmakers in the future.