An Expert Guide to Finding Your Team’s Sales Rainmaker

We have all heard of competitors’ having a key rainmaker on their sales team that have constantly shattered sales records.

So you may be thinking, “I need to hire a sales rainmaker.”

The truth is, you may actually already have a rainmaker on your team – you simply have been looking at all of the wrong traits and data to evaluate your team.

Keep reading to learn how to spot the rainmaker already on your sales team. Once you understand how rainmakers work, you can then harness their potential and give them the right support they need to make your company’s sales soar.

What is a Rainmaker in Sales?

Named after the Native American dance performed during times of draught to bring on rain that will keep crops alive, a rainmaker in sales is someone who works their own form of magic to bring frequent new business and accounts to the company.

Becoming a true rainmaker in the sales world requires a balance of expertly honed skills and deftly tapping in to a salesperson’s innate personality traits.

Many struggling salespeople spend a great deal of time trying to unlock the mystery of how to become a rainmaker in sales on their own. This makes your job as a sales manager even more difficult if your salespeople have not yet realized their own potential.

Read on to learn what it takes for your sales reps to become successful sales rainmakers, and how your sales team can benefit from the strength and power of these master sales professionals.

How to Recognize a Rainmaker in Sales

1. Sales rainmakers never give up.

One of the key qualities of a sales rainmaker is that she never gives up.

And a salesperson of this caliber knows that there is a fine line between persistence that pays, and annoyance that loses.

Rainmakers walk that fine line, and are careful in their persistence. Rather than a constant badgering, rainmakers continue to pursue their customers slowly, confidently and for the long-term.

While sometimes that persistence ends in a home run, there are many times that it ends in rejection, and rainmakers are highly skilled at handling the “no’s” with pride.

Rather than giving up after a whole slew of “no’s,” sales rainmakers stick with it, and push through the rejections without slowing down.

How do they get through all the rejections?

They do so by being both self-motivated and self-disciplined at the same time. Rainmakers in sales discipline themselves to keep waking up every day, and giving every client their best effort, regardless of what happened yesterday.

They also motivate themselves by remembering that there is a light at the end of the long tunnel, and it is a very bright one.

2. Sales rainmakers know their customers in and out.

Successful rainmakers are able to think just like their customers — what they like, what they do not like; what will bring them in, and what will push them away.

A big part of knowing their customers is catering their conversations to each individual prospect — a rainmaker never makes the same sales pitch to every potential customer.

Instead, they know how to read a person and gather what their behavioral style is and what their motivation to buy is — which challenges that prospect faces and which solutions they are looking for.

By collecting that information, your rainmaker is able to pitch something relevant and meaningful to each customer, thus massively increasing their chances of a successful sale.

Rainmakers are also highly skilled at understanding how their product or service will make the customer’s life better and are able to clearly communicate that with their prospects.

They also have a deep understanding of the competition they are up against, and how to present that information to a potential customer who asks “Why you and not the other guy?”

3. Sales rainmakers build genuine relationships with their customers.

Once rainmakers have connected with their prospects, they never stop working to build a relationship with that person.

Rather than jumping right into the sales pitch (as happens too often in the sales world), rainmakers first take the time to build trust by listening to their prospects’ complaints, concerns and interests.

Similar to how a doctor would wait to write a prescription until they know what the patient’s symptoms are; a rainmaker does not suggest products to a potential customer until he knows what the prospect needs.

This step is key to making their customers feel like an individual, rather than one person on a list of many the sales rep will be calling that day.

Sincerely listening to the struggles that their customers share is far more important than many salespeople realize.

This step really defines the difference between a regular salesperson and a rainmaker because it helps them build genuine and lasting relationships.

Rainmakers rely on those long-term customer relationships to help them not only make the sale today, but also so that they become the customer’s go-to person for future purchases.

4. Sales rainmakers know their own weaknesses.

Rainmakers are always looking for ways to improve and thrive on professional development. That is because in the end, that means they will learn how to connect with more prospects and close more sales.

While it is difficult for most of us to self-analyze and acknowledge where we need help, rainmakers are eager to admit their weaknesses because they are ready to jump into the next learning opportunity.

They view each of their own weaknesses as a challenge and actively work to improve as much as they can.

However, it is important to note that rainmakers are also self-aware enough to admit when they need help. That help could come in the form of mentoring, or could even include finding ways to delegate tasks to others so that they can focus more time on tasks that they are more proficient in.

5. Sales rainmakers always have goals.

Rainmakers never embark on their sales pitches without a goal in mind. And oftentimes, that goal is not monetary.

It may be at first for many salespeople, but rainmakers think long-term and set goals to help them create a great life that includes many things aside from money.

By having those goals in mind ahead of their sales pitch, they are able to stay focused throughout the meeting and are able to close more deals in the end.

6. Rainmakers possess a key innate personality trait.

Drive is an unteachable personality trait that research has shown is shared by successful sales rainmakers.

Drive is based on an objective measurement of a salesperson’s Need for Achievement, Competitiveness, and Optimism – all crucial traits needed to succeed long-term in the sales industry.

Unfortunately, Drive is not as easy to recognize in your salespeople.

In fact, Drive cannot be assessed by sales managers on their own.

In order to accurately evaluate a salesperson’s true potential, Drive must be measured by an objective online sales assessment. This prevents any personal bias from affecting your decisions as a sales manager.

Each salesperson’s assessment results will give you more insight as to which of your sales reps have those key innate personality traits needed to become true sales producers.

With the right resources, mentoring, and company culture, those sales reps who scored high in Drive will become your company’s sales rainmakers.

In Closing

With the constant growth in competition of all types of products and services in today’s world, along with the evolving sophistication of buyers who can see right through old sales tricks, it is more important now than ever that your salespeople learn how to effectively connect with their customers.

A rainmaker works to create a real bond, not just make a sale.

To evaluate your current salespeople and discover those who have the innate ability to become a sales rainmaker, request a FREE trial of our sales assessment today!