When I first heard the term “Rainmaking” used as an euphemism for bringing business in the door I immediately thought of someone banging on a drum and dancing with the hope of producing rain. Just as I am skeptical of the success of a tribesman accomplishing this feat, so are many of our employers and coworkers as they wonder how the elite 5% of our companies are successful at bringing work in the door everyday. In order to truly build a company of rainmakers we have to breakdown this skepticism with knowledge, and then help others in our companies to truly embrace the rainmaking process.

Drums and Dancing don’t make a Rainmaker, but Networking does
As we discussed during my seminar on this topic at Build Business 2008, networking is the universal key to “making it rain” in business. This is because everyone, even introverts, can be successful at building strong networks. The key to networking is selflessly and continuously helping other people. By focusing on helping other people we build mutually beneficial relationships where others want to help us in return. Over time these relationships develop into a strong network of people that are continually working to help us succeed. When we apply this process consistently, we find that our network is regularly providing us with leads and information that yield new work. This is the process that turns someone into a Rainmaker.

Transforming Corporate Culture
Once we have demystified the art of networking we can then walk through the four steps of changing corporate culture: 1) Educating and Encouraging, 2) Defining Expectations, 3) Acknowledging and Celebrating Success, and finally, 4) Rewarding Success. As we follow this process we will find that building a corporate culture that embraces rainmaking is a choice rather than an accident.