The rainmakers

by Rick Phillips

Bob Hampton was the first sales manager I had at Xerox. He called me into his office and told me he selected me from the rookie team to take over a new territory. I’ll never forget how he ended that first conversation. He said: “Phillips, I don’t expect miracles but I want you to make it rain.”

At the time I was too excited to ask what I thought might be a stupid question: “He wants me to make it rain?”

Months later I asked and he explained that a rainmaker was a person who could go anywhere, no matter what the conditions and produce results.

“Rainmakers are the people everyone on the team depends upon,” Bob said. “They charge up the side of a mountain, alone, talk privately to the sales gods and soon the orders begin falling from the skies onto lands once barren of sales.”

We laughed and I asked what he thought were the attributes of a great rainmaker. He said that there were basically four virtues shared by all of the rainmakers he had ever seen: optimism, ego, greed and empathy.

Optimism
Optimists seem to find ways to make the rain come.

There is an old story of a New England shoe manufacturer who wanted to expand his market. He sent one of his sons to Africa and the other to India. He soon received two wires. The first wire said:  “No one in Africa wears shoes. Returning immediately.” The second wire said: “No one in India has shoes. Send stock immediately.”

Guess which son eventually took control of the company.

I once had the opportunity to work with a rainmaker who made optimism work in the street. Jim Power was perennially the top salesman in our organization and at one of our meetings, Jim once again won the award for salesman of the quarter. His numbers were so great that one of the other salespeople asked if a certain major national account had closed. Jim responded that he had in fact lost that particular order, but since he wasn't working on that account, it had given him time to take care of a lot of new business that he could not work on before.

Jim made the glass half full because he was willing to put on his rainmaker costume and dance very hard instead of sitting around whining and asking why it was raining for his competitor.

Ego
While ego is not normally thought of as a virtue,  Bob explained that the rainmakers have so much pride, they never believe anyone can outsell them.

“They really believe that nothing is impossible for them, ” Bob said.

Bob reminded me of a famous story in the company about Susan Perry. Few people in the organization were more confident of themselves than Susan.

It seems that in this particular incident, the buying committee of a large law firm told Susan they decided to purchase from a competitor. At that very moment Susan probably fainted or at least looked very ill because two people rushed to her side and another brought her some water.

Susan tried to regain her composure as several members of the committee reassured her their decision was no reflection on her personally. She looked at each one of them and then apologized with a voice that cracked with shock and shame. She explained she never in her lifetime lost a prospect to this particular competitor.

She then said: “Gentlemen, I would never challenge your decision. I know that you analyzed the question thoroughly and made the best decision you could based on the information you have. But, before we leave, will you please tell me what was the real difference for you between their proposal and ours.”

Thirty minutes later they were in the car with the order. Bob asked her again if she was OK. She smiled and replied that she had never felt better and told Bob that she would have jumped out of the window before loosing that order. Susan’s ego wouldn’t let her loose that order and ultimately she knew the decision to buy from her was the best possible for the client.

Greed
Greed is another trait not normally thought of as a virtue. Bob explained rainmakers are all motivated by something tangible. Perhaps greed is an uncharitable way to describe this drive of the rainmaker.

A friend of mine is a very successful commercial real estate agent, a rainmaker driven by greed or monetary security. She is not blinded by greed nor does she let it drive her to the unethical. She simply states that as a single mother she has to make a $100,000 a year to support and educate her children.

She says just because she is raising her children by herself, there is no reason for them not to have a new car, a comfortable home, quality schools and memorable summer vacation trips. She is driven to do her best and has become a rainmaker. She has that quality Bob referred to as greed.

Empathy
An old Native American belief says you should walk a mile in a man’s shoes before you judge him. The rainmaker goes the extra mile.

The rainmaker instinctively understands the pressures on the buyer. He knows the buyer has more on the line than the salesperson and he wants to help the buyer make a correct decision.

Sometimes that means the rainmaker will need to do extraordinary things to get the sale, but sometimes it means he will sacrifice a sale.

Some time ago, one of my friends at Xerox got a sizable order on a single call. He explained that several years before, the prospect was just starting his business and my friend had recommended he call a particular competitor and buy a certain “start-up” copier. He even told him what price he should pay.

The customer appreciated the good advice this salesperson gave him, based on his situation. When that situation changed, he called the Xerox rainmaker.

Empathy turned a short-term loss into a long-term customer.

The rainmaker understands the buyer always buys from his perspective, so it only makes sense to sell with empathy. The rainmaker probes to discover what the purchase will mean to the buyer, personally and professionally. Once he understands the consequences to the buyer, he can answer those needs and sell with empathy.

The rainmaker brings life
The tribal rainmaker is an honored member of the community. He breaks the drought with his dances and incantations and brings the rain that brings life to the crops and animals and prosperity to the tribe.

On the sales team, our rainmakers are the ones who bring in the business when nobody else can. It is up to mangers to nurture, support and encourage them while understanding their idiosyncrasies. It is up to the individual sales professional to develop the characteristics of optimism, ego, greed and empathy.

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