A Data-Driven Look At What Makes a Rainmaker
DCMi conducted hundreds of interviews and analyzed nearly 1800 partner and senior business developer surveys to understand what top performing client developers do and how others can learn from and replicate that success.
Now profiled in Harvard Business Review.
Featured Webinars and Podcasts
LinkedIn Live: Redefining Business Development for Today’s Professional Services Market
October 23, 2023 with Matt Dixon, Rory Channer and Alexander Low
Rattle & Pedal: The Rainmaker Genome Project
October 23, 2023 with Matt Dixon, Rory Channer
Learn More About the Research
The evolution of professional services buying
“The doer-seller world of professional and financial services is fundamentally different from B2B sales”
“If you go back 20 or 30 years ago, professional services purchasing was a black box”
What sets top business developers apart?
The Five Profiles
The Expert
“The expert is sort of the reluctant business developer. They hang out a shingle that says ‘I’m an expert’ and their hope is when the client has a need that matches their interest, they will give them a call”
The Confidant
“The confidant is a classic profile in professional services. They try to go deep with a handful of clients and build a moat around the relationship through exceptional client service and great work product”
The Activator
“The activator is a network builder. They start by establishing connections and they slowly work those to their inner circle, where they become paid clients. The way they move them from the outer ring to the inner ring is by bringing new ideas”
The Debater
“The debater has a different point of view and they are always looking to shake up the client’s thinking, to reframe the way they think about a business opportunity. They are all about standing apart in a crowded market”
The Realist
“The realist is your honest, above-board, forthright truth-teller. They believe clients have been burned in the past by those who have over-promised or under-delivered. They believe they can stand out by telling clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear”
A Clear Winner
Using the firm-generated performance rating data we collected, we were able to compare the performance of partners who fell into each of these profiles.
A partner who chooses an Activator approach is disproportionately more likely to be a successful business developer than if they choose any other approach.
The Three Pillars of the Activator Approach
A deeper dive into the data reveals three key behaviors that are central to an Activator business development approach.
Learn even more about the Activator Development System.
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