In business, a rainmaker is a person who brings in new business and wins new accounts almost by
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, since it is often not readily apparent how this new business activity is caused. It means generating substantial new business or additional cash flow
from sources sometimes outside established business channels, sometimes by connecting with people in non-traditional or hidden markets, and sometimes by prompting current clients to spend more money. A rainmaker is usually a key figure in the business or organization,
not merely a
salesperson
Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale.
The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
, but a principal or executive who is usually highly regarded within the enterprise.
The origin of the business sense of ''rainmaker'' may be an allusion to the
Native American practice of dancing to encourage deities to bring forth the rain necessary for crops. In summertime during a drought, for instance, the rainmaker would dance and sing songs on the plains, and the activity was believed by others in the tribe to magically cause clouds to come and bring the life-giving rain. By analogy, a business rainmaker would magically bring new business and
clients to a firm or generate more revenue from existing customers and donors, and ''rain'' is a
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
for money.
[Jeffrey J. Fox. How to Become a Rainmaker. Hyperion (May 17, 2000) ]
The term ''rainmaking'' is also applied to political fund-raising.
References
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Business terms
Fundraising