Most professional services firms hit a ceiling.

Not because the market isn’t big enough. Not because they aren’t good at what they do. But because growth is tightly constrained by a simple math problem:

How many engagements can your existing partners or MDs realistically serve, while also selling the next one?

For most firms, the answer is: not many.

This is the fundamental constraint of the seller-doer model. It’s the reason so many growth plans stall at $5M, $10M, $20M in revenue.

So what do firms do about it?

There are three common responses. Two are common. One is rare. Only one is scalable.

Option 1: Split the Seller-Doer Model

This is the classic enterprise play: bring in full-time business developers to sell while the delivery team focuses on the work.

It can work. But in practice, it’s hard to execute, especially in expertise-driven firms where credibility matters.

BD professionals often lack the technical depth to sell persuasively. They rely on case studies, frameworks, and thought leadership that the firm hasn’t made available or hasn’t kept current.

And while delivery professionals benefit from account growth and inbound leads, the BD team is often left hunting with a dull spear.

It’s also a cultural mismatch. In firms where “doing the work” is the currency of credibility, being a pure salesperson can feel like being an outsider.

If you’re not careful, you create a parallel org chart with limited collaboration, knowledge-sharing, or mutual respect.

Option 2: Buy Revenue

This is the go-to move for private equity-backed rollups: hire a partner with a book of business, or acquire a smaller firm with complementary capabilities.

It can work, and often does.

But it’s expensive. And it rarely comes with playbooks. If the partner leaves, their book goes with them. If the acquired firm doesn’t integrate well, it creates friction instead of synergy.

You’re renting growth, not building it.

So what’s the better alternative?

Option 3: Grow Your Own Rainmakers

This is the holy grail. Build a firm where partners aren’t the only ones who can drive business. Where mid-level leaders generate their own inbound demand. Where the next generation of leaders aren’t just great operators, but increasingly become great sellers too.

Historically, this has been the slow path. It meant years of shadowing senior leaders, joining pitch meetings, and absorbing deal-making through osmosis. It meant waiting for client contacts to rise through the ranks, eventually landing in a role with budget authority and a desire to work with someone they trust.

In hybrid work environments, even this apprenticeship model is breaking down. You can’t have water cooler conversations when there’s no water cooler.

And here’s the Catch-22: They can’t move up until they learn how to sell. But they’re too busy doing the work to ever learn how.

The Solution: Compress the Timeline with Authority Marketing

We believe there’s a better way to grow rainmakers—one that doesn’t take 10 years, two promotions, and a stroke of luck.

The same Authority Marketing we advocate for Partners and Managing Directors can be applied to your Directors, VPs, and Senior Associates.

Here’s why:

• They already have pattern recognition. Maybe not to the same degree as you. But they’ve done the work. They have insights.
• They have distinct networks. They’re connected to a different set of peers than your partners. There’s a combinatorial effect as you speak to your respective networks.
• They’re often closer to the day-to-day challenges clients face, giving their perspective a unique practical relevance.

What they don’t have is a platform.

They don’t have time to build one. They don’t know where to start. They lack the confidence. And most firms don’t offer them the tools or support to do it.

So they don’t.

Which means their ideas stay stuck in their heads. Their reputations stay local. And your firm stays dependent on a handful of senior leaders to bring in the work.

But what if that changed?

The Rainmaker Factory: A Playbook for Scalable Growth

We believe it’s possible to build a “rainmaker factory”. A structured way to grow the next generation of business developers from within. Here’s how it works:

1. Identify Your Bench

Select the 3–5 people in your firm who you believe could (and should) be generating revenue within the next 12–24 months.

These aren’t junior analysts. They’re high-potential delivery leaders with client credibility, industry insight, and ambition.

You’re not looking for polished speakers or prolific writers. You’re looking for people with something to say, and the curiosity to develop their voice.

2. Help Them Develop Their Point of View

Each person in your Rainmaker Factory should have a clear POV.

What do they believe most clients get wrong?

• What patterns do they see in their niche?
• What’s changing in their industry that clients need to prepare for?
• What frameworks or lessons do they teach internally that deserve a wider audience?

We help tease this out through structured interviews, call shadowing, and editorial support. It’s a coaching process, but it leads to real artifacts: posts, articles, and ideas that reflect their thinking.

3. Create a Content Cadence

We recommend starting with LinkedIn. It’s the lowest-friction channel with the highest upside.

Each Rainmaker-in-Training commits to a simple cadence: 2 posts per month. That’s it.

But here’s the key: they don’t have to write them from scratch. Your team (or ours) helps them write, polish, and schedule their posts. The ideas are theirs. But the heavy lifting isn’t.

The key is a low-lift, sustainable rhythm that amplifies their thinking.

4. Track Soft and Hard Signals

Don’t expect instant pipeline. And make sure they don’t expect this. But do expect signals.

We’ve seen junior leaders get invited onto podcasts. Get tagged by clients or prospects. Receive DMs from peers at potential client firms. Even earn a spot in an RFP process.

And along the way they get to hone in on their voice. Figure out what works

Over time, these soft signals lead to hard results: inbound calls, closed deals, referrals, speaking gigs.

That’s when you know the flywheel is working.

Why So Few Firms Do It

Firms often hesitate to invest in mid-level thought leadership. The concern is usually one of three things:

• What if we train them up and they leave? But what if you don’t, and they stay? Building their brand inside your firm increases their loyalty. You’re giving them something rare: visibility, support, and autonomy.
• They’re not ready yet. Maybe not to close a $10M deal. But they’re ready to say something smart. To attract early conversations. To build trust. And to grow into the seller you want them to be.
• We don’t have time to manage this. That’s what a system is for. A light editorial process. A calendar. A coach. When structured well, it requires less time than you think, and delivers more than you’d expect.

The deeper reason firms avoid this strategy? Many firms still don’t see marketing as a team sport. They see it as the partner’s job. Everyone else should focus on utilization.

But building a Rainmaker Factory doesn’t just unlock revenue. It creates strategic advantages that most firms overlook.

First, talent acquisition. Imagine you’re recruiting a senior manager. You tell them: “If you join us, we’ll help you build your platform. We’ll get your ideas out into the world. We’ll give you marketing support so you can grow your own book without having to cold-call anyone.”

That’s a huge win for an ambitious team member looking to become a partner someday.

We also believe there’s value in terms of valuation of the firm. Buyers pay a lot of attention to key person risk. Imagine being able to tell them you have a team of credible professionals capable of bringing in new work, and more importantly a process for doing that repeatably. That’s the kind of strategic asset that could make a material difference in your EBITDA or SDE multiple.

By helping your team build a reputation, and develop their own personal brands early, you create a better revenue-generation engine and build a stronger, more valuable firm.

Start Building Your Factory

A Rainmaker Factory isn’t a marketing experiment. It’s a strategic choice to build institutional strength. To reduce key person risk. To attract better talent. To close the gap between delivery and growth. And ultimately, to turn your firm into a platform for emerging leaders, not just a home for established ones.

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