The Dance Between Rainmaking and Sales

In a recent piece, we broke down the definitions of rainmaking and sales—and why confusing the two can keep your business stuck in a constant state of chaos if they aren’t aligned. We called it the seesaw syndrome: swinging between chasing today’s revenue and trying to build tomorrow’s pipeline.

But once you understand the difference between the two, you unlock the opportunity for something far more elegant than a seesaw.

You unlock the dance.

Rainmaking and sales aren’t opposing forces. They’re dance partners working in rhythm. And just like a waltz, the magic is in the coordination.

The challenge? Most businesses treat them like solo acts. The rainmaker makes the intro…and then keeps following up. Or the salesperson shows up too early…and scares off the customer.

When the roles are clear, and the timing is right, rainmaking and sales move in sync. The founder stirs up opportunities without needing to close them. And the salesperson closes deals without having to hunt every lead from scratch.