Is collaboration and teamwork replacing old-school superstar employee ("Rainmaker") magic?

For decades, every sales team’s dreamed of having a Rainmaker — the charismatic superstar who seemed to conjure deals out of thin air, whose name was whispered with equal parts awe and envy. But here’s the problem with Rainmakers — they keep the rain to themselves. Relationships are hoarded, networks are guarded, and when they leave… the storm clouds go with them.

Today’s world demands something different. The lone-wolf seller is giving way to an emerging figure: the Activator. Instead of hoarding, they share. Instead of being the solo star, they build an ensemble cast. And instead of depending on one person’s magic, growth becomes everyone’s business — rigorously proven in the research behind The Activator Advantage, a study of nearly 3,000 professional services partners across industries like law, accounting, consulting, investment banking, and PR.

Why Superstar Salespeople Are Losing Their Shine

Rainmakers were once the lifeblood of professional services and B2B sales. Their value came from personal gravitas and deep client ties. If you had one, you felt bulletproof.

But that model is creaking under modern pressures:

• Falling client loyalty: This year HBR have found that only 53% of buyers prefer to repurchase from partners or firms they have previously used — a sharp decline from 76% only five years prior. Strikingly, this figure is projected to fall further to just 37% over the next five years, highlighting a dramatic shift in buyer loyalty and behavior.
• Cost of churn: Retaining customers is dramatically cheaper than acquiring new ones, which can cost 5 to 25 times more to win new business.
• Overdependence risk: When business development hinges on one person, an exit — or a single misstep — can trigger losses that traditional Rainmakers could never buffer.

In short: the Rainmaker model doesn’t scale — and it doesn’t survive today’s dynamic, commoditised environment. Today, businesses need collaboration and teamwork in order to thrive.

How Activators Bring the Multiplier Mindset

Activators flip the script. Instead of being the hero, they subscribe to multiplier mindsets. They spot opportunities, yes — but they also know that selling is a team sport about collaboration and teamwork. They:

• Invite colleagues into conversations,
• Cross-sell across functions,
• And ensure clients access the full breadth of organisational capability.

They activate networks — inside and outside the firm. Driven by habits, not heroics, they adopt collaboration and teamwork to foster business development.

The research confirms it: firms that adopt Activator behaviors can increase revenue by up to 32% — even when their previously average performers shift mindsets.

What Are Defining Characteristics of an Activator?

• They share knowledge widely, ensuring insights don’t stay siloed.
• They build habits — not hope — around business development.
• They blend short-term execution with long-term growth, connecting immediate client needs to strategic relationship-building.

Above all, Activators democratise resilience and opportunity across teams.

Why Activators Outperform Rainmakers

Here’s the undeniable truth: Activators consistently outperform Rainmakers in sustainable growth and client outcomes.

• Broader resilience: Activators build dispersed pipelines that resist churn and shifting client behavior.
• Team benefits: High-collaboration teams outperform individuals substantially. According to the 2023 State of Teams Survey, teams with strong psychological safety outperform on innovation (+27%) and customer satisfaction (+18%), whilst Gallup reports highly engaged teams are 21% more productive and have 59% less turnover.

I didn’t realise it at the time, but for years we at Cegos have been practicing this approach: growing our business by growing our customer relationships. By encouraging Activator behaviors — bringing consultants into client meetings, involving the whole team in commercial conversations, and incentivising cross- functional collaboration — we saw results that went beyond revenue. The outcomes were healthier revenue: deeper relationships, richer engagement, and consistently higher renewal rates.

How to Shift to an Activator Culture

So how do you move from a culture of lone Rainmakers to one of Activators? It’s not about tearing down the old guard, but about building new habits, incentives, and mindsets across the whole organisation. Here are three levers to focus on:

1. Define Dual-Layer Metrics

Rainmakers thrive on big numbers. Activators thrive on balanced numbers.

• Pair short-term activity goals (calls, meetings, proposals) with long-term outcomes (client expansion, win rates, margin quality).
• Keep the metrics transparent so everyone can see how their role (whether it’s delivery consultant, analyst, or account lead) links to both today’s targets and tomorrow’s growth.

Tip: One law firm in the “Activator Advantage” study shifted partner reviews to include both immediate BD activity and team collaboration. The result? More cross-sell, less soiled hustle.

“Top performers track pipeline and progress: activity this week + growth this year.”

2. Train Mindset Agility

Rainmakers often default to the detail they can control. Activators learn to zoom in and zoom out.

• Teach managers to coach both deal-level detail and strategic account planning.
• Encourage reps to ask: What am I not looking at right now? Is there a market trend, a quiet client, or an emerging opportunity I’m missing?

Think of this like teaching your team to switch lenses: sometimes it’s a microscope, sometimes a telescope.

“Agile mindsets see both the forest and the trees.”

3. Embed Resilience Practices

Rainmakers burn hot — and often burn out. Activators play the long game.

• Build recovery time into performance rhythms.
• Celebrate progress, not just final wins: the meeting booked, the new intro made, the insight shared.
• Encourage managers to share stories of collective success, not just individual glory.

This isn’t soft stuff — it’s commercial. Resilient sales cultures keep talent longer, protect client relationships, and maintain momentum through market shifts.

“Teams with high resilience deliver 21% more productivity and 59% less turnover.”

The Bottom Line

Rainmakers may once have ruled the stage, but the future belongs to Activators. By reshaping metrics, training mindsets, and embedding resilience, L&D and sales leaders can build organisations where business development isn’t the job of a few — but the habit of the many.

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