Rainmaker

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɹeɪnmeɪkə/

Definitions

1. An individual recognized for their ability to attract clients or generate profits through significant influence and persuasive skills
2. A person distinguished by their knack for securing business opportunities and increasing a firm's revenue by leveraging relationships
3. A professional known for the talent in creating financial success and driving business growth by utilizing strategic connections and effective negotiation techniques

Etymology: The sense of "rainmaker" as a person who brings in business has little to do with weather. Its literal meaning is older and more concrete: a rainmaker was someone who claimed to bring rain, such as a shaman or a ritual specialist believed to control the weather, and the word was then extended to the modern figurative sense of a deal-maker or business-winner. The figurative use grew from the image of someone who makes money fall like rain on an organization. The word is a plain compound of "rain" and "maker," with no hidden foreign root. "Maker" in this sense means one who makes or produces something, so the whole word reads as "one who makes rain," which is why the metaphor of a rainmaker as a source of abundance works so well in business talk.

Synonyms: creator, initiator, producer, influencer, catalyst

Antonyms: detractor, failure, loser, opponent, impediment