Marketing Rainmakers: Why You Need One And How They Can Massively Impact Your Business With Guest Expert Veronica Romney

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Lauren: Welcome to The Biz Doctor Podcast, my love letter to business owners the world over. I’m your host Lauren Goldstein, award-winning business consultant and advisor whose fondly nicknamed the business Doctor by my clients. My clients call me the business doctor because I help business owners who are burning the candle at both ends diagnosed what is actually keeping them stuck in and buried under the day-to-day of their business, and then formulate a business treatment plan to help them adjust their business and team to fit them.

And most importantly, support them in having what I call true entrepreneurial freedom. If you’re ready to look at your business in a different lens and elevate yourself out of the business operator in the trenches 24 7 to visionary business owner and leader who can take a breath vacation and have more fun making an impact with your business, then grab your favorite beverage and your earbuds.

And let’s dive into our latest episode.

We’ve all been there wanting to have someone on our marketing team that can consistently convert that zero into a dollar. But few actually do it well, and even fewer business owners know how to find that rainmaker, who does. But luckily for you, today’s show is gonna show you exactly how. Welcome back to the Biz Doctor podcast.

I’m your host, Lauren Goldstein, and joining me in the studio today is Dream Team architect, Veronica Romney. If you wanna know more about how to structure, hire, build, and develop your marketing team with a rainmaker at the helm, this is gonna be a gold mind of an episode for you. Now, before we get to the real juice of the episode, let me properly introduce my guest here in the studio.

Veronica Romney is Dream team architect who helps online entrepreneurs build their dream teams and train their rainmaking marketing leaders. She’s a former speaker and trainer for Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi and the former chief of staff of Mega-Brand Boss, babe. She’s no stranger to this stage and has been in the online marketing world for over 15 years, having been featured in places like.

Forbes Inc. HuffPost ABC News and more. When she’s not helping her Visionary Clients scale to Eight Figures Plus, or hosting her Rainmaker podcast, you can find her wrangling her two man Cubs in the beautiful oak trees of North Carolina. Welcome to the show, Veronica.

Veronica: Oh, I’m super excited to be here. Thank you for an awesome intro.

Lauren: Oh, you’re so welcome. I’m even more excited to have you cuz I, I just, I love the way that you make this so simple and yet impactful and I see so many online entrepreneurs struggle with this. Mm-hmm. So I’m really excited to talk through your Rainmaker Residency and how you’ve changed countless business owners’, teams and businesses.

So, to kick us off, why don’t you share a bit more about your path and how it led you here to found, found. Oh boy. How it led you here to founding the Rainmaker Residency and the work you do with online entrepreneurs. 

Veronica: Yeah. It’s amazing how your own personal self confliction leads you to your greatest work.

Yeah. So yeah, basically my story is, is this ping ponging tournament with myself where I have been behind the wheel. Being a leader in an organization both privately held, Public, public based companies, huge, evaluated corporations as well, working for big personalities and brands, et cetera, et cetera. Like I’m the one that made the golden calf that the people worshiped.

Like that was my function as a rainmaker, as a, as a leader. Um, and then two, also being the daughter of two Cuban immigrants who started a company. I have this belief that entrepreneurs birth other entrepreneurs. So yeah, I had that visionary. Call of the wild as well and had like a bolt candy website and I had like another e-commerce website and then I had a marketing agency that I ran and we ended up selling a couple years later.

So like I’ve had my bouts with entrepreneurship as well. And I’ve always just been an odd with myself, you know, being like, am I a visionary or am I an integrator? Am I better behind the scenes? Cause I hate social media, but I got a lot to say, dang it. Mm-hmm. And then the irony is, and I’ve never deviated by the way from marketing, like marketing has been my consistent boyfriend for like 15 years.

We’ve been in a very long term relationship. I still love him very much. And, um, I’m obsessed with him in all the ways, but you know, marketing your love or your passion for something can take on a variety of. Chapters. So like, love for something doesn’t have to be doing the thing. It can be teaching the thing, or it can be mentoring people who do the things that you’ve done before.

Like right, it comes in. Mm-hmm. And, and it’s like the, the Russian nesting doll, where just when you think that you figured out what your zone of genius is, you’re like, oh my gosh, that’s another shedding. Another shedding. So lo and behold, now here I am running a program for both personalities, the ones that I felt conflicted in myself.

I have a program for both. The visionary, CEO and their marketing rainmaker, who’s replacing the CEO, which has some fields. Mm-hmm. And I’ve created this program for a space where there are two stars to this story and this really critical relationship that needs to be made right in order for companies to hit their fullest potential.

And so here I. 

Lauren: Oh, so much goodness in that story. And I, I think the part that, that I love is,  is where your superpower is, is is giving those business owners the. Almost the permission. Mm-hmm. And the blueprint to let go because I mean, just like you know, I’m fractional CEO and there’s, they’re CEOs. I think there’s actually, Harvard says there’s seven different types of us, but there’s different CEOs and business owners, and especially for you, where you shine is with the ones that are really good at.

At marketing and mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But, but really need to let go. 

Veronica: Mm-hmm. To grow even bigger. It’s it, I have to tell you, and this is something that even for me, um, as much as I have been qualified to do the work that I’m doing, make no mistake that this is the hardest thing that I could. Possibly have chosen to do Cause I’m not giving somebody marketing strategies and tools and tactics and tips.

Cuz quite frankly there’s an abundance of programs, courses. Mm-hmm Masterminds that will give you that and 10 x all the things I’m asking people to be better. Hmm. I’m calling people up to be better leaders. I’m asking them to confront things about themselves that they’re not gonna, like, I’m going to have them, you know, challenge them to detach from an identity that they once possessed that was extremely fruitful for them.

And I’m gonna ask them to say, Hey, that was an identity and you can be proud of that identity, but in order to hit your new identity, you have to shed that one. Mm-hmm. Especially for my CEOs who are marketing centric, who are personal brands, who it is their voice, their authority, their genius that they’re bringing to the marketplace.

Like they’re the product that the marketer has to bring to the marketplace. Hmm. That has some feels. Right, like their worth is now also tied up. Identity and worth is tied up into the business, and I have to say, Hey, I’m firing you from CMO and I’m promoting you to CEO. How does that feel? Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lauren: Yeah. I I, I have the same challenge with a lot of my CEOs who. Um, are the, are the creators. Mm-hmm. The, the people who create, but I kind of equate myself to being the, the balloon strength to their balloon, to just keep them tethered, to make sure that we’re not floating all over the place. So I love that.

So the first. The first question I really have for you is, what exactly is a rainmaker and how can they change my business? 

Veronica: Fair question. Um, so, okay. Little story about where that, that name even came from. Um, so when I was at Boss Babe, I started. Uh, my tenure there as chief of staff, like really overseeing kind of the back end of the business, the operations side of the business, but we were having so much turnover mm-hmm.

On the marketing side, which is very typical of most of the CEO stories, that it’s not for lack of trying to find a marketer or for lack of trying to, to construct and build a marketing team. But it’s a very high turnover position in an industry. And we’re seeing a lot of that human collateral, right? So it’s no different.

I was at Boss Babe when we were having some pretty bad turnover in that marketing position, and, um, because I was chief of staff, because I’m like Uber, like, you know, Ted Lasso believed team spirited. You know, like how do we also intentionally try to like, use this as an opportunity to, to champion a newer version of the company to create positive company culture?

Okay, we’re gonna give names. To the different teams so that individual teams have identities within the company culture. So like ops team was  the mamacitas, and then the marketing team was the rainmakers. So our Slack name was Rainmaker. That’s where that actually comes from because you know what? We make it rain.

Yeah. In an HR appropriate way. Um, but my definition of a rainmaker, um, is basically a in-house marketing leader who is in charge of responsible for the prospect and that prospect’s journey from going from. Not being aware of you, not having purchased from you. Basically that $0 status to buying from you and transforming from a prospect to a customer for the first time.

That includes content sales. Revenue generating events and activities launches. That is the rainmaker responsibility is that prospect. Okay. 

Lauren: So let me, let me see if I understand this. Mm-hmm. So it’s, it’s marketing, but back to that Russian doll analogy, it’s many layers. Steep. Cuz I know we’re an, I think of rainmaker, I think of like a salesperson as a rainmaker.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So, Am I, am I understanding that it’s a multifaceted marketer who’s also doing sales? Yeah. 

Veronica: Especially in the online industry when you’re working with online entrepreneurs. Yes, because the nature of how we do the things that we do also changes the nature of a typical sales person, like my husband’s in corporate sales, and I wouldn’t even define how he does.

Sales for a corporation, software company that’s trying to go IPO and get acquired or whatever is the same as like a social seller who’s work in the dms or, or in, you know, a concierge in the Facebook group. So like it, even how we do sales in the online space is differently than maybe how you, we would traditionally define it in the corporate space.

But to me, a rainmaker is a marketing leader regardless of title. Their job is that prospect, how to convert that prospect. Some companies don’t have any sales personnel because they’re converting that prospect through a series of really intricate funnels and evergreen email sequences. Mm. Other people, because it’s high ticket offers, they have to have a sales touchpoint.

They wanna have a closer. It’s to tell somebody that yes, their unique snowflake will work for this program. So it depends on the business, but oh, but the responsibility is befalled upon the rainmaker to make all of that happen and those choices. 

Lauren: Gotcha. That makes complete sense. So walk me through what life looks like in a business before a rainmaker.

Mm-hmm. And after, and like how this is, this is a pivotal point in changing the business. 

Veronica: Let me, let me just play all the boxers. For those of you that don’t know what Voxer is, it’s a walkie-talkie app, you know? Yeah. And so, um, most online entrepreneurs, a lot of us in the industry use Voxer quite often.

Mm-hmm. And when you’re doing any type of consulting, you’ll usually use that as a platform to communicate with your private clients. I certainly did as a fractional chief of staff, and I do too. Yep. So, you know. Right. So the Voxer vomit. Yep. Yep. It’s the CEO who’s externally processing on Voxer at like 10 o’clock at night, 11 o’clock at night.

Because why in the hell are they the ones that found the broken link on the sales page an hour before the webinar? Mm-hmm. Okay. So that is a really. True, true example of what it’s like not to have someone orchestrate your band. And you have to not only be the talent of the concert, but also the orchestration of the backstage stuff.

What, what? Like, and that’s the problem when you don’t have a rainmaker and you are the talent, you are self-managing. Yourself and all of the other  people. And I, quite frankly, that’s just ludicy. Like there’s no way in hell that Adele is singing on stage. And also effectively being the hair Dr. You know, hair Dr.

Uh, what’s it called? Hairstylist. Hairstylist wardrobe. Yeah. Um, you know, all of the positions that go into running a show like a rainmaker runs the show. So the talent can just be the effing talent. That’s the difference. That 

Lauren: makes perfect sense. I love that analogy. I too am the queen of analogy. So that one I’m, I’m probably gonna use that one with, with my, it’s a good one.

Business owners. Uh, so in terms of, you know, building your team mm-hmm. And especially bringing in this rainmaker. What’s the number one mistake that you see CEOs are making when they’re building their teams? I mean, I know there, there could be a lot. Maybe top one or two, maybe Mm-hmm. 

Veronica: To grow Number one, Chronic, chronic, chronic, um, disease. It’s a really aggressive way. Mm-hmm. But I would say the number one issue that we see with startup CEOs more than funded CEOs in particular, is where they will hire or employ, uh, Micro versions of themselves. Mm. Um, and so because a CEO does a little bit of everything all over the place, they then hire people that do a little bit of everything all over the place.

And that is such a recipe for turnover. It’s so bad. I call them Frankenstein rolls, where you’re like, yep, part platypus, part duck, part on in zebra. Like you’re taking care of the prospect a little bit. And then also the customers. Super. The customer is really important. What the company needs support too, and it’s like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Like we can’t serve all these masters. So I see a lot of Frankenstein roles. Like honestly, if I came into your organization and just asked you to show me everybody’s job discretion, I would highlight like, okay, so this is part prospect stuff. This is customer stuff, and this is company support stuff. We have a Frankenstein.

Mm-hmm. Right. So that’s probably the number one issue that is a direct correlation to. Um, turnover. And then I think the second thing that I see a lot of my CEOs do is they hire a lot of, um, part-time or fractional stuff when the role really is like full-time plus. Mm-hmm. But they’re trying to be conservative with their payroll.

They’re trying to hedge against, you know, maybe some former trauma from something not working out in the past. And so they put people in positions to fail before they even have the chance to start. 

Lauren: Both of those, I see a lot. That’s true. You do with, with my clients for sure. And I, I call your Frankenstein roles also, you know, a jack of all trades, master of none.

Yes. Um, and that, that, Context switching is what really burns people out, cuz they’re, it’s not that you’ve given them too much, it’s give, you’ve given them too many unrelated things in their capacity. Mm-hmm. It’s just not there. Mm-hmm. Um, so with this mm-hmm. You know, building, building your team, if you don’t have a rainmaker mm-hmm.

And you’re thinking about. Bringing one in, you know, what, what do you do? What are the first couple steps to building that dream marketing team? Mm-hmm. And, and also another follow up question to what you just said is yeah, how do you know if something really is full-time requirement or part-time? Because I’m a proponent of some things, like it pays to have somebody part-time cuz it’s not a full-time 100 thing.

Veronica: Yeah, like I don’t have a full-time designer. I don’t have a full-time, um, marketing tech person. Like, yes, 100%. Depending on the demands of the brand and how much support is a requirement or how much needs to be shed off, the CEO will also dictate whether or not somebody’s part-time or full-time. I just don’t believe in, in, because somebody.

The initial thing that you wanted to give them only constitutes a couple hours a week. And because you really like them, you wanna tack on more hours. So then you’re gonna give them op stuff and you’re gonna give ’em finance stuff and you’re like, Hmm. Don’t, don’t. No, no. I’d rather have, I’d rather have specialists working a select a few hours than this random generalist that’s doing everything everywhere and, and it’s just a mess.

And you know that. And I know that to be true. 

Lauren: Amen. Once more for the people in the back.

Veronica: We’re gonna church. We’re gonna church. Amen. Yeah. So yes. No, no, no. I’m, I’m with you. And I’m also, I’m a very conservative CEO personally, and so like, I don’t like to bloat my p and l I don’t like to over overstaff. There is such thing as overstaff. So even though I’m extremely team centric, doesn’t mean I like to bloat teams with like unnecessary, um, managerial overhead.

Um, but. So I’m gonna answer the question that you asked me about, like, how do you know what you need at any given time, like at the right time, at the right moment? And it’s gonna be, it’s gonna depend on your starting point because there is a huge difference in who I work with when you’re, again, a startup CEO where you eat what you hunt, um, and self-funding versus somebody who’s funded, right?

So like a funded organization, a funded CEO has the luxury of hiring the leaders first and then trusting the leaders to build the doers and the team underneath them on their behalf. Mm-hmm. We have. We have capital. When you are a startup CEO, it’s in reverse. So it’s normally the CEO who at the very beginning of this inception.

Yeah, this genesis. You’re all things. You are your CFO, CM O coo. Yeah. And you’re the doer, and you’re the admin, and you’re Alex from customer service. Like you’re all the things, and then you start to relinquish the task. Right now, you’re giving the task away to people who can help execute. They’re not proactive thinkers, not because they’re.

Not smart. I’m just saying that their, their success measurement is, can you just do the thing for me? Like, can you mm-hmm. Can you remove this task from my task list and you can take care of the execution and I will tell you what to do and I will tell you what the measurement of success is in you doing this.

But you do it. Amen. Right? Mm-hmm. Where doers get set up for failure is when you’re like, why isn’t my doer coming up with this epic podcast strategy that will make me millions? I’m like, you’re not paying them to be a strategic thinker for you. You’re paying them to execute tasks. It’s very different.

Mm-hmm. So usually a startup CEO will go from themselves, then they’ll invite a whole bunch of doers to the party. Then they realize, oh crap. I have a lot of people that are asking me, and now I’m the bottleneck. And that’s when we introduced leaders. Mm-hmm. To them manage the doers. Yep. Yeah, 

Lauren: I, I love that I call those players versus worker bees.

Both are very important. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But yeah, I see at least in the work that I do with teams, where, where the CEO gets really entrenched and stuck is when they. They are asking themselves, I have a team, but so much is still falling on me, or why mm-hmm. Why can’t you help me formulate a plan to get to our goal?

Veronica: Mm-hmm. Uh, so I, mm-hmm. I, I’m a big, I’m a big fan of what you just shared. Mm-hmm. I actually was on a call earlier today with one of the members of my, my Rainmaker Residency program, and I lovingly told her, I’m firing you. I’m firing you from having to QA this and. Go forth and do a podcast interview in place of this, cuz that will serve the company way more than you dragging your feet to QA this newsletter.

Thank you very much. That’s great. Mm-hmm. 

Lauren: That’s a launch and learn moment. And I think, I think sometimes what we come up against, tell me if this resonates with you. Sure. But there have been mis-hires or misfires in the past, and so they get a little gun shy or. Or they’re having, and, and I’d love to hear how you connect the dots.

They’re having trouble seeing how. Getting out of this chief everything officer position as I call it, and, and getting back in their lane mm-hmm. Of what they’re really good at is actually gonna make them more money. Mm-hmm. Because I think a lot of times they see how hiring somebody is gonna cost them money.

Mm-hmm. Which is a mindset I get to shift. Mm-hmm. So how do you help shift them out of that mind? Said, well, number 

Veronica: one, um, I, I have this belief that we shed from top to bottom. Mm-hmm. So like, um, a CEO is actually the first person to shed things off their job description and off of their list before. So like, there has to be clarity.

It’s very difficult for you to see the value of anything if you don’t see the genesis of where it started from. Mm-hmm. So like, and I don’t, whatever you do with your process with your CEOs as well, but like, one of the things that we do very early on in my program is we have them do a shed list where we have the CEO write down everything that they’re doing on behalf of their business.

That time tracking. I don’t hate food diary journals. Oh my gosh. But like, just, just, just get it out. All the things that you do for the business. Mm-hmm. Then tell me who it serves. Who’s it serving? Is it, is it the prospect, the customer or the company? And ultimately, is it fulfilling the one role that you and only you can do and no one else can do?

And the fact that you bring up bees, I love bees. I love that analogy. Um, because one of the things that, if you’ve read the book, um, oh gosh, I’m gonna mess it up. It’s Mike Malowitz Clockwork. Oh, clockwork. Yeah. One of the arguments that he makes in the book, and I, and I give full credit to him, it’s a phenomenal, we love analogies.

It’s a phenomenal one where he talks about like the Queen Bee, but his argument in the book isn’t that she’s important because quite frankly, the hive will leave her ass if she stops producing eggs. Yeah. They will abandon her. It’s not her. Hmm. It’s the function that she performs that no one else can do, which is the laying of  the eggs.

So his argument is that there’s something in a business, there’s also that role, that function of laying eggs that needs to be safeguarded and team protected at all times. And I mostly work with entrepreneurs that are the queen bees cuz they are the spokesperson and personality for their businesses.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so if they’re not advocating, communicating and doing messaging moments on behalf of their business on a regular basis. Yes. Yet we’re not gonna have a lot of opportunities and we’re not gonna have a lot of traction in your content, in your social media. And you can’t blame the finger at your social media manager if you’re not doing your part.

So that’s what I mean. Like if you’re clear on what you’re laying of the eggs is, which is you doing those messaging moments as the attractive character, the primary spokesperson for your company, then whatever you shed off to others has to be replaced with more of that. In order for you to see the ROI of anything.

So just make sure whatever you give up, you have the discipline to put the right thing in its place, not just other admin crap. 

Lauren: Hmm. I think that’s a huge point of, you know, sometimes I see business owners that they’re just so overwhelmed and they’re like, just take this off my plate. Mm-hmm. But then they’re not strategically to your point, either making sure that the person that’s taking it off can run with it.

Mm-hmm. Or that they’re not just getting bogged down with more busy work cuz they now have this space. Cuz I think, you know, you touched on this in the, in the beginning about the shift with value and, and, and firing yourself from CMO to CEO, which change shifts how your value is. I know with my CEOs that I work with sometimes they’re so attached to the doing the busy work that it’s really interesting they have this.

This moment, and I had this with one of my CEOs, a few, a few days ago, late talk about a late night exorcism via Voxer, where um, he was like, I just, I don’t wanna be one of those CEOs that like, it’s just in the ivory tower and telling people what to do. Like, I wanna still be involved and like, I’m feeling the, just, I’m feeling really detached and it’s like I don’t know what to do.

And like, we had taken like a baby step and I said, listen, like it’s not about. It’s not about you being in an ivory tower. I don’t think you’re that CEO at all, and that’s not where we’re going. It’s the difference between having to do something and like you’re the only one that’s doing this, versus you want to do something and you’re dropping in and supporting and, and navigating and checking the pulse and feeling like you have this space to be that visionary leader.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So do you, do you see that that. 

Veronica: Resistance a lot in what you do. Amen. Let’s go to church again. Yes, I do. Um, can I get an amen on Tuesday? Yes, I do. Um, I do. I do. I do. And what, so for me, in the work that I do, what I hear in that conversation is identity. Mm-hmm. And worth. Yep. So if I’m not doing 20,000 tasks a day anymore, am I no longer of worth and value?

To my team, the business. Oh, no. Which is why you see a lot of CEOs. This happened to me at, uh, a software company. My last big corporate software company that I worked at for four years, but before I cut the corporate umbilical cord. Mm-hmm. Our ceo, Dave, had like, Got himself out of the business. I mean all, some of the best, best, best players in the leadership team like it was running.

And so we didn’t really need Dave, we just needed Dave to like go and be the attractive character and like go and, you know Yeah. Razzle dazzle on stages and stuff like that. And so he was, he was really struggling with the fact that we didn’t need him. Mm-hmm. So you know what the guy would do? He would come back, come back into the office just because he’d come back in and all of us knew, oh crap.

Dave’s in the office because we, what we knew what, what we knew to be true was that he would create a need for him. Hmm. And what, when you create a need for yourself, it’s because you are unsure of where your identity now resides. Mm-hmm. And so you’re gonna act accordingly, right? When you see yourself as a commander-in-chief, you’re going to act like a commander-in-chief.

If you see yourself in a different way, you’re gonna conduct yourself. It’s the same thing with parenting and being a mother or being a woman. Like if I. If I tie my value to being a good mother by how much stuff I do for my kids and, and like the Pinterest stuff or the PTA stuff, none of that. Actually, I’m a great mom and I do, I do none of that stuff.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But if I tied my identity to that output, we have a problem right away. And I think a lot of our CEOs, I. Who are coming up, who did all the hard stuff, who don’t wanna be perceived as holier than now, is because they’re tying their identity and they’re telling themselves a story that you and I know not to be true.

Mm-hmm. But it’s the fear. It’s, and it’s also that radical, you know, tension and resistance when you’re going from one level to the next, if you think it’s comfortable, it’s not. Mm-hmm. It’s really not so uncomfortable. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Lauren: Yeah. I call, um, Actually, I think it was Cameron Harold who calls that, um, seagull Leadership, where they come, they swoop in, they shit all over and then they leave.

Veronica: That’s a good analogy. That’s a really good one. 

Lauren: Cause I, I’ve seen that time and time again where, you know, my main objective is getting the business owner out from underneath out. From underneath. So you can like go do the things that grow the business and then they come, like clawing their way back and they’re like causing a.

Drama over here. Uh, so that’s, that’s definitely something that I love that you proactively address as well as I proactively address. Mm-hmm. Because it’s, I think that’s honestly one of the hardest things I see entrepreneurs having to overcome is this sense of like, it’s okay to let go of control and you gotta trust your team.

And, and so like from your perspective in mm-hmm. In Rainmaker and I want, I wanna ask you more about Rainmaker in a second. Mm-hmm. But something I love is that you actually do it. With it’s two seats. It’s the CEO o and the rainmaker. Yes, ma’am. To really, I think, I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but like help them build this relationship, this marriage, if you will.

Mm-hmm. Build that trust. Mm-hmm. And give the, [00:28:30] this, the now ceo, the ability to let go. 

Veronica: Yes, yes, yes, yes. And it, like I said, it is not easy. It’s like the hardest thing I could have asked to do. And yet it’s like my life’s purpose. So here we are, work 

Lauren: So here we are, work buttons for punishment. 

Veronica: But  it’s, it’s interesting cuz I, you know, for a long time I looked at it like, okay, let’s use the marriage analogy as well.

Like, we’re equal partners. We’re doing hard things, we’re doing all, um, we’re united in the common purpose that is the company, and yet it’s also not a marriage. Mm-hmm. Because one holds the power more so than the other one, in the sense that one compensates the other one. Mm-hmm. So it instantly, when somebody is paying you or is in a position to DIC dictate how much you get paid, the power dynamic is there that can not be negated.

So in some ways, How we navigate this. There is a component that is marriage like in the sense that we are united an equal purpose on the, on the behalf of a, a third entity, which is the child or the company. Mm-hmm. But then in other ways, this is also like working with a parent and a child when they go to therapy.

Right. It’s usually the parents that call the therapist, like, I need my kid to go to therapy, but then the therapist spends more time on the parent than it does on the kid. Yeah. So it’s, it’s actually like, um, It’s actually a combination of those two scenarios in some regards because a leader is the ultimate parent of their company and their team.

Mm-hmm. But when you’re talking about a leadership team at the highest levels, then it does feel like more marital. Mm-hmm. Because we are a leadership team and we make decisions on behalf of the rest. So it is, and I, and we navigate all of that really beautiful, nuanced relationship based frames. With love, tender care, and also hard truth.

Like you don’t, you don’t work with me to be coddled. I’m not gonna put you in an echo chamber of your affirmations. That’s not my role. I’m gonna tell you what, I think you’re doing a phenomenal job as a leader and then I’m gonna also call you to work on some other things on both sides. Both sides.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

Lauren: Yeah, I think that’s important cuz I, I have, um, I have a friend who I would call a rainmaker who came into a company and, and she’s hitting her head against, The, the metaphorical wall because the leader of the business doesn’t want to lead. Mm-hmm. But he also wants control. Mm-hmm. And so he’s like equal parts, like you’ve got it, run with it, but then wants like full input, which is not a recipe for success.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Do you see that kind of dynamic happen a lot? 

Veronica: Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And that’s, habits are hard, so hard to, to reprogram or to break a habit and establish a new one and, um, And so yeah, we feel for both. But I think what’s also really important, and mind you, I have myself and I have a whole, um, sports team of coaches, like the best coaches you can have.

We have an executive alignment coach, we have a transition coach, we have a strategy coach. So like we got, the whole bench is full of like some of the, the avengers of the most qualified people to do the work that we’re asking people to do. So we’re not just asking you to do hard things, we’re like next to you as you do the hard things equally.

In the hard with you. Mm-hmm. So lemme just put, put that out there. Um, but we have a program for 12 months because of exactly what you just described, because there’s regressions. Hmm. So different than when you get your kid to sleep the whole night and then they get start teething and they start regressing.

Growing pains have regressions. Mm-hmm. Transitions have regressions. A Q4 scenario is very different than a q2, q3, like, so even just the seasonality in which our marketers are having to perform and also the seasonality in which the CEO is having to be more out there is gonna, again, all of that is going to ask them to be a, a different version of themselves and to shed a skin that they used to have and felt comfortable in.

Mm-hmm. And so we’re, we do this for quite some time to help them. Do these habits, not one and done hit it and quit it, but for long term sustainable success. 

Lauren: Yeah, I love that. So it sounds like one of the key components to this Rainmaker partnership working really well mm-hmm. Is having. A shared vision.

Mm-hmm. A shared goal. Mm-hmm. So what’s the number one k p visionary CEOs must have and protect to make sure that everybody, you guys can’t see this, but she just made like a, Ooh, I can’t wait to talk about this face. Uh, like 

Veronica: the, what’s his name? Burns? Where? The Simpsons where he’s like, yes, yes. Yeah. Yeah, so I, I make this argument.

So if you literally go to the rainmaker residency.com page, you’ll see on my page that I make the, the con, the, the persuasive argument that the greatest ROI comes from giving out and distributing the right KPIs. Mm-hmm. And that goes for everyone on the team. From everyone on the team. But starting as at the CEO level, cuz CEOs also too should have job descriptions and also too should have KPIs.

Mm-hmm. And the KPI that I care about the most is that visionary kpi, which is the number of times you have messaging moments on behalf of the company. And we don’t. Quant, well, how do I say this? We don’t qualify the visionary KPI by the quantity of people in which you spoke. Mm-hmm. It could be a really, really, really strategic lunch with one person that can make a fool.

Right. So it’s not, yeah. How many people did you talk to? How big your social media following is? It’s just how many times did you advocate for the mission and vision of your company while your team executed on all the fruit of that effort on your part? Mm-hmm. Mm. 

Lauren: That is very important cuz it’s, it’s not to your point, something where you just put somebody in this position and you just let it run.

Veronica: No. Like, it very much is a partnership. No, we even have, like, we did a, I did a whole series of hi, uh, let’s say your Rainmaker was new to you, or you’re joining the program and we’re having, and we’re gonna match the rainmaker with you. That’s part of something that we do as well. Like we did a whole hiring and onboarding series to help this.

In particular not, I’m not taking place of hr, but we definitely want to help. Set people up for success in their first 30 days. Goodness. Yeah. Um, but one of the things that we talk about is we are, there’s no dumping and running. We are not dumping and running, which is, and it honestly, though, I will say most CEOs don’t do that.

The ones that are probably the most guilty of a dump and run is the ones that are already coming to the table, extremely burned out. Like they, they’re hiring a rainmaker because they’re already in a bad spot. And then they go, I’m out. I like, here it is. This person’s gonna save me the savior’s here. And like, please don’t do that to, to anyone.

Rainmaker. Yeah. Operations leader, anyone. Like, no one is gonna save anything. Like, that’s not how this works. So I will, I will say that, that like, we wanna be very conscious of that, which is why we have the internist coaches as well as the external, you know, um, massaging of the relationship. Because a lot of this is the internal,  um, resetting and healing too.

Lauren: Yes. I wanna say one more time. Amen. For those that didn’t hear Amen on the back, you know nobody’s gonna save you. Like it very much is a joint effort and a joint partnership. No, and I, I’m not a hundred percent sure how this is gonna tie in, but I’ve heard you mention before two separate lanes of business.

Do you wanna touch on that and then tell me. Tell everybody that’s listening about the Rainmaker Residency and give them a little more detail 

Veronica: about that. The lanes, are we talking about the highway, the prospect lane, the customer lane, and the company lane. What lanes are we talking? There’s sitting 

Lauren: I think, I think I think that’s the one.

Veronica: Yeah. You, you choose. Which lane do you wanna wanna drive down? Well, I, I do talk about this a lot because I, I look, I love, for example, one of my favorite business books of all time is Gina Wickman Traction. I’ve also studied a crap load of, um, Organizational behavioral charts and things like, there’s just, there’s so many ways that you can like org chart yourself up.

Yeah. And it can be overwhelming. And then I’m like, okay, can we just take it back to the fundamentals? Like, There’s three real things, like three lanes of any given business at any given time. Like there’s that prospect centric stuff where we have to, we have to convert somebody into a customer. Then there’s the caring for the customers.

There’s the customer lane, and you wanna go from not just like that $1, hopefully you do such a great job that that $1 turns into $2 and $3 and mm-hmm You’re stretching the dollar and you’re empowering your customers to sell more people and. Customer lifetime value and retention, and those things start to really matter.

And then there’s the company that serves them all right? So the company, the those in that position, whether it’s HR, bookkeeping, cfo, cpa, you know, your admin assistant, your executive assistant, like the idea with the company centric stuff is that they’re also money centric, but they’re like counting, saving, safeguarding the money.

Mm-hmm. So if the prospect lane with your rainmaker is making money and your customer-centric lane with your ops and your product and your fulfillment team is stretching that dollar, then somebody needs to be counting it and protect, you know, protecting it and safeguarding, which is the company-centric.

So that’s in the most simplistic way, that’s what I think of when I’m trying to architect a team and protect the Queen bee and the Queen Bee’s function and the visionary K P I, I’m always conscious of those three things at all given time. 

Lauren: Mm-hmm. Beautiful. Wow. Do you guys see why Veronica is the expert on this topic and why I had her on the show, I mean, Whew.

As much as I could talk to you about this for a long time, no. Especially us a long time. Yes. Um, before I wrap, I do want to give you a little bit of time to talk more about the Rainmaker Residency and how our listeners can further connect with you. 

Veronica: Well, if this resonates with you and you’re like, you know what?

Am done being the CMO of my business, I am done marketing myself no more. Then that’s something that you and I should absolutely talk about. If there’s a team member who has all of the potential and then some, let me, let me have ’em. Give me, gimme your chick and I will develop them into the best marketing leader of your dreams.

If you’re missing this person and there’s no one around you that can, that you think has the potential in your needing and some matchmaking services, we do that as well. But really, My job is to promote you to CEO. Like that’s it. Be the ceo, be the founder, be the spokesperson for your company, and trust the team around you to handle the rest.

And that’s why you and I would talk about the Rainmaker Residency. 

Lauren: So good. So good. So I know we’ve covered a lot. Mm-hmm. But are there any last nuggets or pieces, advice that you wanna share with our listeners before we wrap up? 

Veronica: Just that I, I have a lot of heart and compassion for what it is to, to do the hard thing, to start something from nothing to put yourself out there.

To take on the risk of public praise or humiliation to mm-hmm. You know, to feel the weight and the mantle of providing for other people and their families like, I just have this strong belief that it’s the entrepreneur, it’s the small business owner that changes the world, not the politicians, none of that.

I think it’s really the small business owner that has the potential to change their community, to change people’s lives, and they could use all the support they can get, and it’s really hard and they’re often very lonely and isolated and it, and it affects their family life. And so I just want you to know that like I ha.

I too know what all that feels like on a personal level, and my heart goes out to you. So you’re, you’re, you’re doing the right n0thing by the virtue of you listening to this podcast. You’re one of the good ones. How about that? 

Lauren: Yes. Ugh. I love that. It’s so true. So true. Okay, last question. I, I mean, you, you kind of answered it maybe a little bit, but you might have a different answer.

Um, I’m asking all my guests, what’s a book you think every entrepreneur or business owner should read and why? 

 Veronica: The Big Leap. Oh, such a good one. Thanks. Yes. That one changed my life. Because again, back to that nesting dolls thing, like there’s a such a  difference between what happens to you in your life when you go from operating in your zone of excellence, competency proficiency to like the actual zone of genius that you and you and alone can do.

I have been the recipient of doing that in my life, and it is no bs. I know it feels intangible and you’re like, this is just fluff. It is not fluff. It is real. And so Gay Hendrix, the big leap. Go buy it. Mark it up, read it. 

Lauren: I think I’ve read it probably three times. Mm-hmm. Because every time you get to a new level in your business mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. You ex you experience what he talks about in the book and, um, like, it’s just, it’s so great. I love that. Well, thank you so much for being on the show. It has been very so, so much fun to jam on this. And I know the value that you created for our listeners has been immense. So thank you for coming on.

Veronica: Well, thank you for having me and nerding you and I literally could talk about team stuff literally all day. So this is just fun thoughts we could, it’s, it’s a fun, it’s a fun overlap.

 Lauren:  Mm-hmm. So, thank you. Mm-hmm. And alright everyone, that’s it for this week’s episode. Thank you so much for listening in. If anything that we shared sparked something in you, we’d love for you to share this episode with your friends.

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