Looking Back: The Story of Rain

Rain is all about second acts and second chances. I dipped a toe into business development and marketing consulting when I started a predecessor company in 2004, and then again in 2009 when I joined a company known for its law firm public relations services.

Neither was a good fit. I spent much of 2004 planning, designing a logo, and preparing to launch, but I never really jumped. Fortunately, I had a backup plan. But at the PR firm, it became clear that our respective expectations didn’t align, and we parted ways. The itch to launch another consultancy was still there, along with the wisdom I gained from those failed pursuits.

Starting with a blank slate, I wanted my second entrepreneurial venture to stand apart. There were several law firm marketing agencies and various business development coaches for attorneys. Still, none seemed to closely integrate those two specialties under one roof and with a clearly defined philosophy. Opportunity knocked, and 13 years ago, Rain was born.

The core consulting philosophy of Rain is simple:

We’ve applied that same philosophy here, and by modeling what we preach to our clients, we earn their trust and further distinguish our brand in the marketplace.

The Early Years

I didn’t just talk about the Rain philosophy; I lived it. Cultivating relationships involves maintaining and resurrecting connections with existing contacts and creating opportunities to meet new people. I reached out to lawyers and law firm leaders I’d known in previous lives to tell them about my new gig and to seek their guidance.

I will always be grateful to those who gave me my first opportunities to coach attorneys, present at practice group meetings and firm retreats, draft blog posts and web pages, and demonstrate what I could do. Thank you for taking a chance on the new kid.

How Far We’ve Come

But enough about me. Today, we are 18 crazy-talented people strong. We continue to coach, speak in various forums, produce heaps of content, excel in graphic design, and serve most of our clients as their outside marketing department. Our team is fantastic at what they do and are terrific people to boot. Thank you all!

There are also the Rain alums who gave their time and energy and helped us increase our footprint. They were each compelled to be a part of this endeavor for various reasons, and I appreciate their contributions.

What’s in a Name?

So, where did Rain BDM come from?

Our first logo. Yikes.

My first legal marketing consulting venture was called PracticeSteps, which I thought was pretty cool until a healthcare-related company approached me about buying the domain. When it came time for a new name in 2010, “making rain” came to mind. Several companies in the legal marketing space use “rainmaker” within their brands, and the one-word, one-syllable “Rain” seemed a good fit. 

“BDM,” on the other hand, has been tricky. Most people immediately recognize the abbreviation for business development and marketing, but others have reordered the letters (MDB, BMD, etc.), put the acronym in front (BDM Rain), or dropped Rain and only called us BDM. To make it easy on everyone, we just call ourselves Rain now.

What’s Next?

There’s a reason I didn’t name the company Reed BDM. As we continue to grow with outstanding people, there are now many faces of Rain. Their voices and ideas deserve recognition, and my job is to spotlight them within and outside our team. Expect to see more of Rain’s thought leadership from their perspectives.

You will also see more of Rain in new markets. We’ve worked with lawyers in 25 states, D.C., and eight countries, which leaves the rest of the U.S. and other parts of the globe for us to make a splash.

Rain will keep expanding its service offerings, but not until we fully understand the service we’re offering. Client feedback programs and podcasting are two examples. Caroline Berger and Jill Clark implemented and orchestrated client feedback initiatives during their in-house careers and can now do the same for all kinds of law firms.

Although I really enjoy hosting the Sticky Lawyers Podcast and meeting interesting lawyers doing interesting things, I wanted our team to develop podcasting best practices we could bring to our clients. We don’t learn on the client’s dime; instead, we either bring on new people well-versed in those areas or commit to doing it for ourselves first.

I am immensely proud of Rain – what we do, who we are, and what we believe. The story isn’t finished, though. Stay tuned as we write new chapters.