I have always struggled to write because I felt I needed something truly profound to say. The reality is, I have thoughts and opinions, all of which are formed by experiences and lack of information. With that, I am going to take positions on matters and people will disagree with me. I will make assumptions that are frankly misinformed. I am ok with that and you should be too. Game on!
the big relaunch
It has been a very busy year; new job, new house, new state, new kids. All of these things combined to fracture any semblance of organization, prioritization and planning that I had. I fell off the bandwagon, but now I’m back.
All of this change taught me many things. It helped me learn about myself, my family, my priorities and my life interests. I learned that my family is my number one priority above anything else (something I always assumed but has now been confirmed). Changes have tested our patients but never our relationship. We have two beautiful children who are the love of our lives. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
My job has presented a number of new challenges. Working in business development can be a thankless job. Nearly all calls go unanswered and emails are almost never responded to. That being said, the few who do connect, who answer the phone or respond to email, teach you so much about the world in which they work. Companies large and small face many of the same challenges. Regardless of the problem, the root cause is people. More on that later but suffice it to say, I have discovered a new appreciation for the people aspect of business. More on this later.
So here I am. Back! Regrouped, refreshed, renewed and focused. Time to execute.
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The art of hunting
Hunting is an art. Granted, with enough firepower, anyone can make the kill shot but it takes practice, patients and finesse to be a true marksman. It is those attributes that I think sales representatives want to consider when hunting for new prospects.
Take for example a traditional sales approach. It starts by sending out a marketing blitz to hundreds if not thousands of people you do not know. Then, by tracking who has taken the bait, you open fire hitting a few of the slower targets while hopefully tagging a record breaker in the process.
While historically successful, this approach often leads to commodity pricing and an overall poor experience for both the buyer and the seller. What should occur is a systematic (not necessarily slow) calibration of both the buyers state of business and the sellers products and services to see if a partnership even makes sense.
Rather than taking a ready, fire ,aim approach, sales representatives should be honest and realistic about their ability to understand and work with a buyer. Providers driven by the speed of implementing a product or service don’t necessarily align with a company who’s culture is resistant to change. Yu mint be selling the best technology on the planet but if the end user doesn’t have access to a device to consume what your technology provides, it doesn’t really matter.
True hunting requires patients, understanding and knowing when to pull the trigger or stand down. Patients is required to find the right client. Don’t attack anything that walks through the crosshairs. Understanding the environment. What external and internal forces are at play. A slight miscalculation and the deal can walk away. And finally, being confident enough to know when the time is right to pull the trigger or walk away from the sale. Walking away can sometimes be the best possible outcome for both the buyer and seller.
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Hunter approach to sales
It fascinates me that many companies are likening their sales process to hunting. Before I get ahead of myself, know that I haven’t done enough research on the topic and there is likely merit in the hunter approach. I simply find myself conflicted with the hunting analogy.
I was raised and have always thought that hunting was an activity by which you tracked and killed game for food or recreation. Either way, there are limits to what you can, should and would be willing to take. Take deer hunting for example. Depending on the location, season and restrictions, many deer are off limits and there are restrictions to how many deer an individual can take. When hunting for food/survival, hunters are not greedy. They take what they need and only what they need. Even while hunting for recreation, hunters catch their keep and are done for the season. That means that many high potential game are left to grow and repopulate.
Now contrast that with the idea that sales representatives are hunters. That would imply that sales representatives are merely going to hunt enough to get by or that they will reach quota and stop. If that is not the case, if a sales representative takes more than he or she needs or exceeds quota, they are no longer hunting. They are poaching. They are engaging in an activity that could devastate future potential.
So if greed is a key characteristic to the hunter mentality, I think we need to rewrite history and gaming laws. That however, seems like an impossible task. Instead, find another power term to describe people who can’t get enough, hate losing and are determined to win against any competition/opposition.
Posted in Business
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