Hunters, Farmers. …and Trappers

Everyone knows about the two main types of sales professionals – Hunters and Farmers.

Hunters head out each day in search of the great wooly mammoth of deals armed only with a spear and an expense account. The prey they are tracking: that great one-call close that will make their quota all by itself.

Good hunters are truly the rock stars of sales… and they are well compensated for their efforts.

And then we have the Farmers. Just like in early civilizations, this group of sales reps has learned how to generate new business from their existing garden of customers.

By not having to trek out into the cold, lonely world of airports and hotels they could concentrate on knowing, understanding and meeting the needs of their existing customers.

Maybe not adrenaline pumping selling but it can keep a business running quite nicely.

And then there are the Trappers. These are the stealth sales reps that have learned the likes, dis-likes and habits of their target market.

Knowing how, where and why their prey makes purchases of goods and services they can then place themselves in position to quickly build relationships and capitalize on opportunities.

They are somewhat like a Zen version of Willie Sutton (“I rob banks because that’s where the money is”). Trappers user their customer database or CRM systems to give them the insight to be effective in their efforts.  And you can find them quite often on the golf course!

 

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