Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

•  
  Chacks12/13/07 Report as spam
  1

  Hunters and Farmers

  Hello, I have joined the Bnet network yesterday only. I was searching for the sales strategy for my company, a retail broking firm and happened to find your site while searching on the google. My short experience tells me that maintaining an account is a herculean task than opening an account. But one wont get to maintain if an account is not opened.

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine12/13/07 Report as spam
  2

  RE: Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

  First, welcome to BNET.
  
  Second, this is the first time I've heard anyone say that maintaining an account is harder work. Although, now that you mention it, there must be more to it than just collecting a commission check. I do know that hunter-types often look down on farmer-types. But I'll bet that a lot of farmers clean up messes made by hunters who promised more than their firm could deliver.

•  
  jtaber712@...12/13/07 Report as spam
  3

  RE: Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

  Anyone can sell something once...
  The true talent lies in the ability to grow and cultivate an account
  LONG LIVE THE FARMER!!!!!!!

•  
  timohammer@...12/13/07 Report as spam
  4

  chicken or egg?

  Without hunters no farmers!
  Without farmers no containable longterm growth, so no healthy business!
  
  A business with serious plans for the future can only work if it has employed both of these types of sales people. Best to be devided in two departments. (Sales and CRM)
  
  I am not really sure what type of sales person I am myself, most probably a mix. You have to know when is the time for hunting and when you have to work the field!

•  
  delphi@...12/14/07 Report as spam
  5

  In my experience (typically IT) ...

  .... the hunter gets specially rewarded with 'new account' bonuses. The comp plans may be identical and (appropriately) emphasize 'revenue' which is why the hunter is reluctant to surrender his account to the farmer. Usually the farmer doesn't inherit the account until the hunter has moved on - and s/he will because the nature of the hunter is to, well, hunt! In any case, it becomes a very difficult management problem, usually solved by quota adjustments (the hunter carrying the higher quota) .....

•  
  rodgazzard@...12/14/07 Report as spam
  6

  RE: Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

  I think we are missing a point here. Whilst "hunters" may be great for opening the account, they are much less likely to want to hang around to enter into the next phase of account management which is dealing with customer issues post-sale. Let's be honest - most B2B sales don't go without a hitch- and you need the relationship builder to step in and put in the effort to win the customer back round, thereafter creating cross-sell opportunities. Hunters have no time for this, they want to move on to the next deal. In our organisation we strive for a blended approach to winning new business or a "team sell" if you like. Our hunters spearhead the approach with our farmers as part of the solution build team.
  Rod Gazzard UK Sales Trainer.

•  
  CarolBlaha12/14/07 Report as spam
  7

  RE: Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

  There is a 3rd catagory-- caretakers. This is where hunters and farmers get bored. A hunter in B2B sales will lose the sale if they don't farm the account. But day to day caretaking can be delegated to an inside support person.
  
  Sell Well and Prosper
  Carol Blaha, Sales & Business Consultant

•  
  Java323212/14/07 Report as spam
  8

  My company may have this right..

  I am officially a hunter for my company and I make a much higher commission on my accounts than the farmers. Although I find that I spend time being a farmer for my accounts and basically giving the farmers easy commission!

•  
  gcushing12/14/07 Report as spam
  9

  I love farmers

  I'm a classic hunter and am happiest when finding and landing accounts. I'm weakest in following through over the long haul, as I'm busy out there hunting up new conquests.
  
  For me, the farmers are the key to maintaining sales - and all of our paychecks. Thank you, farmers!

•  
  recjr12/15/07 Report as spam
  10

  RE: Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

  I spent some time in the Group Health Industry as a sales professional. On average, I made 100 phone calls a day to businesses employing between 10-1000 employees to get 4 appointments in which one would close. Whether hunting squirrels or elephants I didn't mind turning the servicing and cross-selling functions over to the farmers. I was just too busy. However, I did get bothered when one of my elephants (about 1000 employees) decided to use another broker's services. An organization of that size represented approximately $50,000 in annual revenue for me. Now, one could argue that I could do an "end run" around the Principals of the company and service a company of that size on my own, however, that action alone would leave me unemployed; without equity in the company or a means of getting out of a 2-year non-compete, I just voiced my concern tactfully and moved on.
  
  As an aside, if a sales professional became too successful, regardless of how much the Principals of this company were making off the efforts of this individual, the sales professional didn't last long. The Principals kept all the equity; so it behooved them to let the strongest go and keep even more of the revenue. Perhaps a conversation for another blog.

•  
  togoeast@...12/16/07 Report as spam
  11

  Ego Vs Confidence

  A late reply, but in my experience companies today need both the farmer and the hunter. They are different tasks and require different talents. The hunter is all about ego, such as the starting QB. Many will say these guys are very insecure, and that's what makes them tick. The farmer is all about safety, security, strategy, etc. These guys have a lot of confidence when not in the direct spotlight. Different mindsets for different tasks. Of course, the QB almost always thinks his job is the most important. The hunter is more likely to keep quiet out of confidence.

•  
  bobber701/04/08 Report as spam
  12

  RE: Do Hunters Hate Farmers?

  The smart company cultivates teams where rewards are matched to goals and the team members are maximized by one another's talents. Just like a great marriage....difficult to find and terrific when you are in one.....because it clicks and is respectful of both his and her contribution.