Proactive Representation
Introduction
Proactive representatives tend to fall into one of two main categories: Hunters and Farmers.
The Hunters
Hunters are in it for the kill; they always smell fresh prey. They are tracking, sniffing, looking, following their leads, and finding prey. Their thrill comes from the kill .
The Hunter and His Dog
Proactive representatives are sometimes referred to as hunters.
The good ones want to dress their kill and preserve it to get the most meat (revenue) out of it and they work very hard to do that. They follow-up with their customers and stay connected to them. But the minute those customers stop buying, do not look for the hunter to hang around too long. They are always on the hunt, the scent of their next prey always present; if the hunter finds fresh tracks (leads) you can be sure the Hunter will be after it.
The good hunters will close well and take care of the customer, but most hunters are not very good at follow-through. The service after the sale details are not something they generally care about. Hunters don't stay in one place too long, either. They tend to burn out or move on to fresh territory. The Hunter has many customers and not all of them are high quality.
Based on this description, it is no surprise that a hunter is often associated with aggressive personalities who use aggressive sales techniques. In terms of sales methodology, a hunter refers to a person whose focus is on bringing in and closing deals. This process is called sales capturing. An example is a commodity sale like a long distance sales person, shoe sales person, and to a degree a car sales person. Their job is to find and convert buyers.
The Farmers
Farmers are careful to produce a harvest. They create sales demand by activities that directly influence and alter the buying process.
They focus on the herd and field, and are always looking for the best yield in their harvest . They invest a lot of care in the relationship part of selling and are beloved by their customers. They are trusted. Their customers want to give them all their business, but the buyers have strict policies against that. They nurture and cultivate their customers. They are personally close with their customers and really care about them.
A Bountiful Harvest
Proactive representatives who are farmers work hard to produce a harvest.
The bad Farmers do not close the sale well. They are mostly order-takers. The really bad ones are poor at administration, too.
The great farmers get high quality customers and become the vendor of choice with those customers. The great farmers really look for customers who match a specific profile and seek to develop business intimacy and long term mutually beneficial relationships with them.
The bad farmers think customer service is a substitute for a closing. They will think the customer will come around if they just wait. But if they say that regularly, they have a problem.
Good farmers are intentional and they expect more business and will move on from a beloved customer who is not producing. The farmer has a lot fewer customers, but all good farmers are high producing.
The reality is that most professional sales people possess both qualities.