Unleashing the Power of Hunters and Farmers in Your Sales Team
In the fierce pursuit of delivering an unparalleled customer experience, the key to driving more sales and recurring revenue lies in harnessing the potential of your current customer relationships. To achieve this, a robust sales process with clearly defined sales positions is crucial. Many successful sales organizations have “hunters” and “farmers,” and they are not the same people.
Hunters, the assertive salespeople, thrive on chasing and closing new business opportunities, while farmers, the account managers, excel in customer success and account-based growth. In the best sales organizations, having hunters and farmers in their respective positions is essential for maximizing revenue.
Why Turning Hunters into Farmers Isn't the Ideal Approach
The challenge arises when companies unintentionally transform their hunters into account managers. This can lead to frustrating outcomes, as these roles require very different skill sets. It's not uncommon for CEOs to express their frustration with salespeople who are exceptional hunters but struggle as account managers (and vice versa). While some individuals possess the rare ability to excel in both roles, having a full team of such versatile salespeople is unlikely.
Defining Hunters and Farmers
Let's clarify these roles. Hunters, could be known as Business Development Managers (BDMs), are like scent hounds. They enthusiastically pursue new leads, master the art of prospecting, and identify fresh opportunities. Their focus is either exclusively on pre-qualifying opportunities to hand over to someone else to close or are finding and closing deals, setting the stage for account managers to take over to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Farmers, on the other hand, play the role of emotional support dogs. They provide unwavering support, guidance, and companionship to existing customers. Their top priority is to meet the clients' needs, ensuring they are satisfied, thereby fostering long-term loyalty.
The Pitfalls of Trying to Create Hybrid Roles
When aiming to optimize business growth, some companies consider creating hybrid hunter/farmer roles to do more with less. They can cut back on overhead, while maintaining continuity with the new account. It seems like a perfect solution! However, indiscriminately swapping salespeople between these roles is not a viable strategy. These two roles demand distinct skills and approaches. Furthermore, by asking your salespeople to transition between the two roles, you run the risk of your hunters becoming complacent and less interested in new business, and your account managers losing touch with the client relationships, which is such a critical part of account longevity and growth!
Statistics show that selling to existing customers has a much higher success rate (60-70%) compared to selling to new customers (5-20%). While keeping successful hunters with their initial clients may seem like a short-term strategy to maintain trust, it can lead to complications. Over time, hunters with an increasing number of clients may transition into farmers, hampering their ability to grow accounts effectively. Moreover, lacking skilled hunters can prevent the acquisition of new clients and may hinder the company’s growth over time.
We have seen the negative impact of hunters becoming account managers or farmers firsthand at two critical times in our firm’s history. First, in 2009 when we were just getting started, we had CEOs lined up to have us help them because they had learned that all their hunters were not farmers and they didn’t know it until the recession had hit and the phone had stopped ringing. Second, during the pandemic, CEOs again lined up requesting our help because their large generally stable clients quit purchasing at the same levels they had before and their teams of account managers were paralyzed by the thought of hunting. In both cases the former hunters had turned complacent and their hunting muscles had grown flabby.
Embrace the Strengths of Separate Roles
To encourage growth while keeping clients happy, it's essential to smoothly hand off accounts from the hunters to the farmers. This can be achieved by having the hunter and farmer work together during a critical phase of the sales cycle, allowing for a natural handover and client familiarity with their account manager. Introducing the account manager in the final stages of the sales cycle emphasizes their significance and gradually establishes them as the key point of contact for the client, while the hunter takes a step back.
If you've unintentionally turned your hunters into account managers, it's not too late to ensure the best support and experience for your clients. By maintaining two distinct roles within your sales team, you can secure ongoing business and leverage the unique strengths of each team member effectively.
In conclusion, the best sales organizations understand the importance of having both hunters and farmers in the right positions to drive revenue and provide exceptional customer experiences. Recognizing and respecting the distinct skills and personalities required for each role is the key to success in maximizing the potential of your sales team.
