Hunter Vs Farmer: Who Wins More Sales?

Hunter Vs Farmer: who wins more sales?

Hunter sales vs farmer sales – there is a clear distinction – but which works best in our current climate? Hunters are found to be proactive and seek new opportunities, meanwhile, Farmers dedicate their time to nurturing relationships that already exist. Whilst our medium of choice is B2B Telemarketing, the fundamentals of sales and business development span all sales arenas. Our blog explores which style of sales is best to adopt when selling from a distance.

Hunter Sales

Like a lion stalking a gazelle, Hunters are committed, motivated, determined. A Hunter salesperson works quickly and seeks out new business opportunities. Using a hunter sales approach can prove beneficial in multiple ways. As target driven individuals, Hunter salespeople approach potential deals with optimism and determination, allowing them to manage multiple leads in quick succession. Not letting pressure phase them, Hunters think on their feet and close the deal.

With these advantages, however, are some disadvantages. As fast working risk-takers, Hunters can often close poor quality deals – quantity over quality is often the goal for individuals with this mindset. Moving quickly and thinking ahead to their next new business appointment, it can become difficult for Hunters to establish relationships with their prospects, which can consequently make the final close more challenging.

Farmer Sales

Farmer salespeople work to nurture their current client deals. This is beneficial as through nurturing they establish strong, long-term relationships, leading to loyalty. Farmer salespeople prove to be more patient when it comes to results and work tirelessly and with accuracy to meet their clients’ requests. Working more systematically, Farmers are less likely to make mistakes and build quality deals over quantity.

Working with a Farmer Sales approach can also present hurdles. Through developing relationships with their current clients Farmers become comfortable and tend to follow the same style, pitch and routine in their business development approach. Farmers are often unsettled by risk and rarely handle pressure differently when compared with Hunters, leading them to potentially shy away from the more proactive elements of business development. This style of sales works well with existing customers, however, Farmers are often found to work at a slower pace, meaning effective results can take time.

Can a Hunter become a Farmer and vice versa?

Both styles of sales hold their own pros and cons, meaning for a business to develop a solid approach to business development, they must consider deploying both types of salespeople. The determination of Hunters and their ability to develop new business can lead to increased business opportunities, often by capturing competitor market share. Meanwhile, Farmer’s abilities to grow and nurture relationships with clients can lead to larger deals, higher lifetime value and increased loyalty. In B2B Telemarketing we look to endorse the virtues of both approaches to across our teams. Naturally individual personalities align peoples’ strengths with a particular style and we always ensure that these strengths are linked to the most suitable campaigns and clients.

Considering today’s situation we have determined effective solutions for salespeople to pivot and use qualities from both styles in their approach to selling from a distance. You should be visible and approachable, reach out to your prospects virtually. When you do use this style, be understanding and considerate, remember they’re human, your prospects are currently dealing with the same restrictions and limitations as you. Interact and establish a relationship, create a conversation before diving into sales mode. The quality and content of your elevator pitch here are vital. Ensure your pitch outlines how your offering is of value to them, otherwise, you will lose them. Make use of your virtual tools, offer video-conferencing opportunities to your prospects for virtual demos. This will help with establishing relationships while growing prospect interest in the value of your proposition.