How Harley-Davidson got started, what led to their success, and what you can learn from them to help you grow!
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The most valuable resource in a sales team is to make things happen to be “a rainmaker” The role of the rainmaker is to find a dormant business problem and then create a vision of what life could be like if it were solved.
What dormant business problems can you find?
What is the vision you can create to solve this business problem?
Once the rainmaker has discovered the business problem it takes the skill of hunter. The hunter requires aggressiveness, confidence, and the capacity to make an impressive impact.
The Woolly Mammoth Hunter
The hunter is responsible for killing fresh meat and bringing it back to the tribe. Woolly Mammoth hunters use a four-step process in their quest for being effective and efficient. These four steps are:
1. Identification - Here the Woolly Mammoth sales hunter is seeking to identify the right animal. He/she will come across many types of prospects in their hunt. The successful hunter learns to identify the right opportunity before engaging the next step: pursuit. How do they know the difference between a Woolly Mammoth and other large animals? Simple, they train hard to become efficient in the identification process.
They do not allow other large prospects to take (waste) their time.
2. Pursuit - After identifying the right prospect, the Mammoth hunter then begins the second phase; the pursuit. Here, they engage with the prospect, asking the right questions to profile the account, understand what the needs and pain factors are, determine where they are in the selling cycle, and insert themselves as value added partners. Depending on the size of the Woolly Mammoth and the terrain, good hunters close the gaps to quickly move onto step three; the kill.
3. The Kill - In the sales vernacular, closing the deal.
Serious Mammoth hunters have all the tools in their arsenal that cover all the bases for the kill. Wherever they corner the Mammoth, they have the right tool to finish the job. In sales, here is where you have identified the need/problem, gathered the right data, matched that data with the product/service you represent, and have skilfully presented a passionate presentation.
4. Drag To Cave - Novice Mammoth hunters are identified here. They drag their kill into the cave, then organize and assemble the party to clean it. Often, they decide to do this themselves or hold classes on the subject. Once cleaned, the novice hunter continues to linger inside the cave, further removing him/her from ever getting back out and killing another Woolly Mammoth. Senior hunters know that their job ends at the foot of the cave. They go back out and capture the next one and not linger longer than required to exchange data, gather the latest cave updates on new tools, products or services, and go hunting again.
The Farmer Sales Person
Once the hunter has initiated the first piece of business a different set of skills is required and these are the role of the farmer. Some existing accounts require as much active selling as the new business to develop and grow the business within that account. Many sales people wrongfully assume that there is more business to be had from new rather than existing customers. Value-creating businesses recognise that the bulk of their present and future revenues come from the accounts you already have.
The skills of the farmer are not all that far removed from the hunter, they both require equal skills in questioning and problem solving.
With the farmer concept, you look upon your accounts the way a farmer would look at his land. The farmer cultivates, prepares, plants, seeds, waters, fertilizes, weeds, protects, grows, develops crops, harvests and then starts the cycle all over again.
1. Cultivating – learning as much about your customer as possible to discover opportunities to see what you need to plant so that you can harvest the results.
2. Preparation – putting yourself in a better position to service the customer, building your relationship to understand his business at depth, asking questions to uncover and discover further opportunities.
3. Planting - using your skills as a problem solver to offer solutions for the further problems you have uncovered within the account. Helping the customer realise that he has further problems that you can solve.
4. Seeding – demonstrating how you can solve this problem.
5. Watering and Fertilizing– showing how other customers have benefited by placing further business with you
6. Weeding – keeping your competitors out of your accounts.
7. Harvesting - requires that you get further business from the existing customer – you get more sales!
8. Continuous Harvesting - requires that you maintain excellent customer relations
Identify which of the top accounts you have hunted and brought back to the cave, which can now be farmed?
Discover your sales role:
Are you a Rainmaker, a Hunter or a Farmer, perhaps you are all three. Discover how you can increase your sales by becoming a Rainmaker, a Hunter and a Farmer
During my 35 year career, I have had the privilege of being referred to as a "Rainmaker" in several news articles and stories during interviews with some of my clients. I take that as a very kind compliment. Some ...
A friend told me some time ago that his granddad used fables and stories when he was a young lad to get him to understand things that might otherwise have been difficult for a youngster to take on board. He said tha...
Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development.
Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit.
He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine.
He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball.
He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website
Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website
Dr. John Oda
John Oda Ph.D NLP is a business peak performance expert, an author, and speaker frequently called upon to provide corporate training, workshops and seminars for many companies in the United States. He is an expert in coaching sales and business professionals in overcoming the behaviors and obstacles that may impede their sales results and affect their bottom line. Since 1995, John has created a speaking bureau such topics, which include: time management, sales training, human diversity, leadership programs and etc. He provides companies with a strategic plan to increase their bottom line by over 25 percent yearly. - Visit Dr. John Oda's Website
George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance.
Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson.
His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more.
George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website
Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations,
networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business
ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website
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Colly Graham
(Visit Colly's Website)
Colly Graham CEO of salesxcellence After
graduating from college, Colly entered the
field of accountancy however after five
years decided to change his career
direction in sales. First working for a
Fortune 500 company in fast moving
consumer goods, his career progressed from
selling capital equipment, financial
services to internet services, with a wide
management experience in both telephone
and field sales, concentrating on the
recruitment, training and development of
sales people, in this role he gained
experience in designing and building a
number of successful sales teams. Colly
brings thirty years of practical
experience of selling and his ability to
empathize with sales people and establish
immediate rapport and credibility as a
trainer, (the accolade Colly receives from
most sales people is “that he has carried
the bag”). A licensed practitioner of NLP
Colly trained with Richard Bandler in
1998. When I entered the field of sales,
back in 1969, with local franchise holder
for Pepsi Cola because of my lack of
knowledge of any selling skills I set a
goal, to one day, start my own training
company. As my career in sales progressed
becoming a sales manager, group
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