Let's start with the definition of both in terms of their personality profiles. The two predominant personality traits of a hunter include 'higher dominance' and 'lower conformity.' That means the individual has above other desires a very strong desire to win, and will do ãwhatever it takesä to make that happen. The 'patience trait' may be high or low. If it's low, then they prefer the 'quick kill.' If it's high, then the long, drawn out sales cycle is the better natural fit. Extroversion can also be high or low. If high, they smile a lot. If not, then they scowl. Making friends? That's for after work.

The hunter seeks to convince the buyer that they have a solution to a problem that will yield the intended results. These are not the easiest people in the world to say ãnoä to. Prospects and clients that like the hunter salesperson do so because they know that their sales rep 'gets things done.' They like their 'no-nonsense-approach' to business.

By contrast, the farmer exhibits extroversion and patience as their highest traits. They will build relationships first, and then 'facilitate the buying process.' This sales profile exists to meet the prospect or client's needs. They are excellent at getting on the same side of the desk as the buyer, and 'feeling their pain.' They are very good at accommodating the wishes of their buyer, and people just love doing business with them.

Buyers do not have a difficult time saying ãnoä to farmers. After all, the farmer will understand, and see things their way. Farmers can be extremely effective salespeople when the buying process leans more towards a committee buy, with lower- to mid- tier people making the recommendation to senior management. The farmer profile can also be successful when the sales process includes working with alliance partners in a collaborative sales environment.

Here's another interesting phenomenon. Even with clients that have many successful farmers and hunters in their sales forces, the people that most often move into the first-level sales management role is the former hunter salesperson. These managers can really make life for their formerly successful farmer salesperson miserable, as they truly don't get how their employee sells. In fact, it makes them crazy. It can be the biggest single challenge for the newly appointed 'former hunter' sales manager.

Can farmers and hunters succeed in the same sales organization, selling the same product to the same buyer? Maybe. Consider the variables that are specific to your business, and to your sales cycles. There are some sales environments that are awful fits for farmers, just as there are environments that do not fit the hunter profile. This could likely be a topic that could fill a book (hey, that's an interesting idea), but in the interest of letting everyone get back to work, let's consider the following few things, and get on to another topic:

First, look at the facts. Do you have any evidence of success with both hunter and farmer salespeople in your specific environment? If you do, pay attention to that. By the way, this is a really good thing, as it opens up many more avenues for filling your openings with quality candidates. If you are the classic hunter salesperson turned sales executive, resist the urge to think that it's only people like you that can be successful. Just because it is not your personal style doesn't mean that it can't work. If you have evidence of success, then you need to figure out why.

Every sales position requires some element of both farmer traits and hunter traits, but there will almost always be a tendency to one or the other. Your job, as the manager, is to understand the nature of your sales environment, and then provide the guidance and support to your salesperson to help them bridge the gap in whatever area they are lacking. It's more than simply playing the 'good guy' or the 'bad guy' in the sales cycle. It's a matter of helping them strategize the deal, and figure out the best approach to victory. Accordingly, show me a sales manager that does not know the intimate details of their sales staff's key deals, and I'll show you a sales manager that is not earning their keep.

If this is a topic that is of specific interest to you, send us an e-mail to schedule a time to do some brainstorming about your sales environment, and your sales team.

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How about The Six Things Management Does to Kill Morale and Employee Productivity, and What You Can Do To Fix It?

OPUS is pleased to let everyone know that we have scheduled Webinars on both topics throughout the first half of 2006. Our friends at Sage software have been working with us on these two Webinars, exposing them to their partners for the past 18 months, and they have allowed us the opportunity to broaden the audience to non-Sage partners as well.

Both topics should have relevance to anyone that has upcoming hiring plans or team productivity challenges. Please check out the dates and the details by clicking on the OPUS Webinar link below.

You can sign up for any of the dates that are listed. We look forward to your participattion.

Special note: Although the normal fee for the Webinar is $95, we are offering it complementary to all of our newsletter recipients.