In The Whale Hunters Process, the last phase of the Hunt is called “sew the mouth shut.” After the whale was dead, the Inuit whale hunters sent someone overboard to sew the whale’s mouth closed so that the whale would not fill with water and sink to the bottom. Clearly that’s a terrible task, and “sewing the […]
You feel the earth move, under your feet . . . and it’s not love. It’s a whole new world of selling to whales–those big companies, large accounts that are 10 or 20 times your average. Big company behavior changes radically when times get tough. Especially now, because many big companies have never experienced a […]
In the whale hunting process, “capture the whale” is the middle phase of the hunt. It’s the phase in which you hope to move from your formal presentation to the whale’s commitment to purchase. What process steps do you have to close your deal? Are you satisfied with your follow-up? This is a vulnerable time […]
In whale hunting, we talk about a whale as a deal that is 10 to 20 times the size of your average deal. Several people have asked me recently, “Is a deal always a sale? Is a whale always a customer?” Actually it’s fruitful to think of a whale as any big opportunity that allows […]
Back to my review of The Whale Hunters Process. Stage Two–Hunt–includes the phases ride, capture, and sew the mouth shut. This is the heart of the complex sale, that series of activities that occurs from when you have the whale’s attention through getting your first invoice paid. “Riding the whale” is defined as “progressive discovery, progressive disclosure” — […]
I am enjoying my role as contributing writer at the Women on Business blog. Sunday evenings are my weekly timeslot to post a new blog article. Tonite, I offered a detailed step-by-step agenda for an eight-hour day totally focused on increasing sales. The tool is for all entrepreneurs and professional sales people whether you work […]
I’ve been blogging about The Whale Hunters Process–kind of a refresher–and today we’re moving into the second stage known as Hunting. It includes three phases–ride, capture, and sew. The Hunting stage represents your core tactical means of persuading your prospect to become a customer. I use the term “riding the whale” as a reference to […]
In this series of blog posts about The Whale Hunters Process for rapid business development and growth, harpooning is the last phase of Scouting. It’s also the first true phase of Hunting–sort of the transition between advanced research and reconnaissance and actually venturing out to meet the whale. You may think of harpooning as the actual step […]
Yesterday I wrote about Knowing the Whale, first phase of The Whale Hunters Process. That’s about determining ideal criteria. Once you have written down the criteria, it’s time for the next phase: Seek the Whale. Go out into the marketplace to find lists of companies that meet your criteria. If you’re the harpooner (salesperson), the chief (CEO), […]
The first phase in The Whale Hunters Process is Know the Whale. It seems so obvious that a company would know the characteristics of customers that it is trying to recruit, but a surprising number of companies have not devoted much attention to that definition. I think it’s a core business development competency! So, if […]
Today I’m starting a blog series on The Whale Hunters Process. It’s a how-to process for landing big sales with customers that are much bigger than you! It consists of three stages—scout, hunt, and harvest—and nine phases, illustrated below. Derived from the story of how the Inuit people hunted whales, this process has several key characteristics: It is a […]
Found an upbeat article to start off my week. Based on short interviews with successful business owners in Maine, I found ten ideas for business growth in weak economy: Reinvent — consider how your products and/or services can realign with a changing market Customer focus — learn what your customers want and need today, not what they […]