We had a great whale hunting session in Scottsdale last week working with the Asia/Pacific sales team of an international company. In the course of the workshop, they reached a very interesting and unexpected insight about their most promising business deals, which was this: We are not closing the proposals that demonstrate the very best ROI…...
The Wall Street waters are frigid and the skies are grey. Yet Warren Buffett said last week that it’s time to buy U. S. equities. He repeated his simple rule: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” Buffet’s advice isn’t only good for investing; it’s good for scouting. In The […]
At a Whale Hunters seminar in Phoenix, Laura Galante of Sitewire Interactive Marketing spoke as a representative of “the whale.” Based upon her experience as a marketing director/buyer of marketing services, she confirmed the whale hunting premise of the buyers’ table–that team of people who influence buying decisions in a very large company. We talk about […]
I presented a workshop last week to a group of owners of small to mid size marketing/advertising/PR firms. Their biggest business development lament was whale prospects who rejected their pitch because they did not want to be the company’s biggest client. Has that happened to you? Coincidentally, today I read an article about Orlando’s Small […]
In Chapter Ten of Whale Hunting, we talk about the traits of a fast-growth culture. A culture of abundance, not scarcity, comes first. But it’s hard lately to keep your head in that abundant world when everything around you screams “scarcity” and loss. So I have a little Whale Hunters advice to offer to your village during these trying days: a […]
buy essay papers Oh how we love to tout our services! Typically as we plan to introduce ourselves to a whale we are focused on us–our mission, our products and services, our value proposition. But of course the prospects hear that every day from lots of channels and broadcasters. What if we are all about […]
If you are nervous–or scared to death–about the economy in recent weeks, you are in good company. But instead of worrying about your own next steps, have you thought about how your customers are feeling–especially your whale customers? Whale hunters know that whales are fearful of small companies, even in the best of times. But right […]
Last week I presented a whale hunting orientation seminar at Arizona State’s Sky Song Innovation Center in Scottsdale. It had an interesting twist–the first presenter was my client Margie Traylor of Sitewire, who talked about her company’s growth as a result of whale hunting. Then after my presentation, we heard from one of the whales that Sitewire […]
I wrote a newsletter today about a feature of the RFP (Request for Proposals) process: it’s on the topic of the Open Meeting won’t repeat it here–you can check it out online if it’s a keen topic for you. Do you have sometimes have to sell by submitting an RFP? And if so, do you have a corporate […]
“Ambergris” — that priceless, elusive substance inside a whale that equates to new, better, and more rewarding business with an existing key account. Business growth multiplies when you mine current customers for new opportunities while also developing new sales to new customers. Here’s how to start: bring together all of your key people who interact […]
Another question that people ask me–“I am a very small business. I don’t have a big staff to assign as members of the boat. How can I hunt whales without a boat?” The answer is–you shouldn’t. Business growth by doing bigger deals with bigger customers is a team strategy, so maybe you are just not […]
I get this question a lot: “What do you do if you land a whale and they treat you badly–like implementing a 90 – 120 days payment cycle?” Many small business owners have had this experience with a whale or two in their history–a much bigger than usual account with a much bigger customer. It’s especially […]