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India B2B sales-Part 1-The Hunters

By C Chaitanya
Starting a new series of blog posts on sales gyan with inputs from our sales head, Rajiv Bharatan.
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The Hunters

In sales parlance, hunting is simply going after new logos. The opportunity may arise due to
  • An in-bound lead
  • It could be a referral (referrals can be internal or external)
  • It can be a cold-call (which seems to be completely out of fashion now).
  • It can be a cold email
  • It could be through a direct message on social media
One reacts to such a lead, goes through the sales process, and either closes the deal, loses it or the lead goes cold, due to various reasons. Smart Hunters catch their prey(customer) no matter what. And just like in a real hunt, preparation is the key. 

Some good hunting spots:
  • Linkedin groups
  • Facebook groups(Bangalore startups, Headstart Network, Hyderabad startups etc)
  • Conferences (Unpluggd, Techcircle, Techsparks etc)
Hunting tools:
  • Twitter. A good hunter has patience. He builds a network and observes patterns in social media. He engages with customers and when the time is right, pounces on them. Well,not literally, but you get the drift :)
  • Linkedin. In B2B sales, this is an indispensable tool. You have to create the right network.
  • Blogs. Read everything, everyday and keep upto date on the vertical/customer profile you are targeting. Read about funding stories to understand who has the money to spend. Read about customer launches to understand who might have a need for your product.
  • Product. The right product is a killer tool. If the product is weak, there is only so much a hunter can do. 
  • Email and Call script. Done right, this can be very powerful and the cheapest way to get a customer.
Have the right hunting tools and go to the right hunting spots. You are sure to get your customer. And make sure you have the right kind of friends. Hunting is a very niche sport. The rewards are great, but if you dont manage to bag enough targets, you will starve to death(lose your job) and other hunters will take your place. After all, its a dog eat dog world.

If you some cool hunting methods you want to share please share in the comments below.

Happy hunting.

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