Hunted & the Hunter

During a recent visit to the Kruger Park, we came across a herd of Impala buck grazing alongside the road. We stopped so not to scare them.

Suddenly my wife noticed a huge lioness sidling up on her side of the car, using us to hide from the buck. Next minute another came out of the bush on my side.

We knew something was up when a third lioness walked out into the open & lay on her back in full view of the herd of Impala, feigning to be asleep.

The herd’s leader grunted at her but soon settled down to grazing again.

The two lions sheltering by our car then slipped quietly off into the bush.

Just minutes later one emerged amongst the herd & tackled a buck, the other rushed out of the bush to join it. The old girl “sleeping”, bounded up & joined the feast.

The meal was devoured in minutes leaving us aghast & in awe.

It got me thinking about sales people.

Like these animals, there are two kinds of seller – the hunter & the hunted!

The hunted

• Knowledge – know their territory but no idea of using it to take a defensive position.
• False security – saw the danger, but didn’t understand it; complacent.
• Lack of planning – only when danger was on top of them, did they flee & hope to survive for another day; re-active.
• Control – zero control; hunter totally held initiative.
• Loser mind set – we are going to be attacked; so we must just accept it.

The hunter

• Confidence – expected to make the kill.
• Knowledge – knew what was in their armory, the territory & their prey’s habits.
• Persistence – if they failed this time, they would have to do it all again; or starve.
• Resources – they made best use of each other's strengths.
• Preparation – didn’t just blindly charge; they devised a cunning plan. 
• Teamwork – every lion clearly knew exactly what her role was in the attack.
• Execution – went like clockwork because all played their designated part.
• Rewards – the buck was downed by just 1 lion; but the whole team enjoyed their due rewards.

Happy selling!