Hunting & Sales: A Look at Sales from the Deer Stand

With Opening Day of deer season quickly approaching next week, I found myself sweating and working in the woods just the other day. There is so much work and planning that needs to be done throughout the year to insure you have a successful hunting season. Sure, you can get lucky and be at the right place at the right time, but, normally there is a direct correlation between work put in ahead of time and how successful your season is.

This led me to think about the similarities between hunting season and the world of sales. Now, this article isn't to argue if hunting is good or bad.....that is for a different forum. This is just to show that all good things in life take a little time and prep work. Those similarities are listed below:

1) Planning- In both hunting and sales you have to spend time planning. You have to decide where you want to put stands, where to put food plots. Also you have to determine what you want to plant and what will best attract the game you are hunting. In sales you have to determine which companies or clients need your product/service and how to best get in front of those prospects. Sure you can just get in your car and drive until you see a potential client, but 10 minutes of planning could save you an hour of time executing the plan. You want to give yourself the best possible chance to close a deal....planning helps you do that.

2) Planting- Things take time. Hunting season in South Carolina starts on 8/15. You can't just show up and plant a food plot on 8/14 and expect it to grow in a day. You have to cut the food plot a few months in advance, you have to spray the ground, you have to till the ground, plant the seeds and water. All of this is done to have an effective crop for 8/15. All this work for no reward for several months. Same thing goes for Sales. It is rare (less than 2%) for a prospect to say yes on the initial contact. You have to plant seeds, nurture the prospect throughout the year, check in constantly to make sure you stay front of mind. All of this work needs to be done knowing you will not see the fruit of your labor for months and in some cases years. Just remember.....just because you can't see the plant doesn't mean it isn't growing under ground. Plant the seeds and take care of them.

3) Team Work- Not many people like to prospect and cold call. Not many people like to go work in the 95 degree heat preparing for hunting season. In both cases, both are easier to do with a partner or friend. Putting up hunting stands and trimming trees for sight lines is a two person job. Sure, one person can do it but it is much easier and much more effective if you do it in pairs. One person is in the stand telling the other person what tree limbs need to be cut so you can see further. It is also a good time to share stories and past hunting successes and failures. What worked in years past and what didn't work. In the sales world, prospecting is best done in pairs. You can help one another if you get hung on a certain objection, if you are going off script or if you need positive reinforcement. It also is beneficial to pair a new sales person and a veteran sales person. Work together to see what works best. Discuss past successes and failures.Turn something that isn't the most exciting thing to do, into a best-practice sharing exercise. As the saying goes in hunting....."Misery Loves Company"

So as the hunting season nears and the calendar year begins to wind down, keep in mind that there is always work to be done. Either closing the deals now, planning for next year or planting the seeds for 2019 there is something you can be doing. Good luck to all the Sportsmen & Salesmen for the rest of the year!!!