The Steppe Wolf Sales Instinct – The Solo Player Mindset

I first learned about the steppe wolf in Hermann Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf. This wolf is known for wandering the steppes alone, hunting independently for its pack and returning with the prey to share with its tribe. In sales, there comes a point in your career where you may be tasked with entering into new region on your own, with no resources, no market data, no established network and no prior experience in the area to rely on. It’s just you, navigating unknown roads and wandering between projects in search of opportunities.! This is where the steppe wolf mindset comes into play: relying on your sales instincts, overcoming challenges alone, identifying your targets, hunting them down, and ultimately securing deals to bring back to your team. I’ve recently found myself in this very position, I'll share how you can adopt this approach.

Create Client Profiles:

The more you understand and study your products, the better you'll be at defining a profile of the customers who need them. Similarly, the more you research projects in the new region you're tasked with, the easier it will be to allocate your focus area and identify the clients that fit your profile. This is the first step in creating your own market intelligence—through reading, online research, and strategically mapping out where you will begin your search for opportunities.

Never, Ever Accept 'No' as the final answer:

In a market where no one knows you, rejection will often be the first response—but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it. I can tell you this: more than 60% of the 'No’s' you hear can be turned into 'Yes'—if you refuse to back down and keep fighting for it. Keep pushing, train your mind to find solutions, keep pursuing your target, adapt to every situation that comes your way and don’t withdraw from a challenge. One 'No' I refused to accept recently, led to our construction marine solution being specified in all marine project tenders, making it mandatory for all contractors to use it. Now, think about how many 'No’s' you’ve heard in your career—and how many could be turned into 'Yes' if you just keep pushing.

Investigate The Competition:

Research the competition thoroughly. Examine their deployed products on-sites, gather feedback from contractors about their performance, and, if possible, visit their offices. Create a comprehensive analysis of their presence, product types, pricing, challenges they’re facing, and the size of their team in the new region to better prepare for effective competition. When pursuing the same opportunities, prioritize these three actions, in order: 1) Secure the deal and close it, 2) Secure the deal and close it, or 3) If you can’t win, make sure the competition faces significant challenges. Use this as a chance to learn from their tactics and technology, positioning yourself to win the next deal.

Establishing References:

This is the most important task you must accomplish: establishing references for your solutions in the new market. Clients won’t feel confident if you only highlight your company’s successes in other countries. It will have a stronger impact if you can tell them that you supplied a solution for a nearby project to a contractors similar to them. Building references is crucial at this stage, so make sure you're willing to do whatever it takes.

Build Your Own Network:

This is a new region for you and your company, and you’re the only person on the ground. Building a network of connections is crucial to support your upcoming operations. In this stage, your role, in addition to being the sales force, is to turn this new region—with all its challenges—into a comfort zone for your team. Meet with the people you'll need, strengthen your relationships, and diversify your connections as much as possible until you’ve established a solid, reliable network for both you and your team to depend on.

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In the end, you need to understand that taking on such a task will bring immense pressure, exhaust you, and at times, even break you—often without anyone knowing.! However, securing the POs and bringing them back to your team will make it all worth it. The path to success is extremely uncomfortable, so if you want to take this journey, you must prepare yourself to get comfortable being uncomfortable if you ever want to be successful.

The picture was taken on a top-mounted boarder between #NEOM and #Red_Sea_Projects , where I've been hunting recently.