Hunters and Farmers

I just returned from the New England Grows trade show in Boston. It was a different show for me because I introduced a new element to the booth. I hired a videographer for two days to shoot business owners. The idea was that they could do a short intro, promote the website, and perhaps tell a little bit more about the story of their business. I spent the first day with retailers and the next day shooting growers and wholesalers. Basically one day was spent on people walking the aisles - we'll call them 'Farmers', and the next day filming the people on the other side of the aisle - we'll call them 'Hunters'. In essence the 'Hunters' attempt to entice the 'Farmers' to buy their stuff. The 'Farmers' will do practically anything and everything to avoid making contact with the 'Hunters'.

The frustration for the 'Hunters' is that the 'Farmers' don't seem interested in buying. The 'Hunters' will commiserate with each other about the quantity and quality of the attendees to the show. They will spend time debating whether this show or that show was really worth it. They get frustrated because they don't have immediate success with the 'Farmers'. Meanwhile the 'Farmers' seemed tired of being 'Sold' something. They would rather spend some time kicking the tires, learning more about things, and mulling over the possibilities. Of course the real confusion comes when you realize that the wholesale growers in their trade show booths are really just 'Farmers'. They just sit there and wait for people to buy things. Imagine the scenario when you have 'Farmers' having to sell to other 'Farmers'.

The problem is that the 'Farmers' need to understand their own customers. After all, they need to make buying decisions based on what their customers - their 'Hunters' are interested in buying. And what happens when the 'Farmers' return to their retail business, or landscaping company and realize they have to become the 'Hunter'?

Now the fact is that nothing is as simple as black and white. Usually most companies have a mix of employees that are either a 'Farmer' (growers) or a 'Hunter' (sales person). Now I didn't come up with this notion of 'Farmers' and 'Hunters', but it sure does explain a lot about the process at these seasonal trade shows...

Click here for Seth Godins blog post on Farmers and Hunters >