Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1537616
JULY 2025 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 47 the other. Put your team members where they "lean." Some folks are hybrids, and that's fine, but the "leaning" matters. Salespeople almost always gravitate toward one or the other as their comfort zone. It's your job to recognize that pattern and align it accordingly. Step Two: Evaluate the Business Now, when looking at your business, consider: • How much of my revenue comes from new accounts vs. existing ones? • Is my growth flat because no one is prospecting? • Am I churning clients because they're not being taken care of? • Do my hunters keep closing business that my team can't support? • Are farmers spending all their time doing cus- tomer service instead of growing accounts? This is where most companies get tripped up. They assume they're covered because they have "sales reps." But if all your reps are the same type—or doing the wrong role for their strengths— your growth will stall or slump. Step Three: Plug the Gaps Once you've mapped your team's mix and your business's needs, the answer usually becomes obvious. You'll see where the imbalance is. Let's walk through a few examples. SCENARIO A: TOO MANY FARMERS, NOT ENOUGH HUNTERS Your sales are stagnating. Although you have great relationships with current customers, not enough new accounts are coming in. Diagnosis: You're over-farmed and under-hunted. Fix: It's time to add or activate hunters. That might mean hiring a business development rep or repositioning someone with the right personality to focus 80% on new logos. Real-world example: A few years ago, I worked with a PCB shop that had four account managers, all wonderful at retention but terrified of cold out- reach. We added one rep whose only job was to book new meetings, and within six months, new business was up 35%. SCENARIO B: TOO MANY HUNTERS, NOT ENOUGH FARMERS You're landing new business left and right, but six months later, half of it's gone. Customer complaints are rising, and repeat orders are rare. Diagnosis: You've built a revolving door. Hunters open it, but no one is holding it open and making sure customers stay. Fix: Assign clear account managers, or create a handoff process where every new client is transi- tioned to a farmer. In some cases, this means hir- ing a dedicated client success manager. Real-world example: A manufacturer I advised had two superstar hunters who closed $4 million in business in a year, but nearly half those accounts walked because no one followed up. We restruc- tured the team to assign every new account a des- ignated farmer within 48 hours of close. Retention skyrocketed. SCENARIO C: YOU HAVE HYBRIDS, BUT NO DIRECTION You've got a few reps who do a little of everything, but inconsistently. One month, they hunt, and the next month, they farm. There's no structure.