Huggers or Hunters – that is the question

So we have identified the High Potential Customers. We know who they are and where they are and what they buy and what they own. Now we can assign them for market coverage. That means we have to select the number of customers that is appropriate for one person to handle from a geographical and number of machines perspective. This becomes somewhat of an art form rather than pure science. I don’t like to have more than one hundred and fifty customers in one territory and depending on the split of machine types no more than 450 machines.

You have 3000 High Potential Customers which would provide for 20 territories. What kind of sales people are required for these customers? Well now it comes down to what they buy and what they don’t buy.  If you have a high market share of the customer’s business then you want someone to protect your business – a hugger. If you have a low market share then you want someone to grow your business – a hunter. With either individual you need to go about setting objectives for all the commodities and services you provide. You have to get a better understanding of the competitive landscape. What does your customer/competitor neighborhood look like?

We are at the beginning of being able to take advantage of Product Support Selling now.  For those of you who already employ Product Support Sales Representatives – does you market coverage look like this? If this is different there is no time like the present to get going. Are you ready? The time is now.