Hunters focus on acquiring new business from customers while farmers are responsible for retaining and penetrating existing customers. Since every company operates differently, knowing your team and having them learn from one another is what really matters. Sumeet Soni, Sujeet Pillai Sales roles are typically designated as hunters or farmers. After the new plans are rolled out, ensure the capability to receive feedback from the salesforce and address any outstanding issues or questions. The Farmer. Regardless of your persona, you’ll be able to learn how to plan, execute and analyze your sales strategy with tips from the Sales Development Playbook, which you can download absolutely free: Guide reps through the sales and renewal process, One-click dialing and texting from anywhere, Manage opportunities and forecast with accuracy, Coach better with insights from sales and customer conversations, For teams focused on managing opportunities to close, For teams focused on the post-sale customer experience, For teams working every stage of the revenue lifecycle. There must be distinct sales compensation plans for each role. There are three types of link designs: Pay mix for hybrid hunter/farmer roles typically falls between the pure hunter- and farmer-role pay mixes. To achieve the sales strategy and sales objectives, roles and sales compensation plans should evolve and align accordingly. Thresholds enable organizations to avoid paying for recurring sales that require little to no sales effort. Don’t use thresholds for hunter plans because all sales are new sales. Communication should address why the plans are changing and how sellers can succeed with the new plans. The Hunter. The age-old debate of hunters vs farmers in sales has faced scrutiny from all angles. Hunter tasks center around gathering new leads, pitching to them, and securing that first order. To ensure focus on both sales growth and customer retention, sales organizations may consider using link designs in the compensation plan. Given these changes, communication plays a vital role in the successful transition between stages. Without buy-in from the salesforce, new plans will fail to drive desired behaviors. Individual commission rate (ICR): used to equalize earning opportunities as territory sizes become more disparate. Flat commission: used if quotas canno… Typically thought of as ‘the doers,’ hunters aim to close as many deals as fast as possible. Organizations at the volume growth stage focus on gaining market share, increasing revenue and expanding their customer base. ICRs allow sales organizations to offer similar target pay for distinct territory quotas, resulting in a different commission rate for each individual seller. Take our Sales Personality Quiz to determine which bucket you fall into. Hunter plans typically have one measure — total sales — to drive focus on customer acquisition. Take note of the skill set of each of your sales reps. Startup organizations deploy hunter sales reps, among other sales resources, to capture market share wherever possible. This collateral provides sales individuals with a reference document to refer to if needed. They often focus on deal quantity and love to explore new areas. Depending on your organization’s growth phase, sales strategy and objectives differ. As the organization’s strategy and focus evolve, job roles and associated compensation plans are reassessed and redesigned. Thresholds and caps should not be included in startup organizations’ sales compensation plans either. As the pandemic drags on, more organizations are turning to AI and robotics to decrease human contact and maintain production. To earn the target incentive, management often uses commission-only plans to drive salesforce focus on its sole goal: Sell more. Farmers focus on developing long-term customer relationships and working with others. An incorrect quota coupled with an above-quota accelerator could produce unexpected, excessive payments. October 2020 - Virtual Summit for Sales Leaders, June 2020 - Virtual Summit for Sales Leaders. Startup organizations focus on penetrating the market with a new product or service. Additionally, place emphasis on how the changes align with and support the organizational strategy and objectives. Similar to ICR-based plans, bonus formula rate-based plans equalize earning potential for individuals with unequal territory opportunity. This is particularly true for successful startup organizations that are poised for accelerated growth. Finally, the pay mix (the split between base pay and target incentive as a percentage of target total compensation) differs between the hunter and farmer roles due to the degree of influence each role has in customer persuasion. Thank you for your interest in WorldatWork articles and publications. To continue driving sales efforts, don’t incorporate caps into your compensation plans. To ensure the successful implementation of sales compensation plan designs, sales leadership must effectively communicate the changes to the field. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Some sales positions however have both responsibilities within their roles. At this stage, organizations often reward these hunters by paying a commission rate for every sale. Salespeople with this attitude are happy working with a few customers to create a lasting impact. © 2020 All Rights Reserved. The most successful may be hunters who know how to farm, and farmers who know how to hunt. Additionally, communication is key when transitioning from one sales compensation plan design to another. They often focus on deal quantity and love to explore new areas. Hunter roles should have higher pay at risk, while farmer roles should have lower pay at risk. As time passes, new customers become existing customers. This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation and your ability to provide feedback, analyse your use of our products and services, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts, and provide content from third parties. The formula design options for these roles include: Performance measures depend on job roles. To support continued growth, sales compensation plans must change to align with the evolution of an organization’s sales and business strategy as well as with the responsibilities of the sales roles. Check out the new one here! As organizations evolve, so too must sales job roles and sales compensation plans. There must be distinct sales compensation plans for each role. Farmers {Infographic} of Sales Personas, Forrester Predicts: Seller Engagement to Increase by 10% in 2020. Each resource will have responsibilities ranging from acquiring new business (hunter) or retaining and growing existing business (farmer) or both (hybrid). To support this shift, organizations may deploy one of two sales coverage options: separate hunters and farmers, or a hybrid hunter/farmer role. Sales organizations must concentrate their efforts on retaining existing customers while at the same time finding new customers. Hunters focus on acquiring new business from customers while farmers are responsible for retaining and penetrating existing customers. In commission-only plans, sellers receive a percentage payout for each sales dollar generated or a flat payment for each unit sold. ©2020 WorldatWork All Rights Reserved, Create New Account At this stage, there is no proven sales strategy to acquire customers. Often, they must work across the entire sales process, including accessing opportunities, persuading customers to make the purchase and fulfi lling the order. Sales managers also should communicate individual sales goals concurrently with new plans. To ensure the successful implementation of sales compensation plan designs, sales leadership must effectively communicate the changes to the field. Typically thought of as ‘the doers,’ hunters aim to close as many deals as fast as possible. Under the first option, hunters focus on acquiring new business from new customers while farmers are responsible for retaining and penetrating existing customers. If you need help determining which bucket you (or your team) falls into, take our Sales Personality Quiz. If the sales organization doesn’t evolve accordingly, the company risks not meeting its sales growth objectives and incurring significant sales compensation expenses. Flat commission: used if quotas cannot be accurately set.    |    SalesLoft Rainmaker19 Sponsorships Are Almost Full! To order digital or hard-copy reprints of individual articles, please contact Chris Jones at Sheridan Press, +1 717-632-8448 x8128. SalesLoft is the #1 Sales Engagement platform for creating better buying experiences and closing more revenue. Dan Cafaro, director of publications at WorldatWork, reflects on recent advancements in female leadership at both the political and corporate level. 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