Tree Stand Selling

I got in a tree stand for the first time in my life this fall. In Ohio, archery season started on September 29 this year. That allows for plenty of early season scouting and potential harvesting well before even the most eager buck starts to follow nature’s reproductive lure. It also allows for some very pleasant weather for those of us who decide to spend some time in assorted tree stands in hopes of catching the more active animals during this annual rite. 

As I said, this was my first time exploring this American past time. I have no objections to hunters, nor do I begrudge anyone who opposes the practice. To each his/her own. I’ve been on both sides of the fence on it, so I thought I’d give it a try to be as informed as I could be. Plus I figured I wouldn’t be skilled enough to take a shot anyway. 

I learned a lot about hunting. Like many things, (as in selling), there’s way more to it than most people would think. I’m an avid fisherman and every year I learn more and more about the things I didn’t even know I didn’t know. So this hunting stuff had me back at ground zero once again. I also learned a lot about myself. Hunting can be a quiet, deliberate, trying and lonely exercise. You might have deer all over your local landscape like we do, but they’re not all over it all the time. And when they are, the more “domesticated” suburban types aren’t nearly as jittery and mobile as their rural cousins. I can practically walk up and pet the deer who like to treat my hostas and fruit trees like their own personal cafeteria line. But out in the country, one whiff, one twig, or one abnormal sound will send these creatures scurrying for cover before you even know they’re there. And even if they are in sight, that doesn’t mean they’re in your sights. 

Plenty of hunting expeditions result in plenty of sightings and zero shots taken. If the shot’s not there, you just don’t take it. And that requires a lot of discipline and patience. And in today’s world, that can be a rare combination. It certainly can be for me. I spent 5 hours in the stand on my first day and I saw eight turkeys, one coyote, and two deer. The deer were deep in the woods about forty yards away and never came close to entering a “strike zone.” Still, after all that time of waiting and watching, the anticipation grows so much that any sighting of any animal musters up lots of adrenaline, and teaches you that your time will eventually come. 

It also teaches you how to sit quietly, pay attention, stay awake, and deal with the myriad of thoughts running through your mind. Your work, your family, your football team, (it was a Sunday), all come and go a lot more than the deer do. So sitting in that stand that day – and the multiple other days I went – provided me with a lot time to consider all of those important elements of my life. And as I have a tendency to do, I thought a lot about selling. 

Salespeople are like hunters or anglers. We’re trying to find the right place, (account), identify the best species, (customer), pick the right time, (prospecting), position ourselves and our lures correctly, (present our products and services), and bring them in, (close). We’re frequently tweaking our processes and making adjustments based on our experiences, the season, the “prey” and the landscape. And we should be. You can’t just wander into the woods and start shooting ammunition, and you can’t just walk into your prospect’s office and start shooting products and services. If there was a game warden for salespeople, we’d get our licenses revoked for irresponsible practices and we’d have to go through a re-certification process, (which we should all have to do anyway). 

So think about selling the way you might think about hunting or fishing. The similarities are everywhere. The more planning, strategizing, scouting and practicing we do, the more success we’ll have. And the great thing about selling: there are no limits.