Structuring Your IoT Sales Team to Drive Customer Success Testing

In the ever-evolving world of sales, it’s important to ensure that your sales team is structured in a way that enables them to provide the best possible customer experience.   

At Tele2 IoT, we have found an effective way to do this is by separating our sales team into two distinct groups: hunters and farmers. In this blog, I’ll discuss how separating our sales team in this way has helped us improve customer experience and drive business success. 

What are hunters and farmers in sales? 

Traditionally, hunters are salespeople who focus on acquiring new customers and business opportunities. They are generally proactive, driven, and thrive on the thrill of the chase. Hunters are responsible for generating and qualifying new leads, developing new business relationships and ultimately, converting these leads into customers. 

Farmers, on the other hand, focus on nurturing and growing existing customer relationships. They are more relationship-oriented and are responsible for maintaining customer satisfaction, upselling existing customers, and ensuring that customer retention is high. 

In practise, though, there is quite a bit of overlap, with all salespeople having skills that lend themselves to both roles. 

Why separate hunters and farmers? 

In IoT, the sales cycle can be significantly longer than other areas of connectivity and the handover process from signature to in-life is complex.  Separating your sales in this way can have a significant impact on customer experience. By having dedicated hunters, your sales team can focus on acquiring new business and generating leads, freeing up the farmers to focus on customer satisfaction and retention. This structure ensures that customers receive the attention and support they require, and that their needs are being met long after the ink is dry on the contract. 

Having dedicated farmers also allows for the development of closer and more personal relationships with customers. Farmers can take the time to understand the needs of each customer and work to develop tailored solutions that meet their specific needs. This personalised approach not only improves customer satisfaction, it also builds trust and drives customer loyalty, leading to increased customer retention. 

Improved collaboration and communication 

Separating your sales team into hunters and farmers also improves collaboration and communication within your sales team. Hunters and farmers can work together to share information, best practices, and customer insights, ensuring that the entire sales team is aligned and working towards the same goal. This collaboration and communication allows for smooth handovers when the contracting process ends and the rollout begins, ensuring customers receive consistent support and attention, no matter who they are working with. 

Conclusion 

In a market as complex as IoT, separating your sales team into hunters and farmers can have a significant impact on customer experience.  I have worked in both models and seen first-hand the challenges that a hybrid model can introduce when the sales team is pulled in different directions.  The result is often a lack of focus on developing and supporting existing accounts.  

Whilst the notion of the door kicking salesperson and age-old question of ‘Are you a hunter or a farmer?’ may be a cliché, having a clear distinction between the 2 roles lets you play to your team’s strengths, providing dedicated support to both new and existing customers and partners, improving customer satisfaction, driving customer loyalty, and achieving long-term success.  

If you’re looking to improve customer experience and drive business success in the IoT Connectivity space, consider separating your sales team into hunters and farmers and see the benefits for yourself. 

Simon Buckley
Head of Key Account Management
Tele2 IoT