Hunters Need Not Apply; Bass Fisherman Please Send Resumes

While perusing the Help Wanted ads last weekend for sales positions I noticed that a lot of the companies are looking for "hunters." I'm not exactly sure why that would be desirable. If you want someone who would sit in a tree all day and wait for a single prospect to walk by, only then to kill it, then perhaps "hunters" are what your business needs. I would propose that we begin hiring fishermen, Bass Pros in particular. Here's why...

We want someone who will completely scour a territory looking for prospects- speeding to every hot spot and pitching to thousands of prospects. I'm pretty sure that's what these employers would rather have than a hunter stuck up a tree. Once those prospects are caught, we don't want them killed. We want them safely placed in the livewell, brought back to be assessed (weighed), and then released so they can continue growing and multiplying, so we can do it all over again next week, month, year, etc. Clients who have a good experience with their sales reps- and who live to tell about it- spread the word, multiply, and become our greatest endorsement. Clients that end up flayed on the top of our SUV's aren't really good references... and usually become a liability.

So the next time I'm in an interview and someone says they're looking for a "hunter," I'll kindly excuse myself and tell them I'm looking for a more active and lucrative sales position.