Are you hunting Elephants, or are you hunting Deer?
In light of the world of Political Correctness, I hope the following doesn’t offend anyone.
If anyone has built a company, or tried to sell a product or service, you will relate to what is about to follow.
Some products or services are best built for large companies, however not everyone is cut out to sell to large organizations.
In other situations, even though the product may qualify for elephant status, the deer look like an easier target.
Well, at some point one must decide- Are you hunting Elephants or Deer?
If you are going after elephants, then heed the words of a famous bushman (ok, I’m not sure who said this, if he is famous, or I just made it up)
“He who hunts elephants, does not stop in the jungle, to throw stones at birds!”
That means- stay focused.
The reason I point this out is that in the world of hunters, there are VERY few who can go after big game.
If you are in the processes of taking a product to market, or you already have one that is out, the determination becomes, what is the “sales cycle”?
Often for larger ticket items, or big projects, or services sold to Fortune 1000 companies, the sales cycle can be 12 to 15 months, or more.
It is easy to look for smaller game to hunt. The $50 Million dollar company that is “interested”. The $200 Million dollar company that “qualifies”.
In many instances, the sales cycle for the smaller company may be just as long as for the bigger one.
At the end of the day, is it worth it to hunt the smaller company? Will the profitability be sustainable? Will the service and support outweigh the revenue? Will you spend just as much time and effort for a smaller pay off at the end of the day?
Yes, indeed it is easier to think you can walk into the woods and find a deer.
However, it takes real skill to walk into the jungle and bag an elephant.
If you think you have the product and the skill- decide?
Do you spend your time in the jungles with the big game, or in the fields with the small?
Considering there are over 600,000 registered hunters with a deer license, and probably less than 500 that may hunt the big game, if you have the skill, go for the……
Again, the above was meant for an analogy and wasn’t meant to offend anyone.