April 21, 2026
I recently spoke with a leader of a technology channel. I asked how they were doing with new customer generation.
His answer was direct: “Not good. It’s a constant frustration. My sales team are more farmers than hunters. I don’t know how to get them to go after new clients. They don’t want to pick up the phone. They think WhatsApp is enough.”
Then he added: “I end up being the one finding prospects and passing them to the team.”
That doesn’t scale. He knows it. But he doesn’t know how to fix it.
If you’re a CEO, CRO, or leading a tech channel, this probably sounds familiar. It may even be your story.
Let’s be honest about the difference
A farmer builds relationships, grows accounts, and creates long-term trust. Valuable. Critical. But not a hunter.
A hunter is always in search mode. Constantly looking, handling rejection, pushing for results. They don’t need everything to be perfect—they operate well in uncertainty.
The problem? Most companies have teams full of farmers… and expect them to hunt.
Why hunting fails in many channels
I keep seeing three main reasons:
1. The technical seller They come from engineering backgrounds. Structured, detail-oriented, they want clarity before acting. Hunting is the opposite: uncertain, messy, unpredictable. Prospecting feels uncomfortable from day one.
2. The seller without method or experience It’s not that they don’t want to do it — no one taught them how. Without structure, prospecting becomes random, results don’t come, and they give up quickly.
3. The brain avoids what doesn’t work This is the most ignored point. Around 95% of prospecting doesn’t generate a lead. The brain knows it, so it avoids it. This is not laziness — it’s biology.
f you don’t have a clear method to process rejection as part of the job, sellers will always prioritize something else.
Here’s the good news: with the right methodology, this changes. When you know who to call, what to say, and why it matters, prospecting stops feeling like guessing and starts feeling like a system.
So, what should you do?
A) Separate profiles Don’t expect a farmer to become a hunter overnight. Some can adapt with the right skills and mindset. Others will struggle and get frustrated — and that frustration spreads.
Be honest about who is who, and build your strategy around real strengths.
B) Train real prospecting skills Hunting is not usually a natural talent. It’s a skill you can learn — if it’s taught properly.
In our sales bootcamps, something interesting happens. Sellers arrive tense and frustrated. Then at some point, you see relief.
They realize there is a clear method. That rejection is not failure — it’s part of the process.
And when we add AI to analyze prospects (what they do, their challenges, what matters to them), everything changes. It becomes a real advantage — one that very few channels are using today.
In summary
If your team is not consistently generating new customers, the issue is probably not motivation. It’s structure.
Sales teams don’t need more pressure. They need the right method, the right profiles in the right roles, and modern tools to execute.
This can be built. And when it’s done right, teams don’t just perform better — they work with less stress and more confidence.
Does your team have that method today?
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