The economy is in the doldrums. The business media is focused on economic growth and why it hasn’t happened. Clearly, to add jobs, we need robust growth in businesses of all sizes. And dynamic growth starts with agile leaders who want to break with business as usual. In this spirit, I went to Tempe, Arizona where it was 105 degrees, to learn how to be a Whale Hunter – a proven way to search and land the big deals that grow companies, their reputations and revenues.

Early into my Whale Hunting boot camp (I’m now certified), I knew that this approach can make a dramatic difference in our struggling economy. Companies with big aspirations often lack the magical ingredients for success - the best methodology to target growth, the process, and the leadership to pursue it effectively. These companies need to create a new management strategy for business development so they can spot and land much bigger clients. They need a methodology to evaluate and seek out the companies that will be most interested in their products or services. They need specific skills to know when they have spotted a suitable whale and the best time to hunt it. They need to understand how whales think and work. They need to understand the return on the investment they will make to successfully land big accounts and continue to grow them.

There were many obvious benefits of the Whale Hunting discipline, not the least, the promise of increasing deal size by 5 to 20 times while building Whale Hunter leadership across the business.  It is inspiring!

Whale Hunter leaders develop breakthrough ideas and implement with precision. Barbara Weaver Smith, founder of The Whale Hunters LLC and co-author of the book, Whale Hunting, has used the approach over many years to build businesses. Barbara is a visionary, inclusive leader and a practical strategist. Margie Traylor, CEO of The Whale Hunters, is an innovative leader who exemplifies the meaning of steadfast passion. Margie used Whale Hunting to build a full service advertising and marketing agency - called Sitewire - into a story of aggressive growth in a down economy.

In spite of the Great Recession, the Sitewire team landed whales, such as the University of Phoenix and IMAX, and Margie transformed her company – arming her team with the tools to think big and the techniques to execute. Sitewire’s first whale was Sears, and in less than 18 months, the team landed ten more big, visible brands. They virtually eliminated the silos and barriers between sales, marketing, and operations. 

Traylor says, “Whale hunting literally transformed our company and our business development process, giving us an entire sales strategy rather than a few discrete approaches. Best of all, the whole company is intimately involved in the process.”

Margie tells us how Sitewire is now a different organization, focused on the client to deliver exactly what they promise. The team has created a new way of doing business, from initial sales, to delivery and ongoing support. Their work recently won several high profile awards in advertising - four Spectrum Awards and an Addy for iGO’s “Vampire Power Sucks” campaign.

I am convinced that smart people in a free market economy can and will achieve incredible results, regardless of the challenges in the marketplace. Sitewire and other Whale Hunting stories prove that what feels impossible can actually happen. As you might suspect, I’m especially intrigued with Whale Hunting because it totally supports my view of the New Guard leader and helps to develop this innovative, take-charge leadership across the organization. I also believe that the most visionary executives will want to apply the Whale Hunting approach to their businesses.

If you are interested in learning more about the approach or how to introduce Whale Hunting to your business, give me a call. I am adapting the Whale Hunter program to work with divisions or brands within larger companies, with mid-size companies, and smaller businesses that want to land and manage bigger, more complex sales and partnerships. What a wonderful way to achieve the growth we yearn for. Whale Hunter leaders are moving their businesses into new and more profitable arenas. I will have more to report soon.