Greg Hartnett

I have been in sales for a long time now. I started in the sales game pretty young, buying bags of lollipops at the supermarket, and slinging them to my friends at school for .25 a pop. I have always been pretty good at it, having a knack at reading people, listening, and picking up the queues to figure out what the person needs to hear in order to buy.

From my days in the financial industry, I learned pretty quickly the value of the whale. The whale is the client that blows all other clients away. The one that buys 20 times the amount of stock than the other guys in your book. Or the corporate travel account that books thousands of reservations a year. Or perhaps it is the SEO client that represents a Blue Chip firm with millions to blow monthly on PPC. Or it’s the webmaster of a national firm with thousands of sites that he needs work on.

The whale is the client that will take your business to the next level. The client that will let your grow your business, seek additional marketing opportunities, hire good people, and pursue the next whale. The ones and twos and nice, and definitely help to keep the doors open, but the whales are the clients that separate the stars from the guys living paycheck to paycheck.

Going after the whale requires patience, timing, professionalism, and courage. The whales have probably heard any pitch that you can throw at them. They’re whales - everybody is pitching them. You better bring your A game, and not be slinging snake oil. The whale will sniff you out quickly, and dismiss you, never to take your call again.

Even with your A game, and a killer product or service, most of the time the whales get away. The majority of whales pass on a given product or service. Their years in the game have taught them that most deals aren’t worth their time. They are jaded by the hundreds of ideas that fell apart, or were built on an ill-conceived plan.

However, when you do land one, it can change your business. And like most successes in life, the first one is the hardest to achieve. Once you have swam with the whales a bit, you become more accustomed to dealing with them, and learn the intricacies involved with selling them. Chances are that the whale you landed knows another whale that he would be happy to introduce you to, should you earn his trust.

So don’t be afraid to go after the whale. Don’t be discouraged if you fail on your first few attempts. Keep on looking for the next opportunity, and when the next one comes along, try again. All you need is that first one. So grab your spear Captain Ahab, and go land your whale.