Thanks to Barbara Weaver Smith for taking the time to answer some questions about her book Whale Hunting Women: How Women Do Big Deals. Thanks as well to Nikki Leigh for arranging this wonderful Virtual Blog Tour.
Your book is titled Whale Hunting Women: How Women Do Big Deals. What was the background to giving your book for women entrepreneurs such an intriguing title?
Barbara Weaver Smith: I founded The Whale Hunters with a partner five years ago. We built out the metaphor and process of Whale Hunting as a way for small and mid-size business to grow fast. As we attracted clients and worked with them, it became apparent that a disproportionate number of successful clients were women-owned businesses or those in which women held the CEO and sales management positions. I wanted to do something to call attention to that observation and experience. Some people have called it “whale hunting FOR women,” but I’m adamant that it’s not a special case of whale hunting. So I called it Whale Hunting Women to emphasize that women are very good and very savvy “whale hunters.”
Your book has a focus on women making very large deals. What key traits make women uniquely suited to landing very large company and dollar amount contracts?
Barbara Weaver Smith: Large companies, which I define as “whales,” do not buy only from a salesperson. Anything of substance that they buy involves the concurrence of a team of inside buyers—the procurement agent, the financial person, often the IT leader, as well as the end users of marketing or software or legal or customer service or HR services, for example, or those involved in using manufactured products of all kinds. The sale, nowadays, is not a good-old-boy back-slapping kind of sale. It is a serious, professional, somewhat distanced interaction.
Buyers want to meet and interact with the people who will actually deliver services to them, not only the sales representatives. So the nature of how the whales buy means that companies need to sell as a team. They need to involve a cross-functional team in the sale. They need a salesperson who is a team choreographer, not a rock star. And I believe that women are often especially good at empowering their team, at mentoring others to step up to new responsibilities, and at orchestrating rather than commanding.
Barbara Weaver Smith (photo left)
How important are planning and preparation for a woman entrepreneur when she decides to go after a truly major account?
Barbara Weaver Smith: Planning and preparation are paramount in a major sale—whether you are male or female. I encourage my clients to understand that whales—big companies—are afraid of smaller companies. They are attracted to the advantages that smaller companies can offer (such as agility, innovation, focus, personal attention), but they are scared off by the lack of brand image, fear of the small company’s failure, fear of too much difference in understanding and point of view.
So in preparation to go after a major account, a woman needs to understand what the whale will fear, and position to overcome those fears, before she gets to touting the advantages of her product or solution. For women, we often have a little inside voice telling us that we are too small or too unimportant or too new or too “whatever” to go after a really big thing. If we can learn to think like a whale—understand what the whale is afraid of—we are very good at calming other people’s fears!
But to the point of your question, all of this understanding requires that you conduct a serious research project about the target company, that you understand the specific kinds of fears they most likely have, and that you have a plan to alleviate those fears.
How is a woman's approach to sales and marketing different from men?
Barbara Weaver Smith: My point to women is that we are socialized to practice certain habits that are good for sales—habits of listening, learning, mentoring, empathizing, and team building. In the 20th century economy, which was built on ruthless competition, women were encouraged to “unlearn” those habits and become more aggressive and self-promoting in order to succeed in the business world. It didn’t work for women then, and it doesn’t work for anyone now. We are participating in a global, information-based economy that thrives on collaboration and cooperative deal-making. Women need to know this and allow our socialized skills and preferences to make us successful.
How can a collaborative approach to marketing help women land that whale sized account?
Barbara Weaver Smith: That’s a great question, and the fact that you asked it, makes me confident that you’ve read my book and you know what I’m talking about!
Big companies do not, as a rule, buy from solo entrepreneurs. It is too risky for them—the individual may go under, may even get crushed by the whale itself, may be unable to deliver. In the Whale Hunters terminology, we say “launch a boat” to go after a whale. Subject matter experts need to be on board. So even if you are a very small company, you can enlist your banker, your accountant, a current customer, or an outsourced service provider to be on your boat. If the whale can interact with these people, its buying team can have confidence that you are prepared to serve it well and that you understand its fears.
Your banker can say, “We trust this company, and we have extended them a line of credit in X amount in order to accomplish this contract with you.” Your accountant can say, “We have been managing (or overseeing) these books for X years, and we can say with confidence that this is a well-managed company that is capable of growth and delivery on a contract of this size. We will help them manage the cash flow and invoicing.” A current customer can testify to the quality and timeliness of your service. If your company is larger, these roles are fulfilled by employees and/or independent contractors. The point is that you can’t sell alone to a whale. It takes a boat; it takes a village.
What roadblocks, real or imagined prevent some women entrepreneurs from going after those major, company changing deals?
Barbara Weaver Smith: In my book I call it the “minnow mindset.” As I talk with women entrepreneurs, there is a common thread of resisting the “big deal, big idea” moniker. Women too often choose to downplay their achievements, accomplishments, or capabilities because we have been taught not to brag, to appear self-effacing. It’s not “lady-like” to tout our whale hunt wins! We have to break out of that mentality, collectively and as individuals.
The ability to do big deals rests almost entirely on confidence—confidence born of capability, preparation, and track record. When we allow ourselves to experience those wins and own them, we will be better prepared to do more and to mentor other women to do bigger deals.
What is the first step a woman should take to ensure her company includes serious whale hunting in her sales and marketing plan?
Barbara Weaver Smith: The first step is what we call “chart the waters.” Determine that you will devote even 5% or 10% of your attention to whale hunting. Then do a serious study of the whales that could benefit from your services and products. Create your target filter that lists the characteristics of an ideal large client for you, and identify those clients by name. You can visit our website at The Whale Huntersto download many tools that will guide you in these activities.
What is next for Barbara Weaver Smith?
Barbara Weaver Smith: My company’s plan is to take the Whale Hunting Women program to 24 cities over the next eighteen months. In each city we will work with one or more local business women to host a Whale Hunting Women Summit, to be followed up with a monthly meeting of key women deal-makers who will coach each other in doing big deals. The Whale Hunters will provide a constant source of training and fresh ideas through a robust online community of Whale Hunting Women. So I guess you could say we are thinking big — we are on a whale hunt!
Thank you for visiting this post about Barbara Weaver Smith and Whale Hunting Women. We are offering a free giveaway to two people who comment during the tour and to the hosts where they posted. It is simple to be entered in the giveaway – just post a comment on any post about the tour and you will be entered. But, an interesting post is more likely to get our attention. The host on the site where the winning comments are posted will also win a three-volume set of Whale Hunters Wisdom in audio format. Volumes include I: Mind of a Hunter, II: The Hunt, and III: The Whale Hunting Culture. This is a $90 value.
To see the tour schedule visit Virtual Blog Tours
Barbara Weaver Smith’s website
Barbara Weaver Smith’s blog
Order your copy of Whale Hunting Women
My book review of Whale Hunting Women: How Women Do Big Deals by Barbara Weaver Smith.
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