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<p>Foreword xiii</p> <p>Preface xvii</p> <p>Acknowledgments xxi</p> <p>Author Biographies xxiii</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 1 The Whale Hunters’ Story 1</b></p> <p>Inspiration from the Inuit whale hunters—how we got here.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 2 Signs of the Times 7</b></p> <p>Brief history of why the sales process is more difficult and complex today than it used to be; overview of the Whale Hunters’ Process.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 3 Know the Whale 33</b></p> <p>Define your ocean, chart your waters, and create a target filter.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 4 Send Out the Scouts 65</b></p> <p>Populate your whale chart, complete dossiers, define whale signs, create a tracking system, and establish performance metrics.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 5 Set the Harpoon 87</b></p> <p>Plan your initial contacts, control “the aperture of perception,” go in the right door, and ask great questions.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 6 Ride the Whale 109</b></p> <p>Launch a boat, analyze the buyers’ table, power your boat, and define metrics for the boat’s performance.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 7 Capture the Whale 131</b></p> <p>Define the steps of progressive discovery, progressive disclosure; map your process, and refine your proposals.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 8 Sew the Mouth Shut 159</b></p> <p>Stage the “big show,” anticipate spoilers, use your chief, and get on the whale’s calendar.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 9 Beach the Whale 183</b></p> <p>Prepare your village, accelerate capacity and velocity, align reward systems, and communicate with the whale.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 10 Honor the Whale 205</b></p> <p>Build a fast-growth culture, make and keep promises, improve handoffs, and control barnacles.</p> <p><b>CHAPTER 11 Celebrate the Whale 227</b></p> <p>Conduct “lessons learned,” communicate your gratitude, feed the ravens, and search for ambergris.</p> <p>Epilogue: Let the Hunt Begin 245</p> <p>Our challenge to you!</p> <p>Glossary 247</p> <p>Index 251</p>

<b>Tom Searcy</b> and <b>Dr. Barbara Weaver Smith</b> are founders of The Whale Hunters, a sales and business process development company dedicated to strategies for rapid business growth. Building on Searcy's experience in leading four companies through accelerated growth in sales and revenue and Smith's background in managing the culture of growth, they help their clients grow quickly by engaging their entire company in selling and delivering big deals with large companies.

<b>Praise for Whale Hunting</b> <p>"<i>Whale Hunting</i> is required reading for anyone who is going after the big fish in a market. Engaging, practical, and well organized, it is simply the best book on major account selling out there. Someone once said that confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and bringing the mayonnaise. <i>Whale Hunting</i> gives you the tools to pursue big deals with that kind of confidence."<br /> —Keith R. McFarland, author of <i>The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers</i></p> <p>"I meet with the leaders of thousands of entrepreneurial companies every year from around the world. Every one of them is looking for ways to grow faster, smarter. The straightforward Whale Hunting system gives companies a road map for landing the elusive anchor accounts—the big accounts that let them get to the next level of people, services, and revenue. Searcy and Smith have put the key principles together to learn how, with the power of the remarkable story of the Inuit whale hunt. This is an entrepreneur's must-read!"<br /> —Dr. Tom Hill, coauthor of the bestselling <i>Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur's Soul</i></p>

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