One scans for easy prey—existing customers, warm leads, anything familiar. He lounges and waits for an opportunity to stroll by.
The other sharpens his focus, tracks fresh footprints, and plunges into the wild unknown with fearless energy.
Welcome to the world of Zoo Tigers and Jungle Tigers.
In every sales organization, these two "species" exist.
- Zoo Tigers may look fierce, but they thrive in the safety of their zoo, waiting for the zookeeper to bring them steaks—nurtured leads, repeat business, and easy renewals.
- Jungle Tigers live for the thrill of the hunt—new logos, fresh markets, complex technologies, and hard-won victories in unknown territory.
Thesis: Recognizing whether your team is stocked with Zoo Tigers, Jungle Tigers, or a precarious mix is crucial to unlocking hidden revenue, driving growth, and ensuring you’re surviving and thriving.
Decoding the Roar: Identifying Zoo Tigers on Your Team
Characteristics of a Zoo Tiger:
- Focuses on current clients and renewals.
- Hesitates (or flat-out resists) prospecting for new business.
- Comfortable with familiar products and routines.
- Grumbles about the lack of “good leads” rather than generating new ones.
- Waits for inbound inquiries rather than initiating outreach.
- Shows lower activity in new opportunity creation.
- Lacks the urgency, resilience, and hunger that winning new business demands.
How to Spot a Zoo Tiger:
- Metrics don't lie: Low new customer acquisition and poor outbound prospecting rates.
- Daily activities: More nurturing than hunting.
- Attitude towards change: Complaints about new targets, new products, or market shifts.
- Sales pipeline: Heavy on renewals, light on new logos.
- Response to ambiguity: High discomfort when deals aren’t pre-baked or easy to close.
Reality check: Zoo Tigers aren't inherently "bad"—they play an essential role. But if your revenue goals hinge on growth and market expansion, relying solely on Zoo Tigers is like sending housecats to hunt lions.
Igniting the Hunter’s Instinct: Motivating Zoo Tigers Toward the Jungle
Can a Zoo Tiger learn to thrive in the wild?
Sometimes. But it takes deliberate coaching, incentives, and cultural shifts.
Transformation strategies:
- Training: Prospecting skills, rejection handling, and diversification selling.
- Mentorship: Pair Zoo Tigers with proven Jungle Tigers.
- Incentives: Reward new business wins, not just renewals.
- Clear expectations: Define what “hunting behavior” looks like and track it rigorously.
- Celebrate jungle wins: Ring bells, give shoutouts, and build hype around new client wins.
Remember: Not every Zoo Tiger wants to become a Jungle Tiger. But for those who do, it’s your job to give them the compass and machete to forge their path.
The Tough Decisions: When It's Time to Part Ways with a Zoo Tiger
Some Zoo Tigers won't evolve, no matter how many training sessions you schedule.
Warning signs:
- Persistent resistance to prospecting despite coaching.
- Low accountability for generating new opportunities.
- Passive negativity that drags down team morale.
The risks of keeping unwilling Zoo Tigers:
- Stagnant growth: New business dries up.
- Cultural rot: High performers feel burdened or unmotivated.
- Complacency: Your team adapts... to mediocrity.
- Vulnerability: Changing markets demand hunters, not grazers.
Solution:
- Set crystal-clear KPIs focused on hunting behaviors.
- Track improvement—or lack thereof—objectively.
- When necessary, lead a respectful, transparent offboarding process.
At the end of the day, your revenue engine deserves Jungle Tigers driving it, not reluctant passengers hitching a ride.
Stocking the Jungle: Attracting and Hiring True Jungle Tigers
Want a team of relentless hunters? Start by hiring them.
What to look for in a Jungle Tiger:
- A proven track record of new business development.
- Fierce prospecting and self-starting behaviors.
- Thick-skinned resilience toward rejection.
- Comfort navigating ambiguity, learning fast, and adapting on the fly.
- A burning desire to win—and a history to prove it.
Crafting the right job description:
- Use language that calls out proactive, entrepreneurial traits.
- Position your company as a “hunting ground,” not a feeding pen.
Interview strategies:
- Ask behavioral questions about their most challenging new client wins.
- Test reactions to curveball scenarios (e.g., “You have no leads or brand recognition in a new market—what’s your first move?”)
- Look for natural curiosity and self-driven learning habits.
And don’t stop after hiring:
- Onboard them for success.
- Give them the tools, autonomy, and coaching to unleash their instincts immediately.
Cultivating a Thriving Jungle: Maintaining a High-Performance Sales Ecosystem
You can't just release a few Jungle Tigers into the wild and call it a day.
You must create an environment where hunters thrive—and new ones are always growing.
How to maintain your thriving jungle:
- Compensation Planning: Salespeople are “coin-operated” meaning the good ones will perform the way you want them to if they are compensated to do so.
- Continuous Training: Prospecting, negotiating, social selling, closing—never stop sharpening skills.
- Performance Management: Metrics must reward new client acquisition, not just safe renewals.
- Culture of Innovation: Encourage (and reward) smart risk-taking.
- Regular Evaluations: Adapt your team structure and goals as the market evolves.
- Leadership Modeling: Leaders must embody Jungle Tiger traits—curiosity, resilience, and hustle.
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