| I sometimes find it somewhat peculiar that recruiting | | | | herds of prey. I am of course being tongue-in-cheek, |
| companies have a great disdain for the term | | | | but even given the vast differences of the lifestyles of |
| "headhunter" and do everything possible to market | | | | modern salespeople and the Apaches of centuries |
| themselves as "recruiters." Frankly, we are not | | | | past, we would do well, as salespeople, to look to that |
| concerned with the title given to us, whether it be | | | | past and learn. |
| recruiter, headhunter, staffing agents, etc. I guess we | | | | I would call the Apache hunting methods a little more |
| are "headhunters." After all, we do go out and hunt for | | | | intricate than Sarah Palin's hunting of an animal from a |
| solid, capable and intelligent executive level sales and | | | | helicopter. Killing an animal from a hovering aircraft is |
| marketing personnel. This is no different than when a | | | | not exactly a skill to be admired. I have no problem |
| sales professional hunts for new business. So, that | | | | with guns and, although I don't actively support hunting, |
| would make us hunters who look for hunters. | | | | many people whom I respect are members of the |
| Hunting is widely considered one of the most crucial | | | | NRA. For them, hunting is not only a hobby but a highly |
| and difficult parts of pre-modern living. As a matter of | | | | developed skill. The point is that the Apache were so |
| fact, to this day the Apache tribe is remembered and | | | | good at hunting that they were referred to by other |
| respected for their elaborate hunting skills. The | | | | tribes as the "Apachu" - the enemy. The Apache |
| Apaches were a nomadic tribe. Therefore, not only did | | | | would take whatever they wanted - buffalo skins, |
| they have to hunt for food, but they had to hunt for | | | | weapons, animals, etc. They were not afraid to be |
| shelter. Hunting was done mostly by the men of the | | | | brutal. Some of the methods they used for hunting |
| tribe, however historians believe that it may have | | | | even included chasing animals off of cliffs. With the |
| varied depending on what the tribe was hunting. Like | | | | arrival of Europeans to the Western Hemisphere, the |
| most Native American tribes, the Apache went | | | | Apache began to decline. However, after battling the |
| through important rituals before each hunt. These | | | | tribe, a U.S. army general described them as "tigers of |
| would include fasting for days, being blessed by the | | | | the human species." |
| Medicine Man of the tribe, as well as hours of religious | | | | I find that the business world can be just as brutal |
| ceremonies. These days, only about 25% of sales | | | | (metaphorically and interpersonally, if not literally) in |
| people spend more than an hour preparing for a | | | | terms of competition and "hunting" tactics. If this is the |
| meeting with a client and, unless historians are lying to | | | | case, I don't mind being called a "headhunter" as long |
| us, the Apache did not have Google, or more | | | | as I am a skillful one. |
| specifically, Google Street View to help them find | | | | |