Sales representatives can be broken down into two different kinds—hunters and farmers—depending on their job function. Hunters are what most people think of as salespeople; they turn sales prospects into customers by closing the deal. Hunters can often gain referrals—names and numbers of others that may be interested in their product or service—from satisfied customers. However, many hunters must spend hours on the phone cold-calling, giving their sales pitch to strangers whose names they've gotten from a telephone directory or list. This is a very difficult task, but sales managers feel this is a necessary way for sales reps to get familiar with rejection. It takes a lot of confidence to be a hunter. Farmers are also sales reps, but play a different role from hunters. Farmers are given the job of cultivating existing accounts, looking for opportunities to expand sales from one product line to many (called cross-selling). They are also responsible for upgrading sales from lower-value to higher-value products (called up-selling). Farmers try to form close relationships with their customers, providing round-the clock service and lots of visits. This may also include giving gifts to valued customers, and providing entertainment opportunities. It takes a lot of patience to be a farmer.
銷售人員根據工作功能，可分為兩種類型：獵人（hunter）與農夫（farmer）。 獵人是大家對銷售員的印象，他們成功達成交易，把潛在主顧變成客戶。銷售員通常能從滿意的顧客那邊認識新客戶，也就是能拿到那些對他們產品或服務有興趣的客人名字或電話號碼。不過，大部分的「獵人」必須花上好幾小時作突擊式的電話行銷（cold calling），對電話簿或名單上陌生的名字，進行商品宣傳和推銷。這項工作並不容易，但是行銷經理認為這是讓銷售員熟悉被拒絕的必要方式。 一個獵人需要具備的就是自信。 農夫是另一類行銷人員，但是跟獵人的角色完全不同。農夫的工作在於維繫現有客戶，尋找擴充銷售單一產品到多樣產品的機會，這個行為稱作「交叉銷售」（cross-selling）。同時農夫還要負責將低價產品升級為高價產品的銷售，稱作「進階銷售」（up-selling）。他們要嘗試和顧客培養密切關係，提供全天候服務，也必須經常登門拜訪。他們可能也要發送禮品給貴賓，並且提供娛樂招待。 農夫需要的是無比的耐心。 | 
