Yarak
I’ve been traveling and speaking with agency leaders over the past few weeks and questions about business development hiring continue to come up. Questions like:
When should I hire a business development lead?
How much should I pay them?
What should I look for in a sales hire?
So far, I’ve resisted the urge to share the opinion of an auto dealer I once knew who said “I like my salespeople addicted or divorced. Anything to keep them needing the next deal.”
Instead, I’ve turned to the idea of “yarak” from falconry. Here’s one description of the term:
Yarak in falconry means keeping the bird hungry enough but not starving for the bird to be at heightened predatory instincts. This makes the raptor highly alert and ready to hunt. This is a technique often used in falconry, and the falconers are able to keep these raptors at their peak to hunt. In order to make a raptor go into a state of yarak, you need to provide it with the right balance of food and hunger. You don’t want to starve the bird, but you also want to keep it hungry enough that it is constantly armed with predatory instincts.
A well-fed falcon won’t hunt. But neither will a starving and weak bird. Yarak is exactly where you want your hunters.
Too big of a base salary or so senior that the minutiae seems below them? Your sales person won’t hunt.
Not enough incentive or lacking confidence in what they're doing? They won’t hunt then, either.
A Quantitative Example
Ted Lamade recently explored the impact of massive paydays on the performance of elite golfers. Even if you’re not interested in golf, the case study is worth a read. Here’s the gist:
Lamade tracked what happened to elite golfers after they joined the new golf league, LIV, and were handed guaranteed, life-changing contracts just for showing up. The results weren't pretty. Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith (both formerly ranked #2 in the world) started missing cuts and their world rankings cratered.
When their performance stopped being tied to pay, once they got fed, their grind stopped too. They became fat and happy falcons.
Two Additional Considerations
Lamade also brings up an interesting point - if you look across all sports, some of players with the highest guaranteed contracts continue to win. So, what’s different about golf?
Well, for one thing, you’re not competing, practicing, and sharing a locker room with someone else who’s also trying to win and fight for their contract. It’s a lot harder to lose your edge when those people are counting on you.
Which is why achieving yarak for your salesperson may not be enough. You need to create a culture of yarak where everyone at your agency is fed, but hungry and confident. It’s your job as the leader of the agency to make sure they celebrate the wins, but know the next one isn’t guaranteed.
