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Business & Strategy

Customer Hunting Types

Model #0596Category: Business & StrategyDepth to apply:

By Updated 3 sources

4 min read

Contents

  1. 1. Core Idea
  2. 2. How to See It
  3. 3. How to Use It
  4. 4. Founders & Leaders
  5. 5. Connected Models
  6. 6. One Key Quote
  7. 7. Summary & Further Reading
Business & Strategy
Section 1

Core Idea

Customer hunting types are the different ways you go to market to acquire customers: outbound (you reach out), inbound (they find you), partner/channel (someone else sells or refers), and land-and-expand (start small, grow in-account). Each type has different economics, skills, and fit by segment. In building and scaling, choosing the right mix of hunting types — and matching them to segment and stage — determines whether you can scale acquisition predictably or stall. Trying to do a bit of everything usually means excelling at nothing; the best GTM plans pick one or two primary hunting types per segment, staff and compensate for them, and measure CAC and conversion by type so they can double down or cut.

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Section 2

How to See It

GTM
You're seeing Customer Hunting Types when a GTM plan explicitly separates "how we hunt" by segment — e.g. outbound for enterprise, inbound for SMB, partners for a specific vertical — and assigns capacity and metrics to each.
Sales
You're seeing Customer Hunting Types when sales roles and comp are designed by hunting type (e.g. hunters vs farmers, or outbound SDRs vs inbound closers) and pipeline source is tracked so you know which type drives revenue.
Budget
You're seeing Customer Hunting Types when marketing and sales spend are allocated by channel and type (outbound vs inbound vs partner) with clear CAC and conversion targets per type.
Section 3

How to Use It

Define which hunting types fit your product, segment, and unit economics. Allocate team and budget to the types that work; kill or reduce the ones that don't. Don't assume one type fits all — enterprise often needs outbound and partners; PLG often needs inbound and product-led expansion. Measure CAC and conversion by type and double down where the curve is best.
Decision filter
"For this segment, which hunting type has the best CAC and close rate? Are we staffed and incentivised for that type, or are we doing a bit of everything?"
As a founder
Document your hunting types by segment and stage. Hire and train for the types you're betting on; don't mix roles (e.g. hunter and farmer) without clear metrics. Review pipeline and CAC by source quarterly and reallocate.
Section 5

Founders & Leaders

Doug LeoneGlobal Managing Partner, Sequoia Capital; former sales leader
Leone has seen hundreds of GTM motions and stresses that the hunting type must match the customer: enterprise demands outbound and relationship; SMB and developer often need inbound and product. Founders can apply this by explicitly naming their hunting types, measuring by type, and avoiding a generic "we do sales" approach.
Section 7

Connected Models

Reinforces
Hunting Elephants vs Flies
Hunting elephants (few big deals) vs flies (many small) is a choice of segment and deal size. Customer hunting types are how you hunt — outbound, inbound, channel. The segment choice (elephants vs flies) should drive which hunting types you use.
Tension
Segmentation
Segmentation defines who you target. Hunting types define how you reach them. Tension: don't use one hunting type for every segment; match type to segment so CAC and conversion are sustainable.
Leads-to
Distribution
Distribution is how you get the product to the customer. Hunting types are the acquisition engine — outbound, inbound, partners — that feed distribution. Get the hunting mix right so distribution can scale.
Section 8

One Key Quote

"The best sales strategy is one that matches how you sell to how your customers buy. That means choosing the right hunting type for each segment — and not pretending one size fits all."
— Frank Cespedes, Aligning Strategy and Sales (2014)
Section 11

Summary & Further Reading

Customer hunting types are the ways you acquire customers: outbound, inbound, partner, land-and-expand. Match types to segment and stage; measure CAC and conversion by type; allocate capacity and comp to what works. Avoid a generic "we do sales" — be explicit about how you hunt and for whom.
01
Aligning Strategy and Sales — Frank Cespedes (2014)
Book
How sales strategy and hunting approach must align with customer and market; practical for GTM design.
02
The Sales Development Playbook — Trish Bertuzzi (2016)
Book
Outbound and inbound SDR playbooks; hunting types in practice for B2B.
03
Traction — Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares (2014)
Book
Nineteen channels and how to pick and test them; complements hunting-type thinking.

Why this matters next

mental modelsScale

Customer Hunting Types applied the Scale mental model

mental modelsHeat-seeking Missiles

Customer Hunting Types applied the Heat-seeking Missiles mental model

mental modelsDistribution

Customer Hunting Types applied the Distribution mental model

mental modelsHunting Elephants vs Flies

Customer Hunting Types applied the Hunting Elephants vs Flies mental model

mental modelsSegmentation

Customer Hunting Types applied the Segmentation mental model

mental modelsCustomer Hunting Types

Customer Hunting Types applied the Customer Hunting Types mental model

Frequently asked questions

What is Customer Hunting Types?

Customer Hunting Types is a mental model used for better thinking and decision-making.

How do you apply Customer Hunting Types?

To apply Customer Hunting Types, identify situations where this framework is relevant, then use it as a lens to evaluate your options and decisions. The model is most useful when combined with other complementary mental models.

What category does Customer Hunting Types fall under?

Customer Hunting Types falls under the Business & Strategy category of mental models. Other models in this category can be found on the Business & Strategy hub page.

Why is Customer Hunting Types important?

Customer Hunting Types is important because it provides a structured way to think about problems that would otherwise be approached with intuition alone. Understanding this model helps you avoid common reasoning errors and make better decisions.

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