1. The Big 5 Game pursuit experiences
… and applying it to services selling

2. Big 5 Game hunting
Hunting Big 5 of the most
dangerous & difficult animals
The "Big 5" refers to the African:
Lion, Leopard, Black rhino, African
elephant and Cape buffalo
Its done on the foot, in the
wild. Safari Club
International, offers a trophy for
hunting all five species, called the
"African Big Five Grand Slam“
Countries where members of the big
five can be found include
Namibia, South
Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimb
abwe, Botswana and
Democratic Republic of the
Congo.
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3. 1) When pursuing ….a Leopard
Characteristics (Aka Panthera pardus):
 The most difficult to hunt, is
nocturnal, solitary and secretive
 Very risk
averse, adaptable, opportunistic, hid
es on treetops, has ranges (not
kingdoms), stalks prey (not chase)
from frog to elephants
 Large, carnivorous feline, if
cornered, will flight rather than
fight, wary of humans
 Excellent for triathlon (swim, climb
and run)!
Pursuit tips:
 Baiting, hounding or stalking are
most common methods, for long
cycles
 Prepare of night time shot, quality
optics no lights
 Can be very revengeful, deadly when
3 injured, will pounce stealthily

4. …Or a niche, specialized market player
Characteristics
Usually limited products / divisions, mid size, steady
revenue, protected margins
Competes in their domain by strong product
differentiation / customer intimacy
Very adaptable, innovative, specialized niche player.
Usually sensitive to business cycles
Pursuit tips:
Usually risk averse in procurement decision making
They chase for value creation over price deals
Show relationship based / differentiated-buying patterns
Best pursuit method maybe baiting (ie, smaller pieces of
work, with clear value creation), stress on relationship
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5. 2) When pursuing ….an African Rhino
Characterstics(Aka Diceros bicornis):
 Seemingly most placid of hunts
 Large (upto 6000 lbs), thick skinned
horned herbivore mammal
 Shortsighted, solitary, bad tempered
but great to watch, a group is called
“crash”.
 Charging rhino can come at ~35mph!
 Its horn has medicinal uses. They are
survivors (roamed earth for >50m
years)
Hunting tips:
 Known more for their belligerence
than ferocity
 Prefer open savannahs & water
bodies, incredibly acute hearing and
smell
 Heavy caliber, a shot behind the
shoulder is best for the hunt
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6. …Or a monopolistic quasi public player
Characteristics:
Usually tax / other secure funded organizations; reliable
service is usually key
Large amount of interaction with govt agencies
Regulated environment; Less sensitive to business cycles
(may actually be anti-cyclic); getting more citizen centric
More procedural than goal oriented
Pursuit tips:
Long decision / pursuit cycles
Robustness of solution / services over functionality
Usually have more transformation programs rather than
incremental projects
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7. 3) When pursuing ….an African Elephant
Characteristics (aka Loxodonta Africana)
 Gigantic mammal, ivory tusks, flappy
ears , thick skinned
 Herbivore (~17 hrs / day for
eating), social & peaceful, but will
charge
 Lives in habitats of
100+, matriarchal society
Hunting tips:
 Hunted for ivory
 Most common is follow the spoor
 shot at the head between the eye (if
close), else heart shot taken from a
distance
 Psychological battle of
endurance, patience & endurance
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8. …Or a Federal / State / local Govt player
Characteristics
 Decision making is usually slow and cumbersome.
 Other stakeholders may be involved as well(Nodal Agency / Regulatory
Authority/Laws and regulations)
 Less sensitive to business cycles – Public sector expenditure usually
increases in downturn and growth may slow down during revival
 Budget allocations come with a deadline to spend
 Certain sub-sectors may be more resilient (Defence, Education, etc)
 Focus on e-governance, citizen-centric initiatives
Pursuit tips:
 Needs patience and high process/procedure compliance.
 Be aware of more scrutiny and regulation.
 External factors (public sentiments, election cycles) may have an
impact.
 Payment cycles, terms and conditions, contracts are dictated by
Customer to the Vendors
 May not be open to heavy offshore due to security, data privacy issue
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9. 4) When pursuing ….a Cape Buffalo
Characteristics (Aka Syncerus Caffer)
 First, don’t be fooled by this
horned, seemingly placid bovine. They
can take on lions on their own!
 Reputed to be most dangerous, kill
more hunters than any other animal
 Will mob, ambush and attack pursuers
 Are found in herds of thousand, near
water bodies
 Can charge at 35mph, when it wants
Hunting tips:
 Respect it. It has 1500lbs of
agility, cunning at camouflage, with
vengeful disposition
 Track the spoor, new water bodies
 Best shot is at spine / vital organs
 Most dangerous when wounded, will
always double back onto their blood
trail to surprise their attackers
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10. …Or a commodities market player
Characteristics
In market as a price taker, highly competitive, usually
volumes player
Depending on business type, may have high sensitivity to
economic cycles
Usually are diversified to multiple unrelated business
lines
Competes with combination of industrialization and
branding
Pursuit tips:
Price driven, will extract maximum value from spend
using the scale leverage
Operational efficiency, Consolidation and
internationalization are keywords
Will encounter the IPP’s during pursuit
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11. 5) When pursuing ….a Lion
Characteristics (Aka Panthera leo)
 Arguably King of the Beasts is ultimate
prized catch, majestic & awesome!
 Excellent hunters (would ambush rather
than stalk), though lazy (would rest
~20hrs/day)
 Carnivorous feline, huge mane &
strength, bigger ego, has kingdoms
 Is social, lives in prides of family, will
jointly hunt
 Would fight rather than flight, charge
when cornered, can climb trees, swim &
run
Hunting tips:
 Baiting, hounding or stalking are most
common methods, baiting most common
 Nocturnal beast, excellent opportunistic
hunters by causing panic in herds
 Best shot is on shoulder blades, at the
vital organs (not head or neck)
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12. …Or a true market leader
Characteristics
 In market as a price definer, dominating force and trend setter
in identified LoB
 As a monopolistic, global player, fights for its market share
either by innovation or price (at times, both)
 Would commonly be found in M&A / split situations needing
reorg
 Will form coalitions / consortiums to protect the scale
 May tune its competitive pitch per business cycles
Pursuit tips:
 A/c has high logo value (for non-commercial reasons) & they
know it!
 Will drive the pursuit on their terms, will extract price and value
benefits
 M&A / splits etc are constant themes
 Tons of egos involved
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13. Himanshu Gupta / Anupam Jaiswal
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