One of my favorite summer activities is picking huckleberries- something I’ve only done here in Idaho. I know there are several types of huckleberries, but the ones in Idaho aren’t cultivated- they only grow in the wild. They are also picky in where they grow, they are only in mountains, at certain elevations, and prefer south facing slopes. They are usually found in areas that have been recently burned, and don’t grow where there are a lot of other plants.

For the last several years, we’ve gone up near Sandpoint, ID, USA for a family trip, which always includes picking these elusive and yummy berries. This year, we did our normal picking, but then I found I was waking up several hours before the family, so I took the opportunity to go and pick for a couple of hours before the rest got the day going. I find it incredibly relaxing, being out in the woods, just looking for and picking berries. And then we have lots of them to add to jam, syrup or just eating fresh!

The last day we were up there, one of my daughters joined me on the expedition, and we had a good time looking for a good patch, and then picking. While we were picking, an insight came to me- we each have different styles of picking. I’m not saying one is better than the other, it depends on what the goal is. My daughter would find some berries, and would pick the ones she saw, and move on to the next plant. Within a few minutes, she was several feet away from me, then a few yards, and soon enough, I had only a vague idea of where she was.

My approach is a little different- I found a bush with berries on it, and I’d sit down and look carefully over the whole plant to find the berries. I would turn over leaves, move the branches, and basically scour the plant until I was sure I had every berry I wanted on it. Then, I’d move to the next plant. We were out picking for about two hours, and I didn’t get more than about 15 feet from where I started.

I got to thinking about sales while picking, and it occurred to me that sales is a lot like huckleberry picking. We can go for the easy fruit, and when we’ve got what we can see, we can just move on to the next bush. Or, we can take our time, and take advantage of every opportunity available.

Now, I’m not saying one is better than the other- one thing I found with my daughter wandering off is that she was able to find bushes with some really big berries, while the ones I was finding were small to medium sized. But in the end, I had roughly 3 times the amount of berries she had, and hadn’t expended a ton of energy in walking around looking.

So, what’s my conclusion? From a strictly energy standpoint, I like my method the best- looking for the fruit where I already am. But I did miss some big opportunities because I wasn’t out looking for the best bushes out there. Maybe the best approach is to do both- have someone out looking for big opportunities and have someone who is willing to just sit and pick where they are. Or, in the case of a single-owner operator, keep getting the low hanging fruit, and when you find the big berries, go for all you can!

What are your thoughts?