The last month of the year. A time for most people to start winding things down.
It’s a time for an onslaught of personal things that people tend to devote their attention to, and it’s a time when business starts to take a backseat.
How is your sales leadership during the month of December?
Too many times, I hear from sales managers who are complaining about how customers are pushing things back to January due to the holidays. They complain to me about how they can’t believe people are slacking off and simply don’t care.
I love asking these same people what the expectations are they place on their people during December. They typically tell me how they too slack off in what they expect from their people. Gee, something tells me I see a pattern!
Just because others are slacking off doesn’t mean we as sales leaders and salespeople should be slacking off. In fact, I love it when others slack off, because it makes it easier for those of us who do want to stay focused.
An expression I like to use is a two-watt light bulb looks pretty bright in a dark room and December tends to be dark!
Use December as an opportunity to go for it! Remain aggressive and engaging those with whom you come in contact.
There’s another reason that goes way beyond just getting more business in December. It also works in helping to get more business in the new year.
People who tend to shut down in December will wind up taking the first week or two in January simply figuring out where the front door is and getting organized after having kicked back for several weeks.
For the person or sales team that remained engaged in December that means even into the first couple of weeks of the new year you can still be outpacing your competition.
December is not the month to dial back and relax. Instead, stay focused and demonstrate genuine sales leadership. Wasting 8.5% of the year is simply not a good practice to have.
Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
