We’re at the start of the 4th quarter of the year and that means we as sales leaders need to be stepping up our game.
The month of October and the first week or two of November are the final weeks when we can expect people to be flexible and willing to meet.
Today is the day every sales leader needs to look at the entire 4th quarter and lay out very specific plans as to when meetings are going to occur, proposals are going to be made and deals closed. My rule is over plan. Don’t build your plan to get you to quota; build it to go over the quota, knowing there is the potential for stuff to slide into next year.
Second rule is schedule early and don’t allow for meetings to slide. This is “game on” when it comes to meeting with customers. Prepare yourself now or you’ll find yourself with more than a few surprises and they most likely won’t be pretty!
Just because it’s the 4th quarter doesn’t mean you stop prospecting. No, I’ll say it’s just the opposite, because there are a lot of companies with money to spend and budgets to use before the end of the year.
The key to prospecting is understanding the customer’s timeline and needs quickly to allow you to make the determination if you spend time with them now or wait until the 1st qtr.
In my new book, High-Profit Prospecting, I have a number of strategies to help you with building out your end-of-the-year plan. I strongly suggest you grab the book, and while you’re at it, grab a copy for each of your sales team members. I have a special offer to help you get your team to the next level. Here is the link.
Copyright 2016, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
