CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
Written by Hamish Knox; President of Sandler in Calgary, Canada
Creating accountable, sales focused organizations in Calgary
Most salespeople take their foot off the accelerator in Q4. For some it’s because they’ve already hit their quota (or they believe they’ll coast in with opportunities already in their funnel). For others they’ve given up because they’re so far behind their target that they don’t believe they hit it unless a whale falls on their lap.
What those salespeople forget is Q1 comes after Q4. When the alarm clock of life goes off on January 2 (or January 8 for those whole hit the snooze alarm) they’ll have “new year sales panic.” New year sales panic manifests in frantically “planning” for the first two-to-three weeks of January, which puts those salespeople 1/3 of the way through Q1 with little or no momentum and a sales funnel that looks like a pencil.
To support your team in avoiding new year sales panic:
- Encourage them to pick a number they believe they can get to before year end. That’s not tacit approval for them to under perform. Off days, months or years happen some times. Your choice as their leader is to have a sulky salesperson, who may be looking for a job between now and the end of the year, killing the morale of your team or give them an opportunity to prove that they want to succeed.
- Challenge them to raise their personal goals if they’re coasting. Your people work harder for their goals than for an increased quota.
- Encourage them to stretch their comfort zone with by adjusting their prospecting activities and/or hunting at new watering holes for larger or different prospects in Q4 to build momentum that will carry them into Q1.
Even if your salespeople don’t believe the “seasons of prospecting” fallacy it’s natural to want to slow down in Q4. Let them and you’ll be burning a lot of mental and emotional energy in January addressing new year sales panic.
Until next time… go lead.
Lunch-and-Learn
Leadership for Organizational Excellence
When: Thursday October, 25
Time: 11.15AM-1.30PM
The Roadmap to Organizational Excellence
“Excellent” caliber businesses are growing and expanding, and constantly moving beyond comfort zone to adjust to changing technology and market conditions.
Join us on Thursday October 25, 2018 from 11:15am-1:30pm for an interactive discussion on the 6 Ps (Planning, Positions, People, Processes, Performetrics and Passion) that support mitigating or eliminating the 13 common leadership blind spots.
This workshop is best attended by CEOs, Owners, Presidents and their leadership teams:
Investment
- 1 attendee – $250 plus GST
- 2+ attendees – $235 per person plus GST
Reserve your seat today. Seating limited.
BONUS: Attendees will receive a copy of the Road to Excellence and the tools to start creating your excellence organization.
Reserve your seat today Limited Seating.
Share This:
