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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.
Crash-a-Class
Hiring More Effectively
When: Thursday November 29th, 2018
Time: 08.30-10.30AM
Crash our regularly scheduled Sandler Management Solutions Class.
Successfully putting the right people in the right roles in your organization is a science that requires a systematic approach. It’s estimated that a bad fit hire costs your organization between 4.1 and 6.2 times base salary regardless of role. Even for an entry-level position that’s into the hundreds of thousands.
The tools you will receive are:
- A three-part formula for quickly determining if a candidate should advance based on their data
• Tools to support good fit hiring
• New mindsets, activities and techniques that limit time wasted on bad fit candidates
• Opportunity to network with fellow business leaders
Whether you’re hiring your 1st team member or your 1,000th you’ll gain insights that will save you time and your company money when hiring.
Reserve your seat today. Seating is limited.
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