Wednesday, August 14, 2019
It’s August now – the dog days of summer. Don’t let your sales be beat by the heat. Even though lots of people are on vacation, the office may be quieter, and productivity slower, there is no better time than now to prep for a strong year-end push.
Between now and Labor Day, you have the opportunity to get out ahead of everyone else. Prep. Review. Learn. And come September 5th, you’ll have a clear path for what’s coming over the final four months of the year.
Weed the Garden
Does your pipeline need some weeding? Most likely it does. Spend time reviewing your pipeline and really qualify your opportunities. Who are the prospects that you have the best chance of closing by year-end? Which prospects have been carried quarter-over-quarter with little progression? And finally, which prospects are taking resources, but are not real opportunities at all? By knowing your real opportunities and letting go of those that are dragging you down, you will elevate your sales activity these final months of the year and give yourself more power to connect with your true buyers.
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Now that you know your best qualified prospects, ask yourself, “What can I do now while it is quiet to get ready for action in September?” Being proactive can be the key to getting ahead of the competition during a busy sales season. Know who you are going to reach out to and when, and put that information in your calendar including specific details about your outreach. If you prepare for those communications now, you will be freed up from having to do it next month or even later. Draft the email and hit “save.” You’ll be ready to hit “send” next month.
Back to School
The dog days of summer are great days for you to learn. Maybe your company launched a new service model or product enhancement that you need to better understand. Perhaps there is new marketing material that you simply have not had time to embrace yet and learn. Sales training is a great motivator because its sole purpose is to help you sell and service better than you have been. Going into the final months of the year is an opportune time to get motivated and brush up on skills that could use some bettering.
Don’t Forget Upsells
If you have a service team or account managers in your organization managing your prospects-now-turned-clients, they could be less busy than usual as well. Reach out to them and see what’s happening with those clients. Maybe there are upsell or cross-sell opportunities you can identify together to explore in Q4. Developing collaborative relationships with those servicing and managing existing clients can lead to happier customers, more stable reoccurring revenue, and ongoing upsell opportunities.
Envision December 2019
Where do you want to be at the end of this year? Take the time now to envision what your sales success will be at year end. What do you need to do between now and then to get there? It is not too soon to be thinking of these things. In fact, these quiet, hot days of summer offer the greatest space for you to envision, prep, and focus on your end game.
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