The finish line is in sight to the end of what for many sales professionals and many sales organizations has been one of the toughest years we have ever experienced. I know we all can’t wait for 2009 to come to an end as we look for 2010 to mark a better business climate. It can’t get any worse – can it? (We’ll see. But don’t get caught by surprise!)
This time of year always has its challenges – fewer sales days for that final dash to try to make sales goals for the quarter and for the year. As Ken Thoreson pointed out in our last newsletter, you need to
1. Count the days – know how many selling days remain – create a sense of urgency with your sales team. Stay focused on your sales goals.
2. Leverage your resources – use your inside sales, customer service, and technical team members to increase customer contact.
3. Plot closing strategies – create and look for reasons for prospects to take action now instead of putting action off “until after the holidays”.
4. Increase call activity – shorten the time between follow-up calls. Provide your sales team with meaningful information to take on each sales call.
5. Keep prospecting. Some sales projected for 2009 will always spill over into January, but you need to take action NOW to make sure the pipeline is full of prospects for February and March.
In spite all the economic bad news of this “New 21st Century”, we still have much to be thankful for. I wish you and your sales team a Happy Thanksgiving!