For salespeople, the last 3 months of the year, also known as Q4, can be one of the most challenging and important times of the year. It can be a challenging time since clients and leads are busy trying to end the year off strong while trying to determine their budget for the next year. As tough as this period is, there’s always a way to keep your sales team energized and ready to win the quarter. Here are some ways your team can have an effective Q4.
Entering Q4, determine what your goal is for the quarter. Take a look at your previous quarters and reflect on where your team has thrived and what area they need to put more focus on. Make sure your goals are up to date so you are on the right track.
You want to be specific on what your goals are. Having a detailed metric allows the sales team to hold themselves accountable for reaching their goal. It also gives them a number they can use to measure success. Having a clear final goal will help your teamwork to calculate the initial efforts they need to make throughout the quarter.
Making sure your team is all on the same page is key to having a successful Q4. You might want to have mid-quarterly check-in to see how the team is doing as the year progresses and is coming to a close. Strategizing how to tackle the upcoming holidays can also be important when creating your internal calendar.
Holidays can lead to long weekends and can also be the starting point for week-long vacations for some of those on your team. Depending on your industry there is a chance you may have people working around the holidays. Having an internal calendar can be a great way for your team to identify who is going to be out and how they can help support in their absence.
Following up with your top leads to the end of the year is very important. If you are working in sales chances are you’ve chatted with hundreds of contacts over the years. Chances are there were some companies that were already working with someone or weren’t interested at the moment because their budget was tied up. Reach back out to them to see how things are going. In the process, tell them about the success your company has been seeing and any new findings that might be of use to them. Providing initial value let’s your lead know that you are truly reaching out because you believe you can be a solution for them, rather than just coming off as someone trying to make a sale.
Leveraging the holidays to increase your sales during Q4 is a useful tactic to have a strong Q4. Holidays can be a great time to offer up special deals to clients you are looking to work with going into the new year. Personally negotiated discounts can be useful and necessary when figuring out how to meet your Q4 goals. If you provide why your business/service can be valuable to them, they could potentially make a deal with you now because it could save them money in the future. Everyone loves a discount! All you need to do is get them interested.
Offering payment incentives, like a small discount for prompt payments made in Q4, can also help nudge your numbers up at the last moment.
We mentioned above how personalization is critical to nailing a lead in Q4. It all starts with the type of tech you are using to personalize your emails.
Leveraging a good CRM, which integrates sales and marketing into one self-contained platform, will help you keep track of your efforts across all your teams. You’ll be able to internally support your team, and ensure that your follow-up emails are personalized and sent in a timely fashion. All of your information will be organized and transparent for the entire team to see so no one is stepping on each other’s toes. A properly integrated CRM reliably helps sales and marketing teams seal conversions and improve their Q4 results. There’s many CRM’s to choose from, it just depends on what your needs are.
On that same note, be sure to keep all your teams informed, motivated, and — more importantly — happy. A positive work environment can be the difference-maker in keeping the peace during hectic times. Q4 can add a high level of stress, so it is critical to make sure your team is in good spirits and motivated to work together. Another tactic to keep your team in a great space is by unifying your sales, marketing, and customer service teams. Keeping people on the same page helps build solidarity and show’s that no one is alone. A team’s bond is strongest when each person knows that they are working together and for each other, to ultimately become successful as one.
