As the first quarter of the year comes to a close, it’s time that you start thinking about how you will be interacting with your prospects through the remainder of the year. Each quarter presents different variables that can make it difficult to close deals. Here is what each salesperson should know about their prospecting cycles and how they should tackle their prospect during those times.
The first quarter is a hot spot for lead generation. Prospects are receiving tons of emails and are feeling out for possible solutions for their respective companies. In the second quarter of the year, salespeople should focus on capitalizing on the pain points of their prospects. Whatever their initiatives or goals might be, there’s a chance that your prospect could be doing a trial run to execute their plans for the year. If a trial run of the product or service isn’t going well, they still might be looking for a solution elsewhere. This is where you come in. When reaching out to your prospect in q2 target their pain points. In your messaging, you want to convey that you understand their problem and that you are reaching out to them only because you have a solution that will be of value to them. Leveraging buzzwords in your email or subject line is a great way to get responses.
Quarter three takes place during the peak of summer leading into the back-to-school season. Prospects are marketing their products and they are tracking to see how they are progressing toward their goals. One thing to be aware of in this quarter is that many employees will be on more vacations or leaving work earlier in the day. For some teams, this could mean that the decision-makers could be out, making it difficult to close deals and stagnant in your pipeline. Prospective buyers are also starting to have budgeting conversations for next year. Use this quarter to form a relationship with your prospect. Give them an introduction to your offerings and how you can be a valuable asset for their initiatives for next year. If you are in the same area as your prospect, see if you can connect with them. As the world returns to normality, so should in-person business meetings. Who doesn’t love free lunch?
The last quarter of the year is one of the trickiest times to close deals. Prospecting with hopes to close a deal can be tough during this quarter, but there are opportunities to close a few companies that are looking to spend their remaining dollars during the holiday season. You should be using the time to get in front of decision-makers who are past the budgeting phase and are looking to pull the trigger on potential solutions for next year's initiatives. This can be difficult because of the holiday interruptions in this quarter. As the year comes to a close, teams will have lighter workloads and have the bandwidth to learn more about your product or service. If you have any valuable case studies or testimonials, now is the best time to use them. Show your prospective buyer all of the great work you’ve done and clients you’ve helped elevate through your solution.
Prospecting, building a pipeline, and closing deals can take all year. What’s important is that you have a strategy for each quarter so that you can prospect to the best of your ability. Leverage the value that you bring and put it at the forefront of your messaging. The sales cycle is a year-long journey, so it always helps to be prepared for a grind.
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