With October kicking off Q4, and the EOY just around the corner, the most important time of the year is fast approaching. With sales quotas and new leads on a deadline, we’re pulling together a series of posts tailored with simple, yet effective tips to boost your Q4 and EOY output. So start with these three steps to make your fourth quarter the most productive one of the year.
Step 1: Review the Sales Pipeline
Sales reps can get tunnel vision, especially when it is Q4 and the pressure is mounting. An unyielding focus can be a great thing for sales, but sometimes what everyone needs is to take a step back and gain a fresh perspective.
Taking a look at your lead list and comparing it to the sales pipeline in detail can help everyone reassess their current prospect focus and gain new insight. The keys to look for are leads that you completely forgot about or that stand out as being woefully inaccurate in terms of pipeline stage or qualification designation.
Some teams can even completely shuffle their to-call list based on who can take on what lead most effectively. Question every single lead and look for lost opportunities or ones that are ripe for progress to the next stage of the sales pipeline.
Even deals that apparently died on the vine months ago should be considered. After all, a “no” is more definitive than a “maybe,” since it allows sales management to cross people off their list. Likewise, legacy customers can be revisited to see if they legitimately need any new services or upsells.
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Step 2: Revisit Training and Double Down on It
Once you have a fresh new crop of prospects and leads gleaned from your reassessment, you can pinpoint the skills your team needs to make the most impact on these potential customers.
Evaluate your team’s current skill set and where their proficiency gaps might be. Consult your official sales process or manual to refresh your memory on best practices. Have top sales reps hand down knowledge to lower performers through regular ongoing training sessions. Small daily doses encourage knowledge reinforcement while minimally interrupting workflow.
Learning systems like Pitch IQ can come in handy during this phase. Sales teams can respond to scenarios structured around the top prospects or qualified leads identified in step one. You can also have group collaboration so that training is a team effort rather than a top-down imposition.
Step 3: Whittle Down Your Top Leads
Now that your sales team knows who should focus where and has the sales enablement skills they need to approach these clients, they can strategically explore every possible lead they have. Delegate top leads to your best closers, and use the most knowledgeable sales people to see if they can nurture others lead further along the pipeline.
A winning combination of ongoing bite-sized training and lead prioritization will help you track down as many sales as possible to finish out EOY 2015 with a bang!
Click here to discover more about how LearnCore can unlock the potential within your team before EOY comes flying past.
