While anyone that isn’t in sales is enjoying the common stresses of the holidays, outside salespeople are fearing missing their quota for the year. The pressure is on to close, close, close. For salespeople that focus on building relationships and not burn and churn, the pressure is a lot less. Why? Those salespeople that took the time to get to know their clients will not be turned off by the year-end “Are you going to sign?”
Bonuses, accelerators and frankly, keeping your job, depend on making a certain number. And when your clients get to know you they understand that you are there to sell them something and not visit. It may take a few face to face meetings and a myriad of phone calls to build the type of rapport where your client sees you as trying to solve their problems and not someone trying to take their money.
If you are any good, you have a list of clients that know you as a problem solver and accept the fact that you are measured at work by how much revenue you generate. Now it’s year-end. You are a few deals short of making quota or hitting a big accelerator. Time to pull out that list and make some calls to friends that happen to have signing authority.
Be shameless. Let them know that you are at risk of being taken off their account. That sparks a fire under some clients to act fast and get the signing process in motion, rather than waiting until Q1 of the next year. They like you. They know you. They will want to keep you.
If you need a few deals to hit in December, pull out your list and make the calls. You have nothing to lose.
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