Orginally published on: www.koppconsultingusa.com
Why spend the last two weeks of December cleaning out files when you could be filling next year’s pipeline with new business?
My good friend Caryn Kopp, whose company provides The Door Opener® Service, wrote a great article on why it is so important to keep focused on sales this time of year.
I have started with several new clients this month and I am doing lots of follow up to move sales through my funnel. It has been easy to reach decision makers.
Caryn outlines 5 reasons to keep prospecting in December. Most business owners and salespeople believe that trying to reach prospects at year-end is pointless and instead spend time getting organized for the coming year. In doing this, they miss out on one of the best times of the year to reach decision makers live.
Here’s what we’ve learned about prospecting in December.
– Companies have fewer internal meetings during the last two weeks o
– Many assistants take year-end time off (especially if they have school-age children), leaving decision makers to answer their own phones…without gatekeepers.
– Decision makers who are in their offices at this time of year are more relaxed and chatty.
– Your competitors don’t think this way. They usually stop calling prospects the 2nd week of December. Your “share of voice” when leaving voicemails and reaching prospects live will be higher and you will get more accomplished with each call.
– Decision makers will typically not accept a meeting from mid to end of December. However, if you request a date to meet NEXT year (which is just days away), their calendars are usually wide open. Ask for a meeting in early January and watch your calendar fill up.
Incorporating these learnings will work especially well with hard-to-reach and senior level decision makers. Connecting with these prospects is just the first step in getting the door open. Once you have a decision maker on the phone you will need to deliver a content-rich message that is so relevant and compelling your prospect will invite you in for a meeting. Does the message you are using now accomplish this for you?
Of course you must also be prepared to answer the objections that will inevitably come your way. How much time have you spent pre-thinking answers that will get you past the objections you face? Remember to couple your objection response with a request for a next step. How often do you do this?
What are you planning to do to develop new business this December?
If you need help filling your sales funnel or closing deals, give me a call @ 775-852-5020.
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