With just about 15 selling days left in the year, closing deals now all comes down to the sales warriors who have the most energy, who are the best organized, who have the best value propositions and, most importantly, are the best closers.  The pressure’s on, and everyone’s feeling it.

I stopped by one of my best customers yesterday and toured the sales floor.  Even with over 100 sales and marketing people, most of whom were on the phones, there was hushed quiet but also a steady energy and focus and a pulse that I could almost physically feel, the intensity was that great.  Whiteboards with prospects with red lines drawn through their names proudly displayed the December wins while real time CRM displays showed the rankings of the leaders and those who were on the bottom of the pack.  I didn't hear any whining about the economy or anything else since the reality right now is "Who cares, I just need to close a few deals!".  The life of any sales professional right now just comes down to these final couple of weeks of staying healthy, energizing and psyching yourself up and spending 16 hour days closing more deals. 

Most of us sell “stuff” in the shape of products and services that are independent of the time of year or the weather.  Sure, business is a bit slower in the heat of the summer, and for whatever reason, we still never seem to be able to break the cycle of the end-of-the-quarter crunch, but in most cases, our sales work is relatively "controlled" compared to weather or season-dependent retail businesses and, of course the ski resorts, like Stratton, where I live in Vermont.

Yes, the guys at Stratton are out there on the hill every night now making snow, and the very good news this morning is that they're working in the 6 inches from last night's storm.  It’s been a bit of tough sleddin’ so far this season, but management has been through these late starts to the season before.  I’ve seen the crews cover the entire hill in just a bit more  than a week, and the cold weather is now settling in later the rest of this week and next.  No question in my mind that skiing and riding will be perfect for the holiday; however, just imagine that you’re a salesperson right now trying to sell skis, boards, ski apparel or lodging packages at the resort.  Back when I was working with the industry’s outerwear leader, CB Vaughn, and he and I were running CB Sports, we had a saying that it was going to be a great season if there was snow in the backyards of Stamford and Darien at Thanksgiving.  Since that isn’t the case this year, it’s a bit of tough sleddin’ for the salespeople right now.

But weather is not case with most of us, so if you’re getting a bit down this morning or you're frustrated with where you are in your sales funnel, a couple of very positive things to try…

• Closing deals right now is all about you, your energy and your head.  Nothing more, nothing less, so it may be that you need to move outside your comfort zone a do a couple of things to proactively psyche yourself up.
• Focus on December 30^th, back up from there and place your day-by-day timeline predominantly on your wall so you can’t miss it when you’re on the phone.
• Role play a couple of closing scenarios for deals expected to close this week and next with one of your peers. There's no risk here and you have everything to gain by honing your skills with someone you trust.

If you're interested in improving the productivity of your sales team by 20%+, you should seriously think about attending our Sales Management Effectiveness Boot Camp April 1st-April 3rd in Boston.  After a solid quarter under your belt at the end of Q1, we know from our experience of five years of Boot Camps that a retuning, a look at new ideas and the opportunity to talk to other management professionals is just the thing to kick up the productivity of your for 2012. Guest speakers include executives from Brainshark, HubSpot, Time Trade and Salesforce.

The Early Bird Discount is $200 off our low price/high value program if you sign before January 15th plus an additional $100 off each for you and any other managers that accompany you from your company. Plus all attendees receive a free half day Whiteboarding Session scheduled at their convenience anytime during the following six months.

Just click HERE for the details and email me to set up a 5 minute call to answer any questions.  In the meantime...

Good Selling!

Jack
Head Coach