You can make your own count this wicked cold morning as to whether the actual selling days left are either 7 or 9, but the reality is that the end of this year's quota is just about here, and the remaining tactics we have left are all about closing.
There are actually 34 different tactics one can use to close a B2B order, but at this time of year, I find the most effective are:
A very simple tactic is to simply write a series of personalized emails tomorrow morning to your customers, your referral partners and to your prospects. This does not need to be anything lengthy, but it does need to be human, so please stay away from the bland "Happy Holidays" and nothing else.
The TimeLine Close
Bring your prospect back to the beginning of your Discovery call which may have been 30 or 120 days ago when you and that person agreed to the most effective time for them would be x date. Maybe that date is December, maybe it was October, and you still haven't closed the deal, or maybe it's February: it doesn't really make any difference. Identify that if you were to sign the deal by the 29th, this is what would happen and then provide a detailed activity plan between now and the 29th plus an onboarding plan of what is going to happen in January. Are you going to be asked for a discount? Sure, but in this tactic of providing a detailed plan that can be presented to others who will most probably need to sign off, what you are providing is a detailed activity plan.
The Summary Close
Prepare a tight two-page PPT to show on a video call. On the first page, show bullet point by bullet point what you and your prospect have done to get to this point in the months that you have been working on this deal. On the second page, once again step through your detailed value proposition including the ROI of that value which you've already talked about previously. Then ask: "Does this pretty much summarize where we are?" . Get an agreement or talk about what might be missing, and then ask: "What does it take to close an order today?"
Have a great day closing today!
Now's THE Time to dive into your business planning for what lies ahead in 2026!
Think about taking a full day in the second week of January to polish your detailed business and sales planning process for 2026. Here's our free how-to ebooks for a few ideas:
"Writing the Winning Sales Plan"
"Writing the Winning Business Plan"
"Writing the Winning Marketing Plan"
"The Marketing of Me"
We outline ideas on structure, models, process funnels, productivity tools and how to recruit, hire and onboard the best people. A few hands-on guides for sales, marketing and business managers written by heavily experienced line managers with your titles and responsibilities.
Connect with me any time at jack@derbymanagement.com and let's discuss your own 2026 planning!
