‘Tis the season for SDR’s to assess Q3 performance and pinpoint ways to succeed during the holidays, so they can outcompete and crush quotas ahead of the New Year.
In most businesses, Q4 generates more revenue than any other quarter. So, from a selling standpoint, this time of year holds an opportunity to drive significant growth. But, for SDRs, the year’s final quarter is also one of the most challenging to navigate because it has the fewest business days available for prospecting.
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Thanksgiving, the Holidays and New Years’ plans take people out of the office for up to a week or two at a time. And, any salesperson knows the odds of prospects responding to your outreach while on vacation or even working remotely during the holidays are slim — so, the challenge to get on top of selling in Q4 is on! Successful salespeople combat this intimidating season by practicing the following three key principles to secure a strong end to the year.
#1. Plan Ahead to Stay Ahead
The key is to approach Q4 confidently. You know what lies ahead: it’s not a surprise people will be harder to get ahold of this time of year. But, it’s up to you to take initiative and evaluate how to withstand slow periods. Q4 is actually a prime time to connect with buyer teams since they’re planning for 2020 budgets. A few additional tips to keep you ahead:
- Despite the lack of communication from leads, sellers can still work on prospecting. Make sure your CRM is up-to-date with call info, notes, and action items. Then focus on conducting research on key accounts and creating lists of prospects you’ll call when everyone is back in the office.
- Conduct research and work as hard to qualify people out as you would to qualify them in. You can do this by applying buyer insights, like what is most important to that buyer, to make sure they’re the right account for you to target.
- Front-load with tasks that will end up paying dividends when it’s time for the call blitzes. Draft emails, prepare call scripts, listen to old sales calls to identify areas of improvement, etc.
This preparation will give you a jumpstart on building your pipeline and establishing a path to avoid quarter lulls or excuses for not meeting numbers. With all this productive work crossed off the list ahead of time, you can successfully execute on your outreach once prospects return to the office.
#2. Use Resources To Enhance Efficiency
The sales landscape is quickly changing. It requires those who wish to be successful to act efficiently and effectively to obtain prospects. In the past, it was common for sales reps to easily spend 30 minutes searching for email addresses. Or hours entertaining uninterested buyers. Basically, salespeople succumbed to inefficient work simply because there was no better way to do it.
Luckily for modern sales reps, that is no longer the case. The evolution of tech resources has led to the development of tools specifically focused on helping sales teams be more effective. Utilizing a platform with the power of predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning allows sales reps to spend their time on the most critical areas of their roles — connecting with their prospects. With the ability to know where buyers are in their journey, reps aren’t left guessing which intent keywords will resonate with buyers. For example, when sales reps call on prospects during the purchase stage, these buyers will automatically be served ads with messaging and offers related to the purchase stage.
So, maximize your efficiency by capitalizing on available resources. This allows you to streamline burdening tasks — think searching for the right contact email or making outreach to a prospect who doesn’t even want to buy your solution — and focus your time on how you can successfully engage a buyer with the most appropriate message to close the deal.
#3. Keep Your Vision and Goal in Sight
BDR and SDR teams are often known for “churn and burn.” These companies see reps coming and going from the company like revolving door. This can stem from a lack of an end-goal in mind. Without a vision of how they can contribute to the company, representatives continue to work mindlessly, making it difficult to feel fulfilled — especially in the midst of the slow returns of a holiday season.
Avoid burnout and keep yourself motivated with a growth mindset. A tactical understanding of this concept is introduced by Jeb Blount in his best-selling book, Fanatical Prospecting. Blount encourages sales teams to remember the 30-day rule: the fruits of one’s labor will take 30 days to be reaped.
You may feel the results of your efforts are random or that you are simply getting lucky. But, applying this 30-day rule to your process will ensure you are in control of your success. In short, if you take your foot off the gas, you won’t see the results. But, if you truly push during the holidays, you will find success in your numbers.
The holidays are a time when you may feel a lot of pressure to meet business goals or company expectations before wrapping up the year. But, in sales, successful reps are those who approach this time of year with confidence. If they plan, work efficiently and keep their eyes on the prize, they will see the results. When you are in control of the work you contribute, there’s no time for failure during the most wonderful time of the year!
About Ernest Owusu
As the Director of Sales Development at 6sense, Ernest Owusu leverages his passion for helping others succeed as well as his insights from the field to foster a winning team. With previous experience as an NFL athlete, Ernest thrives in team environments full of high collaboration and healthy competition. Outside of the office, you’ll find him tackling the industry’s diversity problem by mentoring and empowering under-represented people so they can confidently grow their careers.
