Contrary to popular belief, December is an excellent month for your sales team to make significant progress on major target accounts, prospects, and activities they’d typically hold off on until the new year.
Most sales teams wind down, take it easy, and assume their customers would rather not hear from them during the holiday season, but that’s not always the case.
So, what makes December a better rather than worse month to make those critical sales calls?
It seems almost counterintuitive, considering all the holiday absences and frivolity seeping into offices around December. However, your prospects may actually be more reachable in December through a combination of factors:
- Their gatekeepers may be away or distracted.
- Disruptions in the typical work routine mean prospects may be at their desks more frequently than usual or at unusual times of the day.
- It’s more likely that decision-makers will answer their phones directly — a rarity that won’t happen again for another full year.
- Your competition probably enjoys holiday parties and vacations instead of dialing up prospects.
Starting to see some of the unique advantages December brings for a hungry sales professional? Good! We always encourage our clients to make the most of their December to create solid sales habits for the next year.
How to Make the Most of Sales Calls in December
Pursuing sales during the holidays can be one of the most important strategic moves you make all year long. Done right, you can finish the current year with a bang, set yourself up for a great first quarter in the new year, get the jump on your competitors, or make some sales you might not be able to pull off at any other time. Our advice is to always keep your foot on the gas pedal throughout December because:
Your prospect’s annual current-year budget dollars may not be fully spent
It’s entirely possible that if you catch a prospect at the right time during the last month of the year, they’ll have the leftover budget available to spend on your product or service. It’s not always going to work out perfectly, but at the very least, you can start the conversation about what a partnership would look like.
Some people are still planning for 2023
Just because we’re at the end of Q4 doesn’t mean that every business you want to sell your products or services to is done with planning or budgeting for next year. Strategically timed outreach during December can be perfect for introducing your company into a prospect’s plans for Q1 and beyond.
You can motivate your team with incentives
It’s the holidays — who doesn’t want an extra year-end bonus or commission for achieving a hard-to-hit end-of-year quota? Motivated salespeople can be incentivized to push through the final month of the year to reach high-probability prospects to secure whatever incentive they see fit.
December Outreach — Effective
We believe that sales is an industry that really never sleeps. Even though December and the end of the year can feel like a time to slow things down and pull back, the best in the business are out there finding ways to maximize their opportunities.
Ultimately, you know your market better than anyone else, but there is much to learn in that final month of December. Studies show taking the time to prospect in December can account for as much as 80 percent of your team’s Q4 business, so we feel strongly that making sales calls in December is an effective sales strategy.
Want more content like this to help drive sales and conversions for 2023? Check out our blog, or get in touch with the Topaz team to learn more about our Buyer Facilitator, Metahire, or Sales Leadership Training.
