Strong Finish for a Stronger Start

“Working smart is about being committed when others are slacking, being focused while others are distracted; getting results when others say you can’t”

-Nathan Jamail, Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author

The Holiday Sales Secret:

As a sales person my entire life (literally my entire life)- from selling the local newspapers in front of the grocery stores at 11 years-old, to cookbooks for the cheerleaders in 8th grade, to home appliances, door to door encyclopedia sales (do you remember what those were?), life insurance, beepers, phones, mortgages, and now, keynotes and trainings.  I had fallen in the “Sales GAP” for many years early in my career, until one day a new mentor came into my life. He told me that the reason I was not as successful as I could be is because I was falling into the GAP instead of working the GAP.   “Huh?”, was my response at that time.

He then asked me, “what do you do the final 6 weeks of the year?”.  I told him, “I try to sell”, but at this time I was selling Business to Business, and like most of us, I believed it was very difficult to sell the last 6 weeks of the year, especially in business to business sales. I told him “no prospects want to meet, they are all focused on the holidays, all my prospects are telling me to contact then after the first of the year!”.  My mentor said, “that is the lie that you tell yourself because every one of your peers are saying the same lie, except the number one person. They are not using the lie as their excuse, they are using the ‘lie’ to put the GAP between their number 1 performance and the rest of you average sales people”.  Needless to say, that was the last time I ever said that again.

As a sales professional this was one of those lessons that changed my sales career and thousands of others I led for many years following.

So now it is time for me to once again share “The Sales Gap”, the great holiday secret with you!

To keep this short and sweet, I am going to share:

• The What
• The Why
• The How
• The Why Not  (this is why most will not do it, therefore always leaving a GAP between the top performer and others)

The What:

The GAP is the 6 weeks (give or take a few days depending on the year) between the start of Thanksgiving Weekend to the Monday after New Years Day.  This is the most powerful 6 weeks of the year.  This 6 weeks is the final lap of a race, no matter where we are, we put the pedal to the metal- we can catch up and win the race or keep going faster to increase our lead. The key is to leave it all on the track, no sand bagging, no slowing down, the more we close in December the more we will grow in January and February!  More to come on the power of momentum in sales in a later blog.  This six is big, not because it’s the last 6 weeks of the year, it’s big because of the 3 key ‘why’ reasons.

The Why: The three reasons why this is the most powerful 6 weeks of the year

1. Most sales reps slow down or in many cases stop. They are busy (kinda) but they stop most real productive work.   It’s not that prospects or customers are less likely to shop or buy business to business services, it is because sales people are less likely to be prospecting and selling.    Most sales reps are trying to finalize and close the hanging deals, instead of focusing on new deals- this is based on the need to complete a season, instead of start the new season.  The key is to treat The GAP as the start and not the end.  In sales we don’t have an end of cycle- it is a constant cycle.  Every week we need to close business and find new business.  Sales is not a peaks and valley business based on customers, it’s peaks and valleys are based on our efforts and activities.
2. Prospects are more available now than ever. Wrapping up the year, planning for next year and less sales people are calling them.  Think about it, if less people are calling on prospects- a sales call is now one of maybe three calls instead of one of many.  This is the time that the decision makers and key influencers are in their office available to chat, or in today’s environment, in their home office available to video conference.
3. This is were we show our difference, instead of saying we are different.  The best time to speak to a prospect is in the planning stages, not the buying stage.  No matter whether government, retail or commercial-  if we are responding to a purchase request, or RFP we are late to the party.  In sales, the power is in the planning and becoming a part of the consideration- not just the presentation.  The great sales professionals influence the planning process while most sales people try to merely pursue the the buying decision.

The How:  Get your mind right and your prospecting activities up!

Now is the time to start looking for new opportunities, instead of just closing your current deals.  Focus on getting referrals from your current deals that still need to be closed and have recently closed.  Use the energy and momentum from your current/recent deals to start new deals now, not wait till after the new year.  Focus on your pipeline; start setting new introduction meetings.

What’s the most new calls you or new introductions you have achieved in a given week?  Make that your weekly goal for the next 6 weeks.  Get up every morning ready to work and get productive. In effective selling, we get to focus on starting new

deals, because we never have to worry about closing.  In sales, finishing/closing is the fun part of our job, but starting and getting new deals is the hard part.  Focus on the the hard work and the fun stuff will always get done, at least it should if you followed a solid sales practice.

Why Not:

Even when sales people know and understand the GAP, most will still not work the GAP (I bet most read the above and still said, nah I am good).  And it is because of the same reason why most people will not achieve their new year’s resolution: most sales people are not willing to do the work or make the sacrifice- and that is a good thing for those that are willing to do the hard work.

Just like I know if I will spend 60 minutes every morning working out, stretching and getting my mind right, along with eating better and drinking less- I would be in better shape mentally and physically. I know this and I know how (hell for six years I did it and I felt great and I was in the best shape of my life) but right now I have more excuses than commitment.   It all comes down to: what are you willing to commit to in order to achieve what you desire?

The Impact:

Think of the GAP as a 200% return on your investment.  Every new appointment or introduction we get is worth two in the first quarter.  Why?

• First, we are the first one to the party and what we close in January and February we will get the revenue for the next 10 months.
• Second we have the momentum to our year going before others start moving.
• Lastly we show others that we work when our competition does not  and that is what all of us want from our partners, those that serve us.  We show our value instead of tell our value.

So if you want to have a strong finish and a stronger start, all we have to do is be willing to work the gap and make the sacrifice and commitment to do it.  By the way, this does not require more hours, it just requires better hours and more productive hours.   We will still have time to make hot cocoa with the kids and hang our Christmas lights.   

Here’s to you and your 6 Week GAP, the rest is up to you!

About the Author:

Nathan Jamail is a keynote speaker and bestselling author of 5 books, including his most recent “Serve Up & Coach Down.” With over 25 years of leadership in Corporate America as a top Director of Sales and a small business owner of several companies, his clients have come to know him as “The Real Deal.” Nathan has taught great leaders from across the world and shows organizations how to have a “Serve Up Mindset” to achieve maximum success. His expertise doesn’t come just from research or interviews. It’s from living the life of leadership for over 25 years. As a sales leadership keynote speaker and author who works with thousands every year, he challenges leaders to be the best version of themselves and settle for nothing less! Check out Nathan Jamail’s books, articles, keynote presentations, and blogs at www.nathanjamail.com or follow us on Linked-In, Facebook or Twitter.