If your sales teams reduce their outreach during the holiday weeks because they think anyone who matters is on vacation, they shouldn’t. This is actually an optimal time of year to reach decision-makers. Data has shown that the best sales-booking days of the year are holiday weeks. Move your fingers away from the cookie plate and back to your phone to get your sales pipeline jumping again. Here’s why the last weeks of the year have great potential to drive B2B revenue:
It’s a myth that all execs take vacation at year-end. Sales reps presume key players won’t be around so they spend their time organizing internal documents. While that isn’t a bad thing, it won’t do much to help reach quota. Top execs do take vacations but very often the holiday weeks are when they stay back so their employees can take off. This means the absence of gatekeeper types, which increases the odds that key players will pick up their own phones. Having a clear pathway to introduce yourself, ask about their challenges and communicate the effectiveness of your solution is exactly the opportunity you’re looking for.
Key players will have more free time. From holiday shopping, to family airport runs, to school recitals and more, companies give employees lots of flexibility this time of year to enjoy the excitement of the season. As a result, it is hard to gather full teams at the same time so standing department meetings are postponed and new business meetings are delayed. This temporary unstructured culture makes it more likely you will be able to reach and pitch key players without competing with beeping calendar alerts and other interruptions.
Down time = catch-up time. With less formal meetings and big decisions put on hold til the New Year, key players will catch up on their inboxes, spend more time scrolling social media posts and take time to review comments. Social selling is a marathon, not a sprint, so consistent activity is key—even during the holidays.
Of course, not all of the 6.8 people – the typical number of execs who weigh in on a B2B purchasing decision – will be in the office during these holiday weeks. But many will, which is why sales reps need to continue their outreach. This could be the time to successfully seek and connect with the executive sponsor or influential personality to give you the panache you need to move your deal forward.
Mike Scher is CEO of FRONTLINE Selling, creators of Staccato, the leading B2B software suite that accelerates revenue by helping sales professionals create more high-quality opportunities, consistently hit quota and close more deals. He can be reached at mike_scher@frontlineselling.com and Twiiter @sellmoreperiod.
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