Some people don’t always like the idea of summer ending and fall kicking in, but it is honestly my favorite time of year. Not only is fall a time for beautiful weather, apple picking, and pumpkin lattes, but it’s my favorite time when it comes to sales. With the summer months behind us, we are now well into the new season, everyone’s back and ready to close out the year strong. Directors and VPs are either looking to spend their remaining budgets for the year, or they are planning ahead for 2014. As a result, they are all willing and open to talking when they receive cold calls.
With this positive news in mind, it is also crucial to remember that with the end of the year comes shortened months due to the holidays. As we all know, three days are lost in November due to Thanksgiving, and at least one full week or more is lost around the Christmas holiday. Reps need to work extra hard when they are in the office during these months and make the most of every live conversation to strive to turn them into fully qualified opportunities.
At the same time that this is all happening, we want to keep our reps motivated to sustain their performance, and a great way to do that is to reward them by celebrating the festivities that the fall months bring. For example, we had a Halloween party last Tuesday; around Thanksgiving, we will most likely do a pot luck lunch party; and in December we will take a Friday afternoon off for our annual Holiday party in downtown Boston. But the million dollar question is, how do you keep reps focused to obtain the results you need? How do you keep them motivated from a cultural standpoint at the same time in Q4?
The answer is simple. Your team can experience great rewards, like company parties, but you have to make them work for it so that it doesn’t hinder success in closing the quarter out strong. Simply telling your team to make X amount more dials the week of your party is not going to get results. There needs to be an extra element that is tied in, so that your team does not just dial the phone without a plan to get to a number. Instead they should continue to focus on making smart dials. Here are some examples of how you and your team can enjoy company holiday parties and events, while still reaching desired results:
Create a competition the day or week of the scheduled party or activity.
Something that we’ve seen work is to create a contest around “Leads Passed” or “Meetings Scheduled” for the day or week leading up to the party, not just based around call activity. Anyone that passes X amount of opportunities can then advance and take part in a contest at the actual event, where they have the potential to win some extra cash. Therefore, they are still focused on quality.
Implement a call blitz, but tie in the idea of quality and not just quantity. Increasing call numbers is not a bad move to make, just make sure there is a quality component tied in. For example, if you raise the activity number by 10 dials per day, raise the number of conversations that you’d like to see as well. If you tend to have your reps make 100 dials per day with 10 conversations, raise the call number to 110 and raise the conversation number to 11-12.
Motivate your team with other perks to keep them going.
The day of your event or even throughout the week of your event, surprise your team with the unexpected to keep them motivated. For example, for the day of our Halloween party, we brought bagels in in the morning as a way to motivate them and keep them plugging through lunch until the party started later in the afternoon. They appreciated the gesture and it motivated them.
Schedule your celebration for a day that makes sense.
While this probably goes without saying, you want to schedule your event for a time that makes sense, and not at a crucial time that would interrupt business. For example, we scheduled our Halloween party for a few days before Halloween to avoid taking the reps off the phones on the last day of the month when tension is high and last minute leads need to be passed.
With all the hustle and bustle associated with Q4, it’s tough to keep reps motivated to hit goals, especially when they are tempted by vacation time and holiday events. Use these last few months of the year to your advantage and further motivate your team to reach their goals – hopefully sooner rather than later, especially when you strategically plan your team holiday parties and events!
