I maybe already too late, hopefully you aren’t? I often state that it is the salesperson’s responsibility to make quota not the sales managers, it is your responsibility to hire, train and put the salesperson in a position to win and exceed quota. Sales leadership means looking out 90 days or more to ensure you have the programs in place for success.
As we finish April, you should be conscious of pipeline values, business opportunities and activity levels to ensure you will exceed your July and August numbers. It is this Summer time that many sales leaders are always worried about; it’s the time when salespeople and prospects take vacations, enjoy summer’s more casual atmosphere (especially in the North), and both pipelines, sales and sales activities dwindle. These months can impact your ability to exceed your quotas and revenues for those periods, as well as your September and October goals. What to do?
1) Beef up your sales activity focus to ensure summer pipelines are “more than full”.
2) Plan sales contests for May and June that are based on volume and activity
3) Develop a July & August mentality & environment that you are “not taking off those months” and that you expect your salespeople to attain their quotas.
4) Create a “Customer Appreciation” summer event and offer special packages or discounts during a three week period.
5) Develop a companywide summer contest that is focused on both current customer sales and new prospect leads. Hint: let your sales team serve a picnic lunch to your support and administrative teams for a kickoff event.
What other ideas do you have? Leave a comment so everyone can benefit and we can all enjoy a restful labor day. I have my plans already in shape for that day, do you?
