Building Relationships

Why does everyone stop work this time of year?

My good friend Caryn Kopp wrote a great article on why it is so important for salespeople to keep working during November and December.   I have started with several new clients this month and I am doing lots of follow up to move sales through my funnel. Caryn outlines 5 reasons to keep prospecting in December.

Fill Your Pipeline In December

Why spend the last two weeks of December cleaning out files when you could be filling next year’s pipeline with new business?  Most business owners and salespeople believe that trying to reach prospects at year-end is pointless and instead spend time getting organized for the coming year.   In doing this, they miss out on one of the best times of the year to reach decision makers live.  Here’s what we’ve learned about prospecting in December…

1. Companies have fewer internal meetings during the last two weeks of the year due to employee vacations and mid-day holiday parties.  This means decision makers are more likely to be working at their desks and available when you call.
2. Many assistants take year-end time off (especially if they have school-age children), leaving decision makers to answer their own phones…without gatekeepers.
3. Decision makers who are in their offices at this time of year are more relaxed and chatty.
4. Your competitors don’t think this way.  They usually stop calling prospects the 2nd week of  December.  Your “share of voice” when leaving voicemails and reaching prospects live will be higher and you will get more accomplished with each call.
5. Decision makers will typically not accept a meeting from mid to end of December. However, if you request a date to meet NEXT year (which is just days away), their  calendars are usually wide open.  Ask for a meeting in early January and watch your calendar fill up.

This works especially well with hard-to-reach and senior level decision makers.  Connecting with prospect decision makers is just the first step in getting the door open.  Once you have a prospect on the phone you will need to deliver a content-rich message that is so relevant and compelling your prospect will invite you in for a meeting.  Does the message you are using now accomplish this for you?  Of course you must also be prepared to answer the objections that will inevitably come your way.  How much time have you spent pre-thinking answers that will get you past the objections you face?  Don’t forget to couple your objection response with a request for a next step.  How often do you do this?  What are you planning to do to develop new business this December?

About the author…Caryn Kopp, is the Managing Director and Chief Door Opener® of Kopp Consulting, LLC., a nationwide company which helps its clients secure initial meetings with high level, hard to reach, decision makers.  This program is called the Door Opener® Service.  Caryn is the author of The Path To The Cash! ®  The Words You NEED To Bypass Those Darned Prospect Objections!  This is the go-to book for getting in the door with prospects.  For more information go to www.koppconsultingusa.com.  

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