Merry end of the year stress! This is the time where, instead of celebrating the victories of the year, we let ourselves consumed by the targets we missed, the opportunities we didn’t take and most of all, the personal goals we just let go by as we became busier and busier.
After the summer break you can’t call yourself a modern entrepreneur unless you experience some sort of stress concerning your end of year goals. So many things that still need to be done! Be careful here! The more you stress about it the less you will accomplish. Doing research for my recently launched book, Speed Selling, I discovered the pressure always goes to the sales department first. It’s rare that production or fulfilment is delayed but the sales target always increases.
What you can do is focus on the projects you already started. Don’t start additional ones just because you decided later last year to do that. The stress will put pressure on your sales pitch which will make you look desperate which will lead to a lost sale.
Move your attention towards finishing strong the on-going projects. Maybe you can get creative in adding some more income from the existing ones. It’s always easier to sell to an existing customer. An upgrade, a new service, a new partnership should be your first ideas to look into.
Also, get your new prospects in line for next year. The fact that you’re not closing a sale this year doesn’t mean you can’t use the time to build up your relationship. Use the winter parties to solidify your future partnerships and the new year will catch you not only prepared to sell but ready to close. This will lead to a better managed year and a less stressed out end of the following fourth quarter.
Being aware of the slight increase of the pressure is the first step to managing it better. And always remember that when you think more about how can you honestly and full-heartedly help them rather then how they can help you, you’ve got yourself a sure path to a 100% close rate, even in end of the year season.
