As we enter November, with two months left in the year, three things matter most: closing what we can, building a strong pipeline for January, and shaping a sales plan we believe in and can execute on January 1st.
When it comes to closing, hopefully, we’ve forecasted well and have a clear sense of what should land. From there, it’s about working as a team to close loops and bring those deals in before year-end.
If the forecast isn’t tight, use this time to sharpen how we talk about the pipeline and the opportunities in it. Make sure the deals we say will close have real next steps—and that the timing of those steps leaves enough room for the work that follows. Connect teammates who can move a deal because of their strengths, relationships, or skill sets.
Take the extra time for ride-alongs. Fly in for a key meeting. Jump on a Zoom and show them you care—and that we want their business.
The year-end can create leverage. It could be time, budgets, pricing, delivery, etc. Use these thoughtfully.
- Can we offer a consideration for a signature by year-end?
- Can we guarantee a delivery window or kickoff date that matters to them?
- Can we commit to a pro-rated exchange rate?
What matters to this customer, and does the end of the year let us get creative in ways the rest of the year doesn’t?
We also need to make sure we’re not dumping all our time and energy into closing year-end deals. If we do, we’ll starve in January, February, and March.
Teams still need protected time to prospect—across all channels: cold calls, in-person visits, networks, associations, LinkedIn, etc.
The holiday season feels busy, and it’s easy to get pulled into low-value activity. As leaders, our job is to keep the team focused on high-value work that creates, advances, and closes opportunities.
There are a lot of parties and “networking” events that don’t move deals—now or in the future. The focus has to stay on leaving December with a big, healthy pipeline so January starts strong—not in a hole. (And yes, people are still around those two weeks before Christmas!)
Lastly, sales planning. You can’t cram it into the last ten minutes of a pipeline call. I like bringing the team off-site for a day. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy (but maybe it should be if we’re crushing it…).
All you really need is a whiteboard, great coffee, and the team together.
I love a one-page sales plan that covers these five key areas:
- Goals — What we’re going after next year (team and individual). New logos, key products, segments—put clear targets for each.
- Strategies — The key things we need to execute to hit those goals. Who we target and the paths that get us into the right rooms.
- Actions — What do we need to do daily, weekly, and monthly to execute on those strategies?
- Obstacles — What’s really going to get in our way? What’s real and what’s an excuse? Leadership needs to step in and fix what’s real.
- Personal & Professional Development — The skills we need to sharpen: prospecting, storytelling, confidence, product knowledge, sales fundamentals. How we’ll do it: courses, books, podcasts, role plays, or events.
If this is our approach in November and December, the year-end feels less hectic and January starts stronger.
If you’re leading a team, keep these three areas as your focus over the next two months. Execute consistently on these three, and you’ll finish strong—and start even stronger.
Cheers,
Kyle Jager
