Stop the end of year slump! A Manager’s Guide to the stereotypical “bad” salesperson
Well, we’re nearing the end of the year, and you know what that means? Everyone is working their tails off, trying to close as much business as possible, finish out 2023 strong, and set themselves up with a jam-packed pipeline going into 2024, right?
Unfortunately, the answer to that is “Wrong!”
As a business owner or CEO, I’m sure you read that and thought, “That sounds great, I hope that’s what my team is doing!”
Maybe it’s because it’s the holiday season, and I’m feeling festive, but I’m in a giving spirit today. So, I thought I’d let you in on a secret and share a complete, albeit cheeky, list of what the bad salespeople are doing this time of year. I can’t let you peek at your presents, but I can gift you the opportunity to peek into the minds of a surprisingly high number of salespeople out there. Check it out and see if your salespeople are naughty or nice.
Here’s your complete list of What NOT To Do for salespeople looking to round out 2023 strong:
Bad Behavior #1
Make a list of your top customers and prospects. Check it twice. Do not call them, though- that can wait for next year!
Bad Behavior #2
Be sure to get all of your holiday shopping done early. I heard the best time to shop is 8-5 Monday through Friday.
Bad Behavior #3
Already achieved the quota? Great! Vacation mode activated! Expecting my Jelly of the Month club certificate any day now!
Bad Behavior #4
Haven’t already achieved quota? Whatever, there’s always next year! Nobody is actually working this time of year anyway. My customers don’t want to hear from me right now. They’re probably busy with holiday shopping themselves!
Bad Behavior #5
Wait until the last minute to submit end-of-year/ 2024 projections. Not like anyone is waiting on them or anything. They probably won’t notice if I’m just a little late. Plus, that Elf marathon is on tonight, and I’d really like to watch it.Better just, just turn them in late! My manager isn’t actually going to look at them between 5 pm tonight and 8 am tomorrow. I bet she wants to watch Elf, too!
Bad Behavior #6
Update the CRM?! At a time like this? I can probably wait to log those calls until next week. Right now, I’d like to get to that holiday party!
Bad Behavior #7
*Checks calendar* Okay, two client meetings today. I’m not going to prepare my list of questions for them. After all, I’m bringing cookies. They’ll probably just want to shoot the breeze and talk holiday plans. No way a deal is getting done this close to the end of the year.
All jokes aside, if any part of it seemed a little too close for comfort as you read, maybe it’s time to evaluate your team. What can be done to eradicate that naughty behavior and foster more nice (read revenue-generating) behavior through the end of 2023 and beyond? Here’s an actual tool you might find helpful to see where your team stacks up.