As the year starts to wind down, many sales leaders have three concerns about meeting their annual sales goals.

When I was a sales manager, my biggest priority was making sure that everyone on my team finished the year strong. If they made their sales goals, I would make mine. So now is the time to encourage each other during this home stretch.

Over the years, in my experience, these concerns have stayed pretty consistent.

First Concern: Pipeline Accuracy 

As salespeople forecast their deals expected to close, I had to first consider the personality style of each person. Who was overly optimistic and who was more cautious. If a deal has been in the pipeline for months and continues to slip from month to month, is that deal real? Also, why the delay? What issue is the customer having in making the commitment. Is it dealing with the status quo or is there indecision that we don’t know about. As a leader, I would visit as many customers as possible to find out what their hesitancy was all about.

Second Concern: Focus 

Were my salespeople focused on accounts with the highest likelihood of closing before the end of the year? Did they have a good grasp of the customer’s situation and how strongly were they committed to resolve the issues they were experiencing. Also, were they hustling and motivated to succeed or were they distracted by the holiday season? Maybe they were giving up because customers were not returning calls, or they couldn’t make the time to take a meeting. This can cause frustration for the salesperson.

Third Concern: Q1 Efforts 

The last concern was one that some leaders might not consider. How dedicated were my salespeople to prospecting for the first quarter of the coming year? It’s great to close out the year strongly by making your goals, but remember when January first hits, the clock starts all over again. Building momentum now for the new year is critical if you want your new year to start with business on the books.

One of the biggest keys to great success in selling is having the right mindset.

We all have the same 365 days a year to win business. Using the Four People Personality Styles methodology will help you spend your time with the most productive opportunities. Then using it to balance prospecting, move existing deals through your funnel, and close those deals that realistically can happen in the fourth quarter.

As a sales leader, you know the importance of :

• Coaching your salespeople to balance their efforts to maximize their performance.
• Asking the right questions to encourage your people to go the extra mile.

Sales is a competitive sport, with you, the leader as the coach. Leveraging each individual’s strengths is what can give them focus and build momentum.