The Sales Calendar & Building Compelling Events
Any good sea captain knows when and how to cross the Atlantic. What time of the year do you sail, how do those weather elements affect the voyage and does it increase or decrease the likelihood that you make a safe crossing.
Sales is no different (yes I made that correlation). We are all captains of our own ship and we have to be aware of the dangerous waters aka the down periods in the year. Most know this and those who don’t will find out.
Let’s start out though on a positive note which is the first half of the year. The budget has been released, projects are underway and it’s the time to stack your quota attainment. You’ll want to hit it hard because the first down period arrives.
June 15-July 7
Kids are out of school and people are getting away for the weekend. There is also the July 4th holiday when everyone will be MIA. Of course they leave town around June 29th to take advantage of the holiday week.
If you are working on a deal that surfaces in March then you definitely want to be mindful of this stretch. The good news is you have the rest of July to push this through and sometimes there is a time deadline with the project. So you have a few compelling events to play with in your mutual timeline.
But then you have to be mindful of the worst stretch of the year…
Aug 1-Sept 2
This is what I famously call the stretch where annual attainment goes to die. This graveyard of a time period has burned almost everyone in sales. I myself walked into one Aug 117% of my annual quota only to exit Sept at 85%.
Everyone is on vacation. Know one is doing anything. If they are then it’s just to check some boxes before they take off for 15 days. Not only is your champion out of office but other folks in the decision making process are out. Moving deals is pretty challenging in August.
Furthermore, kids' schools start back up so working adults with families are focusing on back-to-school activity. Getting clothes, supplies, etc is the top priority. After Labor Day then it’s game on for one of the funnest stretches in the year which is Sept 3rd to Nov 14th.
Folks are liquidating their spend because budget requests are due in Oct. They need to get those dollars out the door so as to not threaten the next fiscal year budget amount.
What is this? Companies will only increase budget if you spend all of your current budget. If you are under budget then you’ll get penalized with a shrunken budget for the next year. Basically, 1+2 = Apples….it makes no logical sense but it’s a reality.
Nov 14th - Dec 2
Initiate Holidays Phase 1… Everyone is thinking about their Thanksgiving Turkey. Either they are hosting it or need to travel for it. Also, when do we put the decorations up for December? No one is thinking about their imminent project and getting back to their vendors.
Also, with budgets still pending for the following year people get a little gun shy. They want to wait to see what they get approved for. They are also working with other folks to see if they have any remaining internal budget. Aka Sales borrowing from Success’ budget or IT purchasing on behalf of Support.
Dec 20th-Jan 3rd
Game over. Thank you for playing. See you next year. If you have a deal you are trying to close you should try something easier like climbing Mount Everest.
Also, just some advice… don’t be that person that has a close date set in this time period. It just says that you don’t have control of your pipeline. You either sent a timeline that either wasn’t followed or you put in a close date of 12/23 on it which shows a lack of understanding.
Help yourself and your team… close it before and build a timeline that has a 12/14 close date. Also, the discount is gone and won’t come back. Put as many obstacles here as you can to avoid a $150k open opp due to close on 12/27 (and yes I have seen this).
Now here is a disclaimer.. There are Hail Mary deals out there that come in. But you have a VERY good champion and access to Executive Sponsor. I’m talking about you have their cell phone, vacation plans and you know who is coming over for their NYE party.
Key Takeaway
The main thing you want to take away from this is to know the dead periods and use them to your advantage. They are compelling events that you can use in your favor. Put them in your timelines.
Push back on buyers that say they are going to buy by Aug 20th. Challenge them a little bit “I find it’s challenging to buy in August due to vacations. Are all the relevant people in at that time.”
You may hear them agree with you and adjust the date.
Don’t shy away from these dead periods and be forthcoming on including them in our plans. Your resources will appreciate it as well as your buyer.
