In the early days of my career, I had the chance to go through Sandler Sales Training. While there, I met my two wonderful guests for this episode, Emily Davidson and Mike Montague.

The principles they taught in that course provide excellent strategies that you can use during this year’s Q4 to help prepare for Q1 next year. Take notes and listen to their game plan, which will surely help you close more deals before the new year.

Common BDR Challenges During Q4

You may wonder how to make the most of the remaining months of the year. Which deals should you focus on? Should you let any clients go if you know they won’t make a decision before the end of the year?
These challenges can cause a lot of anxiety, but with a strategic plan, you can overcome them.
Mike suggests continuing to prospect during this time. You don’t want to start the new year trying to rebuild your sales pipeline. Don’t start fresh in 2025 and bring Q4 clients along.

Prioritizing Deals

You may find yourself with deals that are moving very slowly through the pipeline or with nothing at all. What actions should you prioritize to help close deals?
Follow the Sandler Sales Training Care Plan, where you assess your accounts and prioritize which ones to keep.
Mike and Emily provide examples of the Care Plan to help you understand how to apply it to your situation.
Sales leaders may need to help team members prioritize their deals. Sometimes an outside perspective can help a sales rep view their accounts objectively.

Be Creative with Your Prospecting

During this time of year, most sales reps are out enjoying the holiday festivities like everyone else. You may be tempted to do the same, but if you want to close deals, you’ll have to put in some work.
The good news is, if you get creative with your approach, you can still have fun while doing it.
Attend the Christmas parties, but use the opportunity to talk to decision-makers. Don’t take a vacation during this time—use it to cold-call CEOs and presidents.
The key is to work smarter, not harder, during this season.

“Our job is to create an atmosphere and environment that allows the customer to buy while the salesperson stays out of the way.” - Mike Montague.

“Looking at your accounts through the lens of the Care Plan will help you break down those targets into categories. You can focus on which ones are a priority to keep.” - Emily Davidson.

Resources

“The 12 Week Year,” by Brian P. Morgan and Michael Lennington

www.sandler.com

How To Succeed Podcast

LinkedIn Prospecting Course

Cold Call Openers

Sponsorship Offers

This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.

With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.

This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.

Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.

This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.

Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.

Credits

As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey . We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.

Mentioned in this episode:

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS

HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com

The OYT Coaching Series - Mike Gentile at CISOSHARE