This year, as in any other year, most salespeople are going to be ‘right on pace’ to make their annual numbers – until December. Then, they’ll sit around bemoaning customers who won’t make buying decisions, who won’t set appointments, and who won’t move a sales process forward, as if this is something new that happens every year. It’s not, and if you don’t want to be that salesperson, you need to act NOW, not then.
There are few things as sure as the “holiday objection.” That objection goes roughly like this: “Sure, Troy, that sounds interesting. Tell you what – call me back after the holidays, will you?” If you’re selling, you’ve heard that objection. There are reasons both legitimate and illegitimate for it, and best of all, there are ways around it. I can’t give you magic words that will automatically make people want to see you, but I can help you win sales in December.
Here’s the secret: You win December sales based on the work you do from January through November. You don’t win them in December. As I noted, there are reasons both legitimate and illegitimate for customers not wanting to see you during the holidays, so let’s take a look at them:
Your prospect is closing out the year. If you’re calling on top management – or worse, the financial department – you’re going to get this objection a lot. It’s real, or it can be. Upper managers are worried about closing out their books in December, and they may not want to make time to see a salesperson at that time. Unless you can demonstrate that seeing you is a higher return on investment than working on the books, you’re probably sunk with this one.
They’re out of money. This one can be figurative or literal. Figuratively, they’ve spent their budget. Literally, their own customers are stretching them out financially (trying to make their own year-end) and they’re cash-poor. If this is the real issue, you might be able to work out some creative payment or shipping terms that work with their financial issues.
Of course, there are illegitimate issues. Or at least, there are issues that salespeople like you and I perceive as illegitimate, and all those issues boil down to this one:
They just don’t feel like seeing salespeople during the holiday season. Sad but true – however, customers will take whatever excuse they can to NOT see salespeople, and since salespeople accept the “holiday objection” so readily, why not use it?
So what can we do about this objection? Sadly, there’s not much we can do right now. There are the usual combinations of sales words we can try:
“So what will change after the holidays?”
”If you’d like to do business after the holidays, why not get together and start now?”
“How about helping me make a sale, and we can both have a Merry Christmas?”
The truth is that these words will sometimes get you in the door. Sometimes. Well, actually, probably not very much unless you’ve already built a foundation. What we know is that we need to build a sales funnel, and we need to communicate value in order for prospects to want to meet with us. In December, both those skills are raised tenfold. Keep in mind that, in addition to the “holiday objection,” the normal reasons that people won’t appoint us still exist.
To win in December, you have to start in January. You start by understanding customers’ decision and buy cycles, and plan your sales efforts. Most salespeople don’t do this – if the customer in front of them won’t help them make this month’s quota or next month’s quota, they aren’t interested. By doing so, they lose sales opportunities. Don’t be that guy (or gal). When a customer or a prospect indicates a potential buy cycle, note it and use it – plan for the long term.
You can also create a reason to buy in December that doesn’t exist in other months. Most people are thinking of cutting price right now, but you don’t have to do that. What if you offered a heightened level of initial service for December purchasers that only cost your time? By doing this, you might be able to pull some sales forward from January (you’re planning your sales ahead, remember?).
Or, if none of the above options are available, you can simply get more aggressive in December. Step up your letter-mailing efforts at the end of November, and bite the bullet and make more calls, more cold calls, more networking, more whatever in December to hit your numbers. Yes, it’s possible.
See, here’s a cold fact. Whatever you’re selling (with the possible exception of beachwear in Minnesota), it’s being purchased in December. That means someone is making the sale. Shouldn’t it be you? Get cracking. If not now, then when?
