5 Ways to Help Your Sales Team Close Business Today

We’re here. It’s the end of the quarter, end of the year, end of all chances for you to do what you, as a sales leader, need to do: Hit that number.

Here are 5 things you should be doing right now to get there, by helping your sales team close business today:

1. Ask your team members to make a list of the deals they can go after today. Sure, they’re already waiting on some, and that “some” might be enough to get your number. But you still need backup. This is a game of inches. Make sure you’ll get over the goal line.

Tip: Any renewals or new business set to close early in Q1? Reps need to include those on their lists.

2. It’s time for your team to start asking for the business you all need. Give them ideas on what angle they should be taking at this point.

Tip: Need an example? Try something along these lines: “As you know, it’s the last day of the year. We’re so close to hitting our goal. Is there anything that we can do to motivate you to sign this right now?”

3. Write your entire team an email that says exactly where they stand and how much farther they have to go. They should already know, but you’re not doing this to highlight numbers: You’re highlighting the fact that everyone really is in this together and that there’s still plenty of time in the day for the team to make it happen.

Tip: No time to come up with an email on your own at the moment? Here’s a template for you to use:

Okay, team – Here we are… Dec 31st – the last day of our [#] full year in business. Waiting on a few more deals that will get us to [dollar amount of goal] in contracts. That’s quite an accomplishment – we’re almost there and the sales team has the deals lined up to make it happen.

Our team being in full swing right now is not normal behavior, but it is the behavior of winners.

[Insert recognition for all teams you manage here. Answer this for each of them: Why will you succeed today? Ex: We’ve earned the trust of our prospective customers, and when people trust you they’re willing to help you make it happen. Our salespeople are willing to ask for the order, our marketing establishes our credibility as an expert, our product is rock solid and is about to make another big leap forward and our support is there in the waiting when the customer needs us.] It’s going to happen.

So everyone knows exactly where we stand…

As of [current time] we are at [current dollar amount], which is [percentage] to goal, leaving us [amount left] to go.

Keep an eye on those [insert the medium you use to notify the team of deals; ex: If you send email notifications, insert “inboxes” here]!

4. If you can afford the time during lunch, or can have someone sneak out on your behalf, purchase a bottle of champagne for the office and then let your team know it’s waiting in the fridge. By doing this, you’re not saying: “We’ll celebrate if…” You’re declaring: “We’ll celebrate when…”

Tip: The key with this is to only announce it after the champagne is actually in the office.

5. Most importantly, dedicate yourself to your team today. Ask them how you can help.

Tip: Is there anyone you can contact among the lists of prospects? Can you assist in determining what language should be used when your team reaches out to any of their contacts today? Figure out how you can best support sales, and then do it.

We know you’ve got a lot to do, so we’ll end this here. Have fun crushing 2013. Happy New Year.