With the holidays commanding so much attention in the month of December, business can tend to take a back seat. But if you’re thinking of putting off some of those sales technology purchases until the new year, you might want to think again!
Here are 5 reasons why you should get your team and technology ready to take 2015 by storm:
1. You have extra time — take advantage of it!
While you’re likely juggling a plethora of items that all need attention, especially in personal life (can you say in-laws?), you might start to notice your work days looking a little leaner as the month goes on. Doing business in December, especially for sales organizations, can be difficult because everyone is doing the same thing — getting ready for the holidays.
In this situation, consider reprioritizing some of those projects that fell through the cracks or ran out of time this year. It’s an especially useful time to reexamine how your technology is working with your team and what improvements you can make to go into the new year stronger.
2. Get set up for success, so you can thank yourself later.
Starting off a new year is refreshing, but it can also get stressful very quickly. You’re working toward completely new annual goals, and you need to start things off right. You can either spend the first few weeks getting acclimated, at which point you may already start feeling behind — or you can hit the ground running without looking back.
Consider what steps you can take now to prepare for the new year. Ask yourself how you’re going to lead your team to even greater success so you can accelerate sales. Chances are, there are some steps you can take today to get those goals off on the right foot.
3. Get the onboarding out of the way.
If you’re looking at adding technology in the coming year, remember that it can take some time to get comfortable with new tools. Accelerate the purchase of that technology, and get a head start on using it as the year wraps up. This will save you time and energy in 2015, since you won’t have to worry about onboarding with your new sales solution among all of the other responsibilities you’ll be juggling.
4. Start to get buy-in from stakeholders.
Sometimes getting buy-in from the stakeholders on your team is the most difficult part of rolling out new technology. Set up some demos this month, and take the opportunity to introduce decision makers to the tools while hearing their feedback. If there’s a product you’re passionate about and are serious about implementing, you’ll have the chance to quell any concerns they might have today. Then when you are ready to roll it out you’ll already have the necessary approvals to set the solution in motion.
5. Take advantage of killer pricing.
If you’re past the point of researching and are ready to pull the trigger on a new piece of sales technology, there may not be a better time to do it than in December. Sales teams are working to close deals so they can hit those quarterly/annual goals, so if you’re a serious buyer, chances are they’ll be willing to work with you to get it done. If you wait until the new year there won’t be quite so much urgency for the sales rep, so that “deal of the century” might be harder to come by.
Keep these 5 points in mind when considering how to close your year out. Soon enough, there’ll be plenty of time for food, family and fun — but for now, don’t underestimate what a wisely spent December can mean for setting up a successful 2015.
