AllBusiness.com
end of year agenda concept

3 Strategies for Closing Sales by the End of the Year

SalesSales & Marketing

Did Thanksgiving give you a few days of relaxation and not too much stress? I certainly hope so. But now it's back to selling during the few weeks of the year—how do you plan to tackle this last selling push? I want to share some helpful strategies for closing sales before the year is over.

3 strategies for closing year-end sales

1. Make an appointment with YOU

You need to schedule a very important appointment, and it's not with a customer. The appointment is with yourself. At this appointment you are going to go over your selling for this year. Have you identified your most important accounts? Are these the same ones that you spent 80% of your time on?

One thing to remember is your most important customers are not just your largest accounts. They could be strategic for other reasons. They could be industry leaders who confer credibility to you and your business. Or they could be customers whose business you want to win from your competitors.

If you're serious about increasing your selling, focus your time on those customers who will help you meet your key goals.

2. Ask yourself how you are doing

Successful selling, especially this year, requires stamina and a positive attitude—two traits that come from taking care of yourself.

And are you? I realize that with the holidays approaching, life and work stress is very real for a lot of people. However, you need to realize that you, and only you, can manage the stress that impacts your selling.

Do you work seven days a week? Are your electronic devices making your workweek an uninterrupted on-the-job nightmare? I say that's got to stop.

You can choose to check your cell phone all the time, or you can choose to be "off the clock" one day a week. This means you don't check your email at all during that day. Do you think your work will suffer? I don't. Simply tell your key contacts that you don't check email on whichever day it is.

Your job is to set boundaries for your life so you get the break you need. It's the only way to maintain your stamina.

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

3. Try something new and something old

Now look at your calendar. What are you doing to meet new customers, influencers, and others who can help you in sales? Yes, I realize that the pandemic is a real concern for many, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reach out in different and creative ways to make new contacts.

Remember the telephone? Who can you call to catch up and learn more about what they are doing? Make calls to your contacts and truly listen to find out if there are ways you can help them. Note: do not to ask for anything. Certainly, an old contact might ask you what you are doing, and that’s fine to reply and fill them in on details. But remember, the point of the call is to hear what they are doing. Don’t make the call about you because then it changes the meaning of your outreach and you become less effective.

Take your selling strategies into the new year

This selling year is coming to a close and, hopefully, you don't have too much left to do.

So take the time to look back at your business. You'll be ending this year with a great finish when you learn what worked well for you this year and know to do more of it in the year ahead.

RELATED: 10 Essential Things Every Small Business Owner Should Do Before the End of the Year

Profile: Maura Schreier-Fleming

Maura Schreier-Fleming is president of Best@Selling, a sales training and sales consulting company. She works with business and sales professionals to increase sales and earn larger profits. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results and Monday Morning Sales Tips. Maura focuses on sales strategies and tactics that lead to better sales results. Maura is a sales expert for WomenSalesPros. She is part of their group of top sales experts who inspire, educate, and develop salespeople and sales teams.She speaks internationally on influence, selling skills, and strategic selling at trade association and sales meetings, demonstrating how her principles can be applied to get results. She successfully worked for over 20 years in the male-dominated oil industry with two major corporations, beginning at Mobil Oil and ending at Chevron Corp. She was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. and was one of Chevron’s top five salespeople in the U.S. having sold over $9 million annually. Maura writes several columns to share her sales philosophies. She's been quoted in the New York Times, Selling Power, and Entrepreneur.