Here we are on October 15. It feels like the “Ides of October” or something. Everybody’s talking about how there’s only one more month to do business before the holidays set in and nobody’s available. I’m always just a little suspicious of “everybody” and “nobody” but they certainly influence our mind set.
Rationally, of course, we have as much time in Q4 as we have in any other quarter. A few holidays, maybe a couple more than most quarters, but other than that it’s more a mindset than a reality.
The Whale Hunters has some major goals that we intend to accomplish in Q4, and we can’t accomplish them if we concede that there’s “only a month” left to work this quarter. We’re working hard to avoid this Q4 syndrome for ourselves and our partners.
So, here is my advice about how to corral Q4 to meet your business goals:
- Understand that you are not the only one who needs to make progress in Q4. Your customers, clients, and strategic allies all have end-of-year goals to meet. Make it easy for them to find you and schedule time with you. Let them know that you will be available on all of the working days of Q4.
- Don’t concede that Thanksgiving is a week, or Christmas/ Hanukkah/ New Year’s is two weeks. Most people will be working most of those days. Get on their calendar now!
- Give your customers a Q4 challenge or a Q4 advantage. What will it mean to you to close new business in Q4? Of course you want to impact Q4 cash flow, but business sold in Q4 that gets billed in Q1 2011 is still very sweet. Make it easy to do business with you when your competitors are celebrating holidays.
Can you afford to concede that Q4 sales and business development will be over in a month? I didn’t think so. Get your team together, count the available work days, make your plans, and bulldoze through your best quarter of the year.
