November/December: #3 and #4 Sales Productivity Months Of The Year
We conducted a very rudimentary study of our monthly performance over the past 8 years and the results may surprise you. How many of you have had inside sales reps come to you and say “the holidays are killing me, I can’t get anyone live on the phone”..or some variation of that line. I used to feel the same way until I actually took a look at the numbers and realized that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Ranking our average leads delivered per rep by month over the past eight years gave us the below results.
1. September
2. April
3. December
4. November
The Difference in performance for each of these months is negligible. December could have just as easily been #1 and November #2 if a few leads had fallen sooner. This caused me to start asking our team why they thought this was the case and I got some very interesting ideas.
Budget cycles start in January for many companies so many of my reps feel like folks are trying to get their numbers in order for new technology purchases. It was theorized by one rep that perhaps most contracts are signed at the end of the year so many people are coming up on technology renewals and therefore are more amenable to evaluating new technology. My favorite was more simplistic (shocking I know). Perhaps around the holidays people are simply in a little bit better of a mood or feel like working a bit less and are more likely to pick up the phone.
Whatever the reason(s) is, the numbers don’t lie. Don’t fall into the holiday trap. Run spiffs, incentivize additional activity, and make the most of two of the best months in the year for lead generation. Good luck, and feel free to email me directly at pgracey@agsalesworks.com for more detail surrounding our analysis.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!