Good morning!
Today, Monday, June 4, is a milestone day, one that you might look back on and say, “I wish I had done things differently.”
But let’s hope not.
There are three important chunks of time coming up on the sales calendar. Today marks a sprint to the finish. Next four weeks are special. This is your last chance, your last opportunity to create any sales momentum for the summer.
This year, the Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday. I’ve never said this before, but I think that’s going to be a difficult selling week as a result. That makes the following week tough, too, as people might tell you that they didn’t get anything done the previous week and they can’t see you. Then July and August (the second important chunk of time) are full of vacationing decision-makers and projects that sputter along.
The third chunk of time on the sales calendar starts Tuesday, September 4 and runs to the end of November. That’s the day after Labor Day and it represents the beginning of the three most important prospecting months of the year.
Now, let’s back things up…
Where you want to be September 4? What kind of sales momentum do you want to have generated? What kind of opportunities do you want to have for new business? If you answer those questions with any kind of optimism, you will need to create a four week plan right now.
The selling cycle being what it is, the work you do in June won’t pay off until 3 to 6 months down the road. With the first two weeks of July being so interrupted, you only have June to get some new business going.
So, what your plan?
In a nutshell, here’s what I recommend:
Option one: Create a four week plan. That is, come up with as many prospects as you can and apply different touches each week, ending the week of June 25. Then, assess where the best opportunities are and focus on them.
Option two: Create 4 one week plans. In other words, think about how many prospects you could start calling on each week for the month of June. Create a prospecting process consisting of multitouch over multi-weeks and run the play.
What if you do, do something. Anything. Use these next four weeks to put your foot on the gas pedal, present to the floor, and keep it there.
This will keep you from looking back on this suggestion September when things are dead quiet and saying, “I wish I had done things differently.”
