Do you know where you stand as the year comes to an end? We want to help ensure you’re prepared to reach your profit goals before the end of the fiscal year.
When is your sales slump? If you don’t have an answer to that question, then it’s hard to prepare for the highs and lows of each season. In this article, we will go over the importance of timing when it comes to sales. In addition, we will help you determine your sales cycle and prepare you to meet your sales goals.
The Importance of Timing When It Comes To Sales
Timing plays a vital role in closing deals and reaching sales quotas. The majority of your sales cycle is influenced by timing. Despite wanting and needing your services, your prospects may not be ready to purchase. That is because they are looking to be educated so they can buy when they’re prepared. Because timing is everything, you’ll need to determine your sales cycle to know when this typically occurs and at what point these clients will be ready to buy.
Roughly 71 percent of filers have a year-end date on or around December 31st. The second most common date is June 30th with a fiscal year-end of about 6 percent of filers.
Pro tip: There is usually a flurry of business purchases at the end and beginning of a fiscal year depending on your product offering. It’s critical you invest more marketing and sales resources during these times in order to maximize your results as much as your annual sales come from these specific points in time.
Determine Your Average Sales Cycle
When an opportunity or deal is created the sales cycle measures the time it takes to close it. A sales cycle is calculated by separating all deals won in a specific period. You’ll be looking at when each started and when it closed. Then, sum up all those days and divide by the number of deals won.
Total number of days / Deals Won = Sales Cycle
It isn’t as complex as it sounds. If math isn’t your strong suit, don’t worry, we’re in the age of technology. Using platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot data, you can run reports on each deal and period to get the numbers you need. All you need to do is divide them, and you now have your average sales cycle determined and can use it to create a forecast for each quarter of the year.
Preparing for Your Busy Season
Now that you know your average sales cycle, it’s time to prepare for your busy season. Before going into the season, you’ll need to make a plan based on what you’re looking to accomplish. Take a look at your goals and objectives for the year and where you stand. If you know your slump quarter is around the corner, you should shoot for a higher sales goal to ensure you aren’t scrambling at the end of the year to meet your annual sales goals.
Planning for Your Slump
Sales slumps, they happen to all of us. While it’s nice to stay positive and try to “beat the sales slump,” there are times where, depending on the industry, there simply are no interested buyers during certain quarters of the year. While we’re not telling you to give up, we’re asking that you prepare for this. Continue to push and put forward your best efforts, but make sure to anticipate a dip during this time. Being practical will help you in the long run by letting you concentrate on making up for lost revenue during your busy season.
Be aware to also plan for the unexpected. Nobody could have expected the impact of Covid-19 on business sales. Moving forward, we can better prepare and try to anticipate roadblocks.
Are You On Track To Meet Your Goals?
When it comes to reaching your sales goals some things are in your control while others aren’t. Missing sales goals during the year doesn’t need to be detrimental, but it should motivate you to determine your shortcomings and reach for success. As the year comes to an end, it’s time to anticipate your next move. Strategic planning is vital, and if you’re struggling to meet your goal it may be time for a new plan.
A few things to consider during the planning phase:
- Are you investing enough in marketing to generate enough leads and opportunities to hit your goals?
- Are you investing enough in staffing and employee training?
- Do you have the right people in the right seats?
- Will you have enough inventory to sell each month to hit your goals?
- What was the average sales output in the previous year per person and can they do more?
- Is your current strategy working or do you need a new one?
Be Prepared with 360Connects Help
At 360Connect, we care about your success and understand how timing plays a critical role in hitting goals. Here’s how we help with timing. We connect you with buyers who are actively requesting quotes for your products putting you in the very best position to win new business. Let us help you reach your end-of-year sales goals.
- Learn more about our Revenue Growth Program
- Check Demand Now