3 Ways to Close the Year Strong with No Stress

As the Holidays approach and the year ends, businesses are preparing for the final push to ensure that their organizations reach their annual sales goals. It can be a time of considerable stress on sales teams and managers trying to reach the highest possible numbers and reap the benefits for themselves and their business. Not to mention, you still have to balance time off for the holidays and keep the family happy.

It can be tempting for management to push the sales teams to the limits of what they can accomplish during the fourth quarter. However, this can have major pushback. There have been numerous companies who have tried too hard to meet those final quotas, only to have dismal first quarters the following year. Sales teams completely drain their pipeline. Stressed and overworked employees leave and turnover hurts the company. Customers feel pressured by the desperate closing tactics and leave, as well.

If you have had three bad quarters already and are praying for a “Hail Mary” to save the year, take that off the table now. Instead of taking huge risks, making huge mistakes, or adding a ton of stress, take a step back and think about how you can sustainably grow in the fourth quarter. Look at where the leads are in the pipeline and their value. Structure your goals based upon what can reasonably be expected without draining available resources for the following year. As a manager, how can you lower stress on your team and still improve results?

Read my suggestions at Sandler.com >>