How To Reach Your Sales Quota During The Holidays [INFOGRAPHIC]

Meeting a sales quota during the holidays can be very challenging for the sales reps. After all, they want some vacation time, too. Here’s how sales managers can help.

RELATED: Why Your Reps Are Not Hitting Quota And How They Can W/Ron Hollis @XANT

In this article:

1. The Importance of Sales Goal Setting for the Holidays
2. What Is a Sales Quota? | Sales Quota Definition and Types
3. 8 Ideas to Help Sales Reps Reach Their Holiday Sales Quota

How to Help Sales Reps Hit Their Sales Quota During the Holidays

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The Importance of Sales Goal Setting for the Holidays

Let me tell you why a holiday quota is essential for the business. Amid the falling snow, menorahs, and Christmas carols, most people are buying — a lot.

After all, it’s the holidays. Gifts and goodies are essential. Often, consumers don’t hold back with their spending.

There lies the problem, though. If you don’t already have a strong pipeline leading into the holidays, the inside sales world struggles.

Vacation days for both the sales rep and the leads are just around the corner. Getting in touch, closing a deal, and hitting the sales quota can be tough.

Don’t worry. It’s still possible to have a strong and profitable December. You can continue reaching your sales goals and even exceed your quota.

What Is a Sales Quota? | Sales Quota Definition and Types

A sales quota refers to a timely goal for a company, an individual, or a team. There are different types of sales quotas, and these changes depend on what you want to measure.

1. Revenue Quotas
2. Combination Quotas
3. Activity Quotas
4. Volume Quotas

8 Ideas to Help Sales Reps Reach Their Holiday Sales Quota

Sales managers need to remember to take care of their salespeople.

They have worked hard to follow the quota policy and have helped you reach your sales goals. With them, you’re able to hit your target numbers.

XANT created this holiday guide with lots of great gifts and strategies you can share with your sales reps to help them boost their sales:

1. Remind Them of Tax Write-Offs

You’ve gotten in touch with the decision-maker. They are close to closing, but they’re still holding back.

It’s frustrating, but you can encourage them by reminding them that they can write your product or service off as a business expense.

2. Provide Special Discounts/Offers

One way to meet the holiday quota is to offer a discount, but sales managers should check and approve these first. You can also combine offers and special discounts.

Isn’t that one heck of a deal? People love getting deals!

They also like feeling as if they’re coming out on top, even if it only saves them money in the short run. Special discounts and offers can make the hesitant buyer more willing to spend.

They believe they’re getting a bargain they cannot pass up. You may not have the same deals after the holidays.

RELATED: 19 Top-Performing SDRs Reveal Quota-Crushing Secrets

3. Persuade

Coach your sales reps and tell them to remind leads and prospects that the first quarter of the new year is right around the corner. Chances are, they have decided what their big pushes for the next year are going to be.

Let them know how your product or service can help them in goal setting for the new year.

4. Just Keep at It

When it comes to meeting the sales quota, sometimes, the only thing you can do is keep plugging away and hitting the phones hard. Tax write-offs and special discounts aren’t going to cut it.

You’re left with nothing but the sheer will to not be defeated.

To go after the holiday quota, encourage your sales reps to persevere and continue dialing until you find those who aren’t too busy or distracted to buy right now. Focus on those who are most promising to close soon and be persistent.

5. Develop a Sense of Urgency

One of the reasons why it’s harder to reach sales quotas as the holidays approach is because people are slowly going into vacation mode. Both prospects and sales teams are already disconnecting from work before the holidays.

Who can blame them?

If you want to be able to reach your sales quota, then you must develop a source of urgency in the deal. This is the tricky part, of course.

Instead of offering time-sensitive discounts, which are good but not the best solution, your reps can take advantage of their client knowledge. Figure out where your product or service fits in the organizational or sales process and start from there.

Don’t think about the time it takes to close a deal. Consider the timeline for setting up your product or service as well.

Creating a picture or a timeline for your prospect makes them realize that putting it off for after the holidays is extra work for them later.

6. Re-evaluate Your Sales Pipeline for Quota Attainment

To be able to reach your sales quota plan, remind sales leaders and sales representatives to check the sales pipeline. This can show which potential sales target is your best bet.

In this way, they can focus their efforts on the right prospect.

Also, if you feel like your pipeline doesn’t have as many high priority prospects who can help you reach your goals, then it’s time to look for ones who are.

The pipeline can also help with that. Just check for previous prospects you can sell or upsell to depending on their needs during this season.

Reconnecting with old prospects who make it easier for you to push them towards a deal. It’ll be easier to sell to those who already know about your product rather than someone who’s never heard of it yet.

7. Don’t Rush

When trying to push prospects further into the sales funnel, avoid rushing. Otherwise, they might get turned off.

Rushing also increases the chances of making mistakes or any oversights. Although it’s harder to reach your quota as the holiday season approaches, it’s still important to be consistent and going through all of the right steps in the process.

8. Coordinate and Motivate Your Team

The holiday season can be tough for your team, especially when they see they’re not bringing in the revenue they hoped for. This is the time when managers should unite the team and encourage and motivate one another.

If a rep is lacking motivation, it’ll be more difficult to be able to improve their performance. Rather than blaming or focusing on what they’re doing wrong, find ways to motivate them to do better without crushing morale.

Aside from bonuses and incentives, you can also provide reps tips and points for improvement tailored for each of them. Do this individually, and don’t forget to talk about the rep’s strengths as well.

Don’t just focus on their areas of improvement because this might have been counterproductive. Let them know that these points can still be improved, and then provide your suggestions on how they can improve.

Download this infographic now and reference it later.

It’s crunch time — the last-minute push to meet your sales quota during the holiday season can be brutal, but it is possible! It’s down to the wire, and it’s all up to you to motivate your sales reps for one last push to boost your sales.

Remind them that if they think a decision-maker is truly busy, then maybe wait until 2020.

Work on prospects whom you have a better chance with now. These are the ones who can help you in reaching your sales goals before the year ends.

Check out this video for some tips to keep your sales team motivated during the holidays:

What are your strategies for meeting your sales quota during the holiday season? Do you have any advice? Let us know in the comments section below and tell us what you think.

Up Next: 

• How to Keep Your Sales Team Motivated During The Holidays
• 6 Sales Motivation Secrets So Simple Even A Caveman Can Use Them
• How To Create A Cultural Transformation For Your Inside Sales Team

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on December 13, 2012, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.