The Unused Budget Strategy to Sell More at the End of the Year

In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, I highlight a key sales opportunity as we approach the final stretch of the year.

There is no doubt that this has been a strange year, right? With the election, inflation, and so much uncertainty a lot of businesses held back on spending – even though, as a whole, the economy was pretty good. 

Now that the election is over, these same businesses have a budget left over that they need to spend before the end of the year.

Buyers are in a Good Mood

The good news is the executives and owners who run these businesses are suddenly in a very good mood.  

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in multiple states and cities asking business leaders how they are feeling now that the election is over. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive. People are feeling good. Many are enthusiastic about the economy. Most tell me that their sales are up following the election. 

How to Look for Unused Budget With a Simple Question

I’ve also had my sales team calling our customers and asking specifically about the unused budget that needs to be spent by the end of the year. The strategy is working. We have the largest pipeline we’ve had in years and have inked more big deals in the last three weeks than we have in the last three months with more to come. 

Last week, I was out with a field sales rep, and we called on one of his large conquest accounts. The rep was frustrated because every proposal he’d given them had stalled in the pipeline. He said, “I just can’t get them to pull the trigger and make a decision.” 

Before walking in I coached him to ask his contact, “How do you feel about business now that the election is over?” 

After asking this question, his contact, the director of operations lit up—business was booming he said. Many of his customers who’d had their hands tied by budget constraints were now spending. 

Four hours after our visit the contact called to say that his boss had given him a budget to spend by the end of the year and placed an order for almost a million dollars.

Prime Time for Unused Budget

So here’s the deal: if you’re in sales, now is prime time. What you need to do is pick up the phone, call your existing customers, your inactive customers, and even your closed/lost deals from earlier this year, and simply initiate a conversation.

So, here’s the moral of this story. If you’re in sales or a business owner, now is the time to reach out to your customers. Engage them in a dialogue about how they’re feeling post-election, and find the money that’s out there and needs to be spent by the end of the year. 

Keep it Simple

Don’t overcomplicate this. Initiate the conversation by asking about their post-election outlook. This will naturally lead to discussions about their immediate needs and leftover budget and how your product, service, or software can help them utilize their remaining budget effectively.

Move fast because the clock is ticking. Once this year is over, today’s leftover budget will be gone forever.

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