How to Hit Your Number Without End-of-Quarter Panic | Donald C. Kelly - 1981

At the end of every quarter, many sellers feel shaken when they look at their quotas. You’re putting in the work, yet the results still aren’t where they should be. I’m sharing a few ideas from The 12 Week Year that can help you rethink the calendar quarter and develop habits that take some of the stress out of selling.

The 12 Week Year Mindset

1. Instead of thinking about your annual quota, start treating every 12 weeks like its own year. When you see the quarter that way, your focus shifts to what needs to happen right now instead of assuming you still have plenty of time.

Putting the 12 Week Year into Action

1. First, define your outcome. Set a clear goal for the next 12 weeks. For example, you might set a target of closing $300,000 in new business during that period.
2. Next, break that outcome into the activities that lead to it. If your average deal size is $30,000 and your close rate is about 25 percent, you would need around 40 qualified opportunities to reach that goal. That might translate to about 80 discovery calls, 400 meaningful conversations, and roughly 1,200 outreach attempts.
3. Then create a weekly scoreboard. Track the numbers that actually move deals forward. This could include outreach attempts, conversations, meetings, pipeline created, and deals that are advancing. When you track these numbers each week, it removes the guesswork and keeps you focused on the right activities.
4. Finally, build strong daily habits. Set non-negotiable time blocks that help you hit those activity numbers. For example, dedicate at least 90 minutes each day to pipeline creation. A good reminder here is that you do not rise to your goals. You fall to your daily structure.

The Role of Sales Managers

1. Sales managers play a big part in making this system work, but it is not about micromanaging. The focus should be on managing the activities that lead to results.
2. That means making sure reps are consistently completing the daily and weekly tasks that drive deals forward.
3. Tools like a team leaderboard, like the one in Prospectpro.io, can make it easy to see who is on track and who needs support.
4. Every manager should be able to answer this question: Do your reps know exactly what they need to do each week to stay on pace? When managers keep the focus on activities and check in regularly, the system becomes real, not just a plan on paper.

"Sales are not won in the last 14 days of the quarter. They are in the first 14 days." – Donald Kelly

Resources

Keep track of your sales activity and boost your results with the Prospect Pro sales tool.

Step up your sales game with Sales Mastermind. Get accountability, stay motivated, and tackle the blockers keeping you from hitting your goals.

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Sponsorship Offers

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Credits

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