Did you know that finding money in your coat pocket is considered one of life’s greatest (small) victories? It feels good switching out your summer clothes for winter ones, trying them on, digging into the pocket and finding money you forgot you had! It’s your money, but somehow it’s a gift all the same. I can recall in my previous life supporting sales in a Biz Ops role, the CRO would ask for a gap-closing plan right around this time of the year. Many sales leaders entering the thick of year-end feel like there is not much else to be done. If I asked if you got it all, you’re likely to answer, yes. The thought of taking on completely new initiatives while flawlessly executing on everything already in progress is just too much. Sitting on the ops side of the table, endlessly looking at churn data, we know that while net new initiatives might be impossible, there’s always more money to be found. What you really need is a map so you know exactly where to look.Start with a universe of accounts by pulling any account that spent in Q4 of last year.
- Discard any accounts booked with spend in Q4
- Separate out any accounts with open pipeline for Q4. Put these in a separate must-win bucket.
- The remaining set of accounts are your at risk for churn accounts. Some may be on the list for a reason that you know of, a good reason.
Working through these remaining accounts is like pulling out your winter wardrobe and finding dollar bills in the pockets. Lay them out by category, segment or territory to determine:
- Is there a sales person assigned to the accounts that don’t have Q4 spend or pipeline? If not, assign one and make some calls.
- If there is, when was the last time the assigned seller met with this account and what was discussed?
This final list of accounts with no seller or no recent activity becomes your Q4 pursuit list. Chances are, if you dig through them, there’s extra money there. Try something new or discuss a repeat of what they bought last year. If you’re an ops person, proactively create these insights and present them to your sales leadership as a value added activity. If you’re a sales leader, put this information together and charge your team with executing on it. You’ll get paid in Q4 uplift and the satisfaction of finding money in your coat pocket. To see how you could get this feeling at the click of a button, contact us.
