Close. Collect. Confirm. These are the 3 sales activities you should engage in. If you are to be productive, selling in December. December is a month like any other, but only on paper. We joke about the 31 days of January feeling like 90. There is no joke, however, about December. With the festive mood that kicks in, the 31 days in it, are at best 18 in practice. So, close, collect and confirm to maximize on this small window of opportunity. Let’s look at each.
Close
“Should I sell in December?” you ask. “No,” I say. “Close.” Of the seven activities in the sales cycle, for successful selling in December, focus on closing. Look at all your low hanging fruits and pluck them. Be intentional about it. “It’s December, boss. Relax,” your customer Karani will tell you. He can afford to. You cannot. “It’s December, Karani. That’s why we should close on this issue as we do the year. Let me show you how simple it is.” Prospecting or seeking fresh interviews may not be the most productive use of your time. Unless the nature of your business calls for this.
And even then, you will find yourself limited for choice, or to remnants. For example, sales people that started to sell their hotel as the preferred destination for end of year parties in October, stand a better chance at closing, than you that starts prospecting, this December. You will likely get (if at all you do) those your competition declined, for reasons you also would have, but now, driven by desperation, accept. December is the month for closing, not starting, sales.
Read: It’s December. Take charge not excuses of your sales
Collect for successful selling in December
News Alert! You are not a priority to your customer’s accounts department. This is standard practice across the year, but is most pronounced in December, because they are ‘closing the year’. This is a business-critical and time-involving process, of reviewing and reconciling accounts, adjusting entries and preparing financial statements for the year. You are a supplier. An outsider. A disturbance. Further, like the taxman, you represent money out of the organization. Unlike the taxman, however, yours is not a time-sensitive mandatory payment, and therefore, not a priority. You and your payment can wait.
This is one more reason why you should focus on closing the sale. If you are closing the B2B sale, you may need to call upon your ‘insider’ to help you. Because of its decision-making complexity, every effective B2B sale needs you to have someone on the inside rooting for you. This is the time to contact them. “Hey, Juma. Please help us out with the balance of the payment. We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with your finance team.” Juma’s response: “Yeah. I can only imagine. It’s ‘crazy’ for them this time of the year. But don’t worry, I know whom to speak to for your payment to be released.” December is the month to focus your sales efforts on collecting. Distributing your energies on other activities is not as productive.
Confirm
The final piece of your December sales strategy is to confirm. You can use the last 13 days for this. Like creating “New Year, New You” packages and promotions to retain and attract fitness enthusiasts (potential and existing) in ‘90 days of Njaanuary’. “Confirm and pay now for a 30% discount.” This is not about closing sales or collecting payments per se—it’s about preparing for January. What you confirm now sets the tone for Q1. “Shop for your back to school before Jamhuri Day and get a free gift.” An attempt to forestalling the back-to-school bona fide Kenyans’, January rush.
For service providers, confirming renewals or contracts for the new year is critical. “Good afternoon, Mr. Mwangi. I’m calling to confirm if we’ll be extending your maintenance contract for next year. If so, let’s finalize the paperwork this week to avoid January’s rush.”
Send follow-ups to ensure orders are delivered, payments are processed, and post-sale promises are kept. For instance: If you sold a car, ensure the registration process is underway and communicate timelines to the buyer. If you supplied gaming consoles, like PlayStation, confirm that warranties are activated and instructions are clear. For successful selling in December, focus on confirmations.
Confirmation ensures that you hit the ground running when the new year begins, instead of wasting time trying to organize what could have been secured earlier.
Selling in December – successfully
“Does December have sales?” Yes. December is a month that demands focus on activities that matter most—closing, collecting, and confirming. With only a fraction of the month’s days being truly productive, distributing your energy on less critical tasks could leave you behind when January comes knocking.
So. Are you closing the year strong, or will you leave it to chance?
If you would like to have your sales team sell more, we can help. In order for us to do so we propose a free consultation meeting or a call. If in agreement please complete the form below and we will get in touch after receiving your details, none of which will be public. Thank you.
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