Make the 4th quarter stretch

In my personal experience, the difference between a good year and a great year comes down to the incremental work I take on in the 4th Quarter – especially December. 

I know that typically I preach work/life balance, but in the case of the 4th Quarter, I actually think we lean too far towards time off instead of time on.

For those of you that book yourself for services (consulting, etc.), you should look at December work days as precious unsold inventory that will go to waste is not used.  You need to be willing to think about 4th Quarter special pricing, price flexibility and travel flexibility.  I typically send out notices to my clients and channel partners that we have some time/space in December and we are “taking offers.”  You would be surprised how much business you can actually hustle between the office Christmas party and New Year’s Eve.  Too often, we fall into the Christmas Consumerism trap and spend our time shopping, goofing and playing around.  It is easy to accept. 

But not if you have the mentality of a champion:  You win in the 4th Quarter by finishing.  You jump ahead of the competition through the conviction that the game of life comes down to the last fifteen minutes.  If you apply the 4-fingered leadership mentality to your business life, you will make a difference in your year – and your career.

Previously, before I worked for myself, I found that the 4th Quarter stretch can make a difference in your career too.   When I worked for a cable production company in the early/mid 90’s, I took over a key product sales project when another manager too most of December off and declined several requests to work overtime in the second and third week of December.  Six months later I ran all of sales.  When I was at Yahoo, I made myself available to the SVP Sales to travel in December in 2000 to make strategic sales presentations.  I kept the same sense of urgency from October alive in December.  This gave me unique face time with my SVP and also helped me position myself for the following year.  The result?  I was given a director title, a think tank and access to our biggest accounts.  My group (Yahoo Value Lab) always focused on the 4th Quarter stretch – we actually planned on it being the biggest and most active quarter. 

So whoever you are, take off your time for Christmas, but don’t treat it like Summer vacation for grown ups.  Look at your calendar today and find the unnecessary down time.  Find out what projects or tasks you can take on this month to make a difference.  Hustle for one more deal – make one more phone call.

PS – There is a lot of business to be done between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  Sales executives should note that many of their best Customers are in the office without full admin staff during that week.  That means they are more likely to pick up the phone.  Many of your best Customers are also in slow-mode in December, which means that they have more gaps on their calendar to meet with you. 

Recommended read:  Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port

Comments

[Sarah Robinson]

Hi Tim!
I am a business coach for Mary Kay Sales Directors and will be sharing this post with them through my newsletter - with all credit and links to you of course!

Thanks so much for all that you do.

Sarah Robinson
www.hotpinksucccess.com

[KD]

I'm here reading every day, wouldn't miss it!

Both books are excellent tools as well! I recommend them to everyone!

[R King]

As i scroll down the list of your entries i am amazed and perplexed...Where are the comments?

These pages are a gold mine just waiting to be mined. Perhaps they are silent miners, but isn't that missing the point.

I learned from a mentor years ago, that he could be open 24 hour a day 7 days. That is the mindset that fuels his day. That is the mindset that preludes the Christmas season. Our business is open 8-5 but with the mindset of "there is so much out there" we never mentally gear down until the "play days."

I read Love is a Killer App about 6 weeks ago - and not 1 day goes by that i don't mention some nugget of truth, something from this blog or teach personal competative advantage (network, compassion, and knowledge).

For example. How many people do you know that have a Black Berry? If someone i just meet uses such a device, i show them this article. Regardless of whether they agree, disagree or think this is all BS they laugh and start talking. BOOM i've engaged them in a way that few others do. We are off and running.
And by the way no one has seen this article yet...

Follow this roadmap. Tim makes it so easy to use by just reading this site. Review the past few months and find out what resignants and use it (there are about 5 months of his writings - not many items are time sensitive). Try one. I did. I bet you'll be amazed at the response. But don't stop there, keep coming back. Miss a meal but don't miss a day of www.sandersays.com!!