It’s Q4—quota pressure is high, and the holiday time crunch is here. Use these feelings to fuel a fire quarter instead of giving in to the stress.
Use these ten expert-driven tips to strategically and thoughtfully tackle Q4.
Pascal Caloc, CEO and Founder at Ethum, writes:
Most salespeople start slowing down in Q4. They take fewer calls. They miss follow-ups. They stop networking consistently.
If you want to be an elite sales leader, you have to do things differently. And “differently” means 1) doing things consistently and 2) honing the right Q4 prospecting approach.
You have targets, and so do your customers. Prospecting now lets you capitalize on leftover budget spend and drive deals that match the urgency of the quarter. It can also set you up for a solid Q1. If you do it right. 👇
Make a Clear Plan that Considers the Holidays and People’s Busy Lives
Your Q4 needs a clear, actionable prospecting plan that factors in the season’s time constraints and distractions. You have to know your goals and how they will be met.
Sales Consultant Jeff Schneider says: “Build your prospecting plan every Friday afternoon, block out the time in your calendar for the following week, keep those blocks of time sacred, and make yourself [committed] to the execution of your plan.
Sales is a numbers game. It’s important that you measure your networking, cold calls, and emails. Never go into your day without a plan.”
Here are some tips as you create that plan:
- Set specific Q4 prospecting goals (# of new leads, follow-ups, etc.) that are SMART (Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) compared to Q3 and historical results.
- Map out a holiday-adjusted timeline that navigates busy periods.
- Develop a tiered outreach strategy that prioritizes high-potential prospects.
- Plan around end-of-year budget considerations to hone outreach content and timing.
Consistent planning during Q4 keeps your prospecting disciplined—and adaptive.
Find Your Reason for Reaching Out to Prospects
Prospecting goes well when you build relevant connections with your leads. People are busy. Give them a reason to listen.
To start? Find a trigger that gives you a solid enough reason to reach out — but make sure it’s relevant to why you are reaching out. A trigger example would be a prospect starting a new job, receiving a promotion, or their company receiving funding. These transitions may present a problem you can help solve.
Zach Francisco, RVP of Sales at Threekit, says:
After you find that trigger, make sure you have a typical problem associated with that trigger. For content, that could sound like: ‘Hey Sara, I saw you were recently promoted at Close. Typically, new content leaders who get promoted tell me that roles expand and their KPIs expand, too. How are you tracking content KPIs?
Find the trigger—your reason for contact—and let that trigger drive your outreach.
How to do this:
- Search LinkedIn (+ other media) to find that key information.
- Connect that information (promotion, funding, etc.) to a relevant pain point.
- Connect that pain point to your solution.
This “why I’m reaching out” will help you stand out.
Anticipate Buyers Who are Expecting a Year-End Discount
Buyers are just as aware of your EOY sales quota. Some prospects will expect discounts and promotions as “you help them help you” with your end-of-year deadlines.
If you are pro discounts, rely on FOMO and exclusivity to drive prospects to become customers. This is a great way to attract new buyers, and we can’t deny the efficacy — Black Friday sales in 2023 reached $9.8 billion. People love a discount. 🤷
Consider different promotion types, like:
- Buy more, get more
- Bundles
- Early bird offers
- High discounts
Specific industries and companies willingly use discounts to increase Q4 sales figures. This is especially true when sales are so-so, and you need a last-minute boost.
But discounts can come at a cost—beyond financial. They can damage your brand’s long-term value and irritate existing customers.
Lesia Polivod, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Expandi.io, says:
While discounts can drive quick wins, it’s essential to balance short-term gains with long-term value. A poorly executed discount strategy could hurt your bottom line in the long run.
For some companies (including Close), value is the foundation for prospecting. Your pricing reflects the benefit they will receive from your solution from December 31st and beyond. If discounts are a no-go, prepare to turn prospects down without slamming the door.
How to do this:
- Emphasize the value of your solution (and the long-term benefits).
- Reinforce product differentiation (especially if they match your competitor's price).
- Offer flexible payment terms instead (or some other non-financial bonus).
Discounts help you get quick wins and secure new prospects.
Use Video Prospecting to Build Trust Quickly
People sell to people. Video outreach helps you connect with prospects and build face-to-face trust and familiarity—before the call. This makes it a powerful tool for EOY prospecting, especially when it’s personalized for higher-value prospects.
However, having the right expectations (and goals) for video prospecting is essential.
Kevin Dorsey, Founder of Sales Leadership Accelerator, says in this interview:
The point of the video email is not to get a response. It’s to get the view, and then you can follow up. You want a high view rate, not a high response rate.
To create personalized, scale-friendly videos that connect with prospects:
- Make the video relevant to the ICP and its pain points — personalize it like an email. A quality human touch matters more than quantity or speed.
- Leverage video templates (to speed up the process) — you can use the same video repeatedly, for example, and only personalize the intro/outro.
- A/B test your techniques for optimal click-through rates — try different approaches to see what people respond to, but only change one thing at a time.
Once the prospect has watched the video, pick up the phone and follow up.
Don’t Miss Inbound Lead Opportunities
Engaging new leads quickly capitalizes on buyer interest. Q4 means shorter-than-normal attention spans and myriad distractions. The speed-to-lead approach gives you a competitive advantage and cuts through the sales noise.
Liz Stephany, Director of Sales & Success at Close, says:
If we call a day or two after the fact, they don’t know who we are. They don’t remember signing up for a trial. They may have signed up for multiple trials, and now they can’t differentiate us from other tools in the market.
So, we set a goal: Call all new trials within two hours of them signing up.
What happened? It worked. We saw (at the time of writing):
- 187 percent increase in outbound call duration
- 53 percent increase in opportunities created
- 20 percent increase in completed meetings
- 32 percent increase in won opportunities
- 20 percent increase in won deal value
Here’s how to do this (in Close):
- Set up specific calling lists (using Smart Views) that filter for the right prospect criteria (like certain ICPs or lead sources).
- Use the built-in Power Dialer to burn through your calling lists.
- Create a Custom Activity to disqualify bad-fit prospects while you’re on the call.
We learned that the key question was: “What do you need to see from us to buy?” A/B test your questions to see what works for your prospects!
Keep it Short
Your prospects are busy. You’re busy. Tighten up the message and make every word earn its place.
Zach Francisco, RVP of Sales at Threekit, told us:
Keep the message short. The best way to test this is to send the email that you are going to send to a prospect to yourself first, and open it on your mobile phone. Is it easy to scroll through? Is it digestible? Are the paragraphs broken up into an easy-to-read format?
How to do this:
- Have just one central point (and one CTA).
- Use an app like Grammarly to edit (and tighten) your messages.
- Cut filler words and phrases (ruthlessly).
- Open the message on your mobile phone to double-check brevity and see how your email appears when condensed. Choppy sentences and one-line-per-paragraph breaks are easier to read on mobile (where the majority of people consume their email).
Calendar Block for Focused Prospecting
Time is your most precious and finite resource. Prospecting requires focused attention during your sales day, and time blocking is one of the best methods for helping.
Schedule specific sales activities for specific times on your calendar. Then, carry out that one activity for the time allotted to it. This helps focus your mind on one task, increasing productivity.
Bonus if you can identify what time of day is best for you per activity type — for example, you might prefer to write emails in the morning and cold call later in the afternoon.
How to do this:
- Decide what time of day is best (for you) for each activity. When are you most mentally (and practically) prepared to tackle it?
- Create time blocks on your digital calendar for sales activities (including prospecting).
- Stick to the time blocks (and turn off notifications).
- Use a timer on your phone or computer to keep you on track.
The practice of time blocking will help you prioritize prospecting and reach your goals.
Build Automated Workflows to Maximize Your Time
Automated workflows enable consistent outreach—without taxing your sales reps. Build messaging to send to 50+ new prospects in similar situations, like those with recent funding or new roles. Workflows help you get specific to each segment. (Sans extra admin.)
Workflows feature email, SMS, and calling steps. To maximize your time and overall success rate, keep your calling tasks near the front of the workflow.
Forrest Dwyer, Customer Success Manager at Close, says:
The further you get in the process, the more automated it makes sense to get. You don’t want to be wasting your reps’ time with people that just aren’t responsive.
Workflows also allow you to personalize the outreach period so you can reach leads during their working hours and business days.
How to do this:
- Start your 14-day free trial of Close and explore Workflows.
- Define lead segments based on your prospects’ situations (e.g., new funding or role) and set those criteria in Close.
- Create targeted messaging that drives engagement.
Workflows are your superpower, combining super-outreach with super-automation. 🦸
Focus on Referrals to Capitalize on Q4 (and Boost Q1)
Referral leads are often high-quality leads that match your target ICPs. This makes them highly qualified, which equals shorter sales timelines and more closed deals.
Focus on the prospects you can serve best—referral leads are an easy target.
How to do this (assuming you’ve created a referral sales program already):
- Double-check your referral lead scoring models to qualify leads.
- Prioritize the follow-up with automated workflows.
- Call these prospects quickly.
Referral leads will often have a little more trust in you, too, since the recommendation comes from someone they already trust.
Final Thoughts: Use a CRM to Support Q4 Prospecting
To implement these expert tips, you need the right outreach tools to smooth your prospecting path and keep leads engaged and active in your pipeline. Your CRM is central to that process.
Q4 is the time to ensure all deals, contacts, and activities are updated in your CRM and ready for action. Keep the data fresh and use Q3 insights to guide your outreach.
Don’t have a CRM yet? Try Close. Close boasts seamless in-app calling, SMS, and email—plus automated workflows and reporting features—to make your quarter (slightly) less hectic.
