Use Your Calendar to Close More Deals

There’s one thing missing from most sales professionals’ plans — a focus on the calendar!

Using a calendar is one way to ensure all of your major tasks and mountain-moving activities get tracked and planned for well in advance of anyone else scheduling meetings or other activities during your work weeks.

If you don’t fill in your calendar before a week begins, you can easily lose track of important deadlines and miss out on having time to get it all done.

TIP: Sometimes it’s necessary to schedule your calendar 2–3 weeks in advance, depending on how quickly your weeks fill up.

How you use your calendar is largely dependent on the job you do related to Marketing and Sales.

For Marketing :

• In marketing, your calendar is a key tool in finishing your project work and setting meetings with stakeholders to get things done.
• Use your calendar to plan for important events, posts, roll-outs, and more — the better the planning, the more effective you can be in your marketing efforts.

For Sales:

• In sales, a CRM is incredibly valuable, but your calendar is your keeper: use this simple tool to set meetings and track opportunities to the finish line.
• Use your CRM (preferred) or your work calendar to create entries for every single opportunity you have in the pipeline.

TIP: Create notes on your calendar as reminders of when a deal is prospected to come through.

3 Steps to close more deals using your calendar and CRM:

1. Create a delivery date for every opportunity.
2. Work backward to create a contract signing date for every hot opp.
3. Create a list of necessary tasks to meet those dates and put them on your calendar — blocked as project work.

Use your calendar as a team. Who makes up your sales team within your organization? Is it only you or do you have access to others to make it a team effort?

If you can, work with your team to group-plan and get more wins on your calendar. Both sales and marketing can benefit from leveraging the team and setting regular check-in meetings and activities on the calendar.

• CSAM: Work with your customer success account manager to determine products or services current accounts have expressed interest in or could be a candidate to purchase.
• PM: Check in with your project manager regularly to learn whether an account has expressed interest in a product or service. PMs take notes during meetings and those notes could hold keys to potential client needs or expressed interests.
• Delivery Manager: Ask your delivery manager for any information into an account to see if they have feedback that may be helpful in creating a sales opportunity or marketing message.
• Channel Partner: Do you have a partner that you work with who may have leads to give you? Make sure you schedule regular meetings to check in with your partners for potential opportunities for growth.

TIP: When planning for big events, give yourself plenty of time … Even if you’re a procrastinator by nature, break the habit and plan well in advance to make your best impressions.

Remember, your prospects and clients will look to you as their guide, as you direct their buying experience. Make it a good experience for everyone!

From the minute someone is introduced to your brand to the time they become a client, your attention to detail and concern for their overall experience will make the difference between a quick win and a long-standing customer.

Become obsessed with your target audience, learn their communication styles, and remain attentive with regular check-ins and planning meeting invites.

Expressing concern and remaining dedicated to following up will set you apart from others in your field and earn the respect of your clients for years to come.