Maximizing 2018 in the 4Q: Tips to Optimize Your Revenue and Profits

Quick Wins for the Last Quarter

Welcome to 4Q, where we’re planning for 2019 while trying to close out 2018 strong. Especially in sales and marketing for manufacturing, where we’re balancing capacity, booked revenue and shipped revenue targets, it’s a challenging time. For better sales and marketing alignment and a stronger close to the year, here are some key questions to ask your team:

• What kind of work do we have capacity to deliver on right now?
  • Where do we have machine time?
  • Where do we have customer inventory?
• Which lost deals are worth a revisit?
• Who should we ask for a referral?

Improve your sales in the last quarter with fast tactics like: 

• Ask for referrals. The more specific the request, the better the results.
• Delight current customers. Bring one new idea to each of your customers. They're the fastest to close.
• Fish or cut the bait. Check whether your existing leads have engaged with your lead nurture campaigns; if not, purge and start fresh for the new year. 

Check out our full 12-step checklist for cutting spend and improving sales by year's end.

Marketing Planning for 2019

It’s also planning season. Your sales funnel right now determines your 2019 results. Now is the time to ask:

• What is the revenue target for 2019? From which segments do we anticipate growth?
• What are the marketing KPIs to reach our revenue target?
• At which step in the marketing and sales process is our greatest opportunity to improve results?
• Where did our last 10 good deals come from?
• What marketing tactics should we retire?

Asking these questions now can set you up to achieve the quantity and quality of opportunities to meet your 2019 targets. To learn more about improving the health of your sales pipeline, download our guide: