On this Monday it’s time for a third quarter gut check. It’s mid-summer and we are halfway through the year. You have just three months to set up a strong Q4 and build up your fall pipeline. 

At the same time, for many of you, things are slowing down with people out on vacation. For this reason, July is a great month to reflect on what you have done up to this point and consider what you need to adjust in order to stay on track to make your number and hit your year end goals.  

Here’s the brutal truth: Most salespeople who are going to miss their annual quota already know it by now. They can feel it. They can see it in their pipeline. They can sense it in their gut.

But here’s what separates winners from losers – winners use this moment as a wake-up call, not a death sentence.

Today, I’m going to walk you through exactly how to conduct your own third quarter gut check and, more importantly, what to do about what you discover.

Do the Sales Quota Math

Let’s start with some simple math that will either give you confidence or scare you straight.

If you’re at 50% of your annual quota right now, you’re exactly on pace. But here’s what most people don’t consider: Q4 is historically the strongest quarter for most sales professionals. If you’re tracking at 50% through the first half, you should finish the year between 110-120% of quota – perhaps giving you a shot a President’s club as long as you keep your foot on the accelerator and maintain your current pace. 

But if you’re sitting at 40% of quota, you’ve got a problem. You need to push hard in the back half of the year just to make your number.

And if you’re below 35% of quota at the halfway point? You’re in crisis mode. You need to completely change your approach, dramatically increase your activity, or maybe start looking for a new job.

Here’s the key question: Where do you stand right now, and what does that number really mean for your year-end results?

The Pipeline Reality Check

Your current quota attainment tells you where you’ve been. Your pipeline tells you where you’re going.

Most sales professionals look at their pipeline and see what they want to see, not what’s actually there. They count deals that should have closed months ago. They include unqualified opportunities with fake urgency and stakeholders who won’t commit. They hold onto prospects who are ghosting them and haven’t returned their calls in weeks.

It’s time for some brutal honesty about your pipeline.

First, clean house. Go through every opportunity in your CRM and ask yourself: “If I had to bet my own money on whether this deal will close in the next 90 days, would I take that bet?”

If the answer is no, move it out of your active pipeline. That doesn’t mean you have stop working on it, but it means you stop counting on it for this year’s numbers.

Second, calculate your real pipeline coverage. Take your remaining quota and multiply it by three or four. That’s how much qualified pipeline you need to finish the year strong. Do you have it? If not, what actions do you need to take now to build it. 

Third, assess your pipeline velocity. How long are deals actually taking to close? Not how long your sales process says they should take – how long they’re actually taking. If your average sales cycle has stretched from 90 days to 120 days, you need deals in your pipeline today that won’t close until November.

The Summer Slow Down Prospecting Trap

Here’s where most salespeople make a critical mistake. They use the summer slowdown as an excuse to slow down themselves.

“Everyone’s on vacation.” “Nobody’s making decisions right now.” “Things will pick up after Labor Day.”

Stop telling yourself these false stories. While your competitors are making excuses, you should be gaining ground.

Yes, some of your prospects are on vacation. But that means the ones who are working have fewer distractions and more availability. Yes, decision-making might be slower. But that’s exactly when you should be building relationships and setting up your fall pipeline.

The salespeople who use summer as an excuse will spend September and October desperately trying to catch up. The salespeople who use summer as an opportunity will start Q4 with a loaded pipeline and momentum on their side.

Make the Choice to Win

You have a choice to make right now. You can use the summer slowdown as an excuse to coast, or you can use it as an opportunity to separate yourself from your competition.

You can accept that you’re going to have a mediocre year, or you can decide that the next 90 days are going to be the most focused, disciplined, and productive quarter of your career.

You can hope things will somehow get better, or you can take massive action to make them better.

The choice is yours. But whatever you choose, choose it now, because time is running out. The clock is ticking faster than you might thing.

Your Q3 Summer Sales Gut Check is About Clarity

Your third quarter gut check isn’t about judgment – it’s about clarity. It’s about seeing your situation clearly so you can respond appropriately.

If you’re ahead of your goals, this is your time to build an insurmountable lead.

If you’re on track, this is your time to accelerate and finish strong.

If you’re behind, this is your time to change everything and fight back. This might be the most important adjustment of all. If you’re behind your goals, you need to change your mindset from defensive to offensive.

Stop making excuses about market conditions, difficult prospects, or bad luck. Start taking complete ownership of your results and your future.

Stop thinking like someone who’s behind. Start thinking like someone who’s about to have their best quarter ever.

Your energy and confidence level will directly impact your results over the next 90 days. If you show up defeated and desperate, prospects will sense it. If you show up confident and focused, they’ll respond differently.

But whatever your situation, this is not the time to coast. This is not the time to make excuses. This is the time to get serious about finishing the year the right way.

Remember, when it’s time to go home, always make one more call. Because that one more call might be the one that saves your year.

In Jeb Blount’s new book The LinkedIn Edge he shows you the secrets to gaining prospecting superpowers to cold call less and sell more.