This is (Sparta) Q4

What could The Legendary King Leonidas of 300 possibly teach you about crushing Q4? Well today, I’m going to show you. I’m not kidding.

Below you’ll find:

1. How to make the most out of Q4

2. Industry Headlines

3. A word from Polaris Partners

4. Business of Cannabis November event

Let’s get into it.

⌛️ Estimated reading time: 5.5 minutes

What the movie 300 taught me about crushing Q4

Legend has it that in 480 B.C., the mighty Persian Empire, led by King Xerxes, sought to conquer Greece with a massive army, reportedly numbering in the hundreds of thousands (100,000+). 

King Leonidas, the king of Sparta, was not just a fearless warrior; he was a brilliant strategist. Despite being vastly outnumbered, he implemented key tactics that allowed the Spartans to hold the line against Xerxes' massive Persian army for several days. 

Let’s explore how these specific strategies apply to today’s executive leaders, especially in the high-stakes world of Q4, where the pressure to close deals and boost productivity is immense.

IT’S Q4, WHO ARE YOU?

1. The Use of Narrow Terrain: Turning Constraints into Leverage

Leonidas deliberately chose the narrow pass at Thermopylae as the battlefield. He knew the terrain gave his smaller force a critical advantage, as it limited the effectiveness of the Persian army's overwhelming numbers.

Constraints such as a sales team bandwidth, lack of executive alignment, and competing priorities within different departments, make the task of hitting your number daunting. 

Lesson: Focus on what you can control. Zero in and target high propensity to buy prospects/customers & close one deal at a time. If your team only has a certain amount of bandwidth, put the focus on high impact, high reward activities such as key accounts, niche markets, and up-sells. Use your specialization and understanding of the industry to help you win and crush competitive deals

How do you figure out who to focus on? (This is your call to click “reply” and tell me)

2. The Phalanx Formation: A Masterclass in Team Synergy

The Spartans employed the phalanx formation, a highly disciplined and tight-knit structure where soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder with interlocked shields, forming a nearly impenetrable wall. This formation allowed the Spartans to work as a cohesive unit while maximizing their defensive capabilities 

Lesson: Executive leaders need to adopt the “phalanx mentality” by leaning into tight team collaboration. Sales, marketing, and product teams should operate as a cohesive unit, working together to close game changing deals and execute on shared goals. Just as each Spartan in the phalanx had a specific role, each team member must understand their responsibilities in driving Q4 success. 

What is the Q4 cross-functional scorecard? Everyone across customer success, sales, ops & marketing should be functioning as one.

Psychological Warfare: Using Deception to Outmaneuver the Enemy

Feigning Retreat: At one critical moment during the battle, Leonidas ordered his forces to feign a retreat, luring the Persians into a trap where they were met with a ferocious Spartan counterattack.

Lesson: Q4 isn’t only about hitting your year-end number, it’s for setting “traps” for your upcoming fiscal year. These traps could look like future selling against growth (i.e. at Salesforce we would sell/lock in revenue based on forecasted license count), favourable payment terms, or usage based milestones. 

What “traps” can you deploy today so that future, Q4 2025 YOU is extremely satisfied? How must you communicate these quickly to your team & your customers?

Polaris Pulse: the latest innovations updates, and announcements from Polaris Partners.

BudSense specializes in cutting-edge integrated merchandising software that helps your brand stand out in this hyper competitive market.

BudSense can help you achieve this with:

• Customizable Digital and Print Menus

• Educational Print Cards

• Marketing and Advertising integration 

• Streamlined workflows that keep your staff focused on what matters most—your customers.

BudSense understands the unique challenges faced by cannabis dispensaries and their POS integrated software is designed to address these challenges and help your business thrive. 

LEARN MORE

Business of Cannabis New York

🗽 Business of Cannabis: New York
📆 November 12, 2024
📍 The New York Academy of Medicine

JOIN 400+ INDUSTRY LEADERS FOR AN EXCLUSIVE ONE-DAY EVENT

This event will see over 400 industry leaders, investors, and policy-makers gather at the The New York Academy of Medicine for a one day program that focuses on

• Driving investment

• Accelerating retail growth in the New York market.

Apply to be a partner, closes on October 18th!

Finally, we’re having another “Coffee with the Collective” Thursday at 9am EST with Seth Yakatan, hosted by yours truly.

Coffee with the Collective is an active and ongoing real-time discussion with the leaders of the Cannabis community.

Hear views from the cannabis street through interviews with NY industry subject matter experts.  

This is a 45 minute pod-cast style Zoom for the Cannabis Collective community. Sign up here and hear why the NY market is in for a bumpy ride!

- SKV