4 B2B Sales Campaign Examples You Can Use to Close More Deals in Q4
Q4 is here, and it’s time for your annual B2B sales campaign blitz. Whether you have deals stalled out in the middle of the pipeline or a dozen people sitting on proposals, these Q4 campaigns are the key to unlocking strong end-of-year revenue and building momentum for the new year ahead.
In Q4, sales and marketing teams face some unique challenges, prime opportunities, and yes – immense pressure to meet annual goals. It’s the perfect time to deploy targeted, strategic campaigns that re-engage your most promising leads and convert them into closed deals. This article will give you four B2B sales campaign examples you can implement within the next 3-4 weeks to capitalize on the year-end urgency and finish strong.
Aligning sales and marketing for B2B sales campaign strategies
Before launching any campaign, you have some ducks to get in a row. Your sales and marketing teams need to be in lockstep on these campaigns; the goals, tactics, offers, responsibilities, and timelines must be agreed upon and understood by both sides for success.
Misalignment is the silent killer of campaign ROI; it leads to wasted resources, inconsistent messaging, and a disjointed customer experience. When marketing creates campaigns that sales can’t effectively follow up on, or doesn’t understand their part in, or when sales teams disregard marketing’s assets, the entire funnel breaks down.
This is especially true in B2B, where the purchasing process is lengthy and complex. The typical B2B buying cycle now spans 11.5 months, involving multiple decision-makers and touchpoints.
When sales and marketing operate as a single, cohesive revenue team, they can create a seamless journey that guides prospects from initial awareness to a signed contract, maximizing the impact of every campaign. So, get these teams together and get alignment and agreement on the details before you move forward.
4 B2B sales campaign examples to use in Q4
Cool – now that everyone is aligned and excited about the opportunities you’re pursuing, it’s time to pick your campaign structure and get launched.
These aren’t brand awareness campaigns. These are the best B2B sales campaigns you can run in Q4 to close deals with a very specific target audience.
The end of the year is an ideal time to reconnect with your mid-funnel prospects: people who have already shown interest but haven’t yet made a commitment. The following four campaign examples are designed to re-engage these valuable leads, address their specific barriers, and provide the final nudge they need to make a decision before the new year.
Mid-funnel Re-engagement B2B sales campaign
Who: This campaign targets leads who have progressed beyond the initial discovery phase but have stalled before receiving or signing a proposal. They are aware of their problem and your solution, but have lost momentum for various reasons. These prospects are still engaged; they’re opening emails, they’re visiting your website, they’re actively “liking” your social posts. These aren’t ghosted prospects. (We’ll get to those later.)
What: The goal is to reignite their interest by providing high-value, pain-focused content through a lead nurture campaign; then, give them a reason to act.
This can be done as an automated sequence of four to eight emails that deliver assets designed to build confidence and overcome hesitation. Your content mix should include comparison blog posts that highlight your advantages, compelling case studies, and powerful testimonial quotes or videos that provide social proof. You should be able to repurpose a lot of your content marketing assets here.
Offer a direct path to action with a link to a one-on-one demo, a way to request a proposal for services, a “build your own package” tool for services, or an interactive self-serve demo for software.
Further educate these buyers and give them an idea of what their future could look like with detailed product guides, onboarding guides, and “objection buster” content that directly addresses common concerns.
The final touch should be a personal invitation from their sales representative that clearly states a benefit for them, such as a strategy session to map out their goals for the upcoming year.
How: Begin by using your CRM to filter for contacts who fit this profile—those who have had a discovery call but have not moved to the proposal stage within a set timeframe (e.g., 30-60 days).
Enroll this curated list in your automated email marketing campaign.
Pro tip: Configure your marketing automation platform to send an immediate notification to the contact owner whenever a prospect clicks a link in one of these emails. This click is a strong buying signal, and it should trigger prompt, personal outreach from the sales rep. The rep can then reach out via social media or a direct phone call to invite the prospect for a virtual coffee or lunch, reframing the next “meeting” as a more casual, consultative conversation.
Ghosted prospects B2B sales campaign
Who: This campaign is for Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), and Opportunities that were created in the first half of the year but have since gone silent. These prospects showed initial interest but disengaged before a decision was made.
What: The objective is to give these prospects a compelling reason to re-engage now. An incentive-based offer combined with a scarcity claim creates a sense of urgency. The incentive can be a valuable freebie, a bonus feature or service, or a straightforward cost reduction.
The scarcity element is crucial; frame the offer as limited to a certain number of claimants or opportunities to encourage a swift response.
For example, your email or social media message could state, “We’re extending this offer to the first 10 companies that reply. Let me know if you’re interested in claiming one of these spots.” This transforms a passive follow-up into an active opportunity they might miss out on.
How: An integrated campaign approach is most effective in this scenario. If you have enough targets, use a CRM list to run targeted social advertising on platforms like LinkedIn, ensuring your brand jumps to the top of mind for these prospects.
Simultaneously, launch a four-part email campaign that clearly outlines the incentive, the scarcity, and the deadline.
Your sales team should supplement these automated touches with personalized social selling outreach, referencing previous conversations. Given that 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions, a well-timed LinkedIn post comment or InMail can help.
Finally, arm your sales reps with a call script to follow up with the most promising contacts who have opened emails or engaged with the social ads.
Closed-Lost review & retouch B2B sales campaign
Who: The target audience for this campaign is leads associated with deals marked as “Closed-Lost” for reasons that were not contentious.
Building this list does require a human touch; the sales team should review their closed-lost opportunities and help curate a list of prospects who might be receptive to a renewed conversation.
What: The campaign content depends entirely on the reason the deal was lost.
- Timing: If the deal was lost in Q1, for example, because it was a “bad time,” Q4 may be the perfect time. Budgets are being finalized, and priorities are being set for the new year. An email campaign offering a year-end incentive can restart the conversation.
- Choose a Competitor: Six to nine months is often enough time for a buyer to realize a new solution isn’t working as promised. Reach out with an email campaign that highlights your new features or offers that directly address the pain points they were trying to solve. Offering a free trial is particularly powerful here.
- Bad Fit: Circumstances change. Perhaps your product has evolved, or their company has grown in a way that makes them a better fit now. A personal outreach campaign via social media or an invitation to a relevant industry event can be a low-pressure way to reconnect.
- Wrong Decision Maker: If you realize you were speaking with someone who lacked final authority, this is a prime opportunity to correct your targeting. Research the correct contact within the organization and reach out with a compelling incentive offer, similar to the Ghosted Prospects campaign. Tailoring your outreach is key, as 83% of B2B marketers have seen improved lead generation from personalization.
How: This is a multi-touch, highly personalized effort. It will combine direct sales outreach from the original rep, targeted email sequences from your marketing automation tool, personalized social media messages, and strategic phone calls. Watch our webinar for the specific details and tactics on this one.
Special end-of-year offer campaign for B2B sales
Who: This campaign is tailored for two groups: price-sensitive leads who have expressed budget concerns and any lead who has completed a discovery call and understands your value proposition but is waiting for the right moment to buy.
What: The core of this campaign is a significant, time-limited offer designed to create a sense of urgency. Use a four-part email sequence to announce and reinforce the offer, making it crystal clear that contracts must be signed by a certain date, say December 31st, to qualify.
Time is the primary motivating factor. To overcome budget cycle hurdles, try offering deferred billing terms. A “start now, pay later” option allows them to lock in the year-end pricing and onboard your solution immediately, but pay for it out of their new year budget, removing a common Q4 obstacle.
How: Segment your CRM list to identify all contacts who have cited “price” or “budget” as an objection, as well as all leads who are past the discovery stage but do not have an active proposal. Enroll this segment in the automated email campaign.
The messaging should be direct and value-oriented, emphasizing the benefits they can start realizing immediately while taking advantage of a unique, one-time offer.
Q4 B2B sales campaigns – your frequently asked questions:
As teams plan their final push for the year, we get a few common questions about the unique dynamics of selling in the fourth quarter. Understanding these nuances is key to crafting campaigns that resonate with buyers and drive results during this critical period. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:
What’s different about Q4 B2B deals?
Q4 B2B deals are heavily influenced by two powerful pressures: the pressure to spend and the pressure to solve.
Many businesses operate on a calendar-year fiscal cycle and are driven by a “use it or lose it” mentality regarding their allocated budgets. This often results in a push to invest in new projects, process upgrades, or solutions that can solve pressing problems before year-end reporting.
Simultaneously, decision-makers are motivated to finalize plans for the upcoming year and demonstrate progress on their departmental goals before the holiday slowdown. This creates a window of opportunity during which they are actively seeking solutions.
Plus, annual contracts with existing vendors sometimes expire at the end of the year, providing a timely and natural entry point for you to restart conversations with prospects who may be looking for a change.
Who should your campaigns connect with?
Your Q4 campaigns should be laser-focused on buyers who are already in the middle or bottom of your sales funnel. These are not the campaigns for broad, top-of-funnel targeting. The abbreviated timeline of Q4 needs a little more efficiency, and targeting warm leads is the most efficient path to revenue.
Why this group? Because they already know you. They are familiar with your brand, understand your core value proposition, and you have likely had at least one substantive conversation with them. You have an existing relationship, even if it went a little chilly, that you can leverage. Specifically, this includes stalled but previously engaged leads, prospects who ghosted in Q1 or Q2, redeemable closed-lost opportunities, and price-sensitive leads who are sitting on a proposal and just need a final incentive.
How do you get mid-funnel prospects to move?
Getting mid-funnel prospects off the fence in Q4 requires a delicate balance of incentive, value reinforcement, and genuine helpfulness. Here’s how to reach this target audience:
- Incentives: Prospects often expect a year-end bonus or incentive. Some who don’t have an urgent need will intentionally delay a purchase, anticipating a Q4 discount that helps them fit a desired solution into their budget. A well-timed incentive can be the catalyst they were waiting for.
- Proving Value: For value-skeptical buyers, you must clearly demonstrate ROI. Show them precisely how their lives or business operations will improve with your solution. If they previously chose a competitor that underdelivered, now is the time to illustrate what their inaction or wrong decision is costing them in terms of lost efficiency, revenue, or opportunity.
- Being Helpful Instead of Pushy: For those who have been ghosted or marked as closed-lost, your outreach should start with a “help first” mindset. Instead of jumping straight to a sales pitch, re-engage them by sharing a genuinely useful tool, guide, or asset that relates to the problem you discussed months ago. This re-establishes trust, demonstrates your continued expertise, and reopens the door for a sales conversation on their terms.
See how to launch your own B2B sales campaigns – watch the webinar.
Navigating the end-of-year sales rush requires a strategic mix of alignment, targeting, and compelling offers. The four campaigns and target audiences we outlined here – re-engaging mid-funnel prospects, reviving ghosted leads, retouching closed-lost opportunities, and presenting a special year-end offer – should give you a good blueprint for turning dormant leads into closed deals. Focus on prospects already familiar with your brand and give them a timely reason to act.
Peer Sales Agency helps B2B companies launch campaigns like these, and a whole lot more, every quarter. To see these strategies in action, including some real-world examples, and learn how to implement them with your own tools, watch our in-depth webinar on launching effective B2B sales campaigns.
