5 Q4 Moves to Finish the Year Strong

Every year, I see the same pattern. Companies start in January with big ambitions, a fresh plan, and plenty of energy. But as the months roll on, urgency fades, priorities shift, and by October, many teams feel like the year is running them — instead of the other way around.

But there’s one thing that separates the companies I coach that finish the year strong from those that let it slip away: their ability to reset and refocus in Q4.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve applied the Scaling Up methodology in my own companies, and just this past year, I worked with 10 scale-ups to help them close out the year with energy and results. Here are the five moves I see working again and again.

1. Reset Your Strategy in a Single Day

By October, most companies are still following the plan they set back in January — even though the market, the team, and the reality have changed.

In nearly every company I coach as a ScaleUp Company Coach, we hold a Q4 Quarterly Planning Day. It’s a privilege to work with so many teams and see how much impact just one day of focus can have.

It’s not a theoretical session; it’s a hands-on day where teams cut the noise, pick their real priorities, and walk out with total clarity for Q4. It’s often the moment that turns the year around.

If you haven’t done this yet, it’s worth it. One day of planning can save three months of stress.

2. Fix Your Sales Funnel — No Excuses

Across the 10 scale-ups I’ve coached this past year, this was almost always the first gamechanger: a sales funnel that doesn’t leak.

Here’s what I see far too often: sales get caught up in the chaos of Q4. Leads come in, but there’s no clear process, no tight follow-up, no weekly rhythm. Deals slip, decisions stall, and by December, everyone is wondering why the pipeline looks thin.

The companies that finish strong have a simple but strict sales cadence: weekly pipeline reviews, clear deal priorities, and a relentless focus on closing what can close this year.

3. Make Your Team Q4-Ready

Even the best plan and pipeline mean nothing if your team isn’t fully aligned.

What I see in companies that win Q4 is crystal clarity on who owns what, what success looks like, and how progress will be tracked.

But there’s another level to this: energy. In the 20+ Working Genius Workshops I’ve facilitated in the past two years, I’ve seen how teams double their speed when they celebrate each other’s natural strengths and respect each other’s energy drains.

When you apply this lens, Q4 doesn’t feel like pushing harder — it feels like running faster because everyone’s energy is in the right place.

4. Manage by the Right Numbers

Q4 moves fast. Too many companies steer by gut feeling and hope things work out.

The companies I coach that stay in control keep things simple: a handful of key metrics like revenue, margin, pipeline, and cash, plus one or two KPIs per team. Not 100 reports. Just the right numbers telling the right story.

That’s a skill I’ve taught in over 40 KPI workshops as a ROKS KPI Blackbelt: how to find the metrics that truly guide your business without turning it into a giant data project.

5. Create Urgency — and Optimize Your Margins

Sometimes, Q4 doesn’t allow for more sales. Budgets are frozen, deals slow down. That’s when I see companies shift from revenue growth to margin growth.

If you can’t close more deals, make the ones you have more profitable.

That’s exactly why we developed Quotation Optimizer — an AI-powered solution that analyzes and improves your quotes to protect and increase your margins. You can find more about it at quotationoptimizer.com.

For several companies I coach, this margin focus turned a mediocre Q4 into a great one.

What I See Working, Again and Again

In nearly 20 years of Scaling Up and in coaching 10 scale-ups this past year, I keep seeing the same thing: companies that take back focus in Q4, win Q4.

They don’t do it perfectly. They face setbacks like everyone else.
But they make one or two decisive moves — and that makes all the difference.

Your Q4 Check: Winner or Spectator?

Ninety days from now, you’ll look back on this year.

You’ll either think:

• “I wish we had focused earlier.”
• “I wish we had closed those deals.”
  
  

Or you’ll think:

• “I’m glad we made those calls.”
• “I’m glad we built focus and urgency when it mattered.”
  
  

The difference? The decisions you make today.

Want a Q4 Plan That Actually Works?

At Business Alchemist Academy, we help companies reset, refocus, and execute — drawing on nearly 20 years of Scaling Up experience in both my own companies and dozens of scale-ups I’ve coached.

If you want to finish the year strong, this is your moment.

Book your Q4 session with Business Alchemist Academy