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Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays
Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.
Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.
No More “Call Me After the Holidays”
How to Flip the Script
The most expensive phrase in Q4 isn’t “budget freeze.”
It’s not “slow season,” “year-end crunch,” or even “we’re good for now.”
It’s “Call me after the holidays.”
Every rep hears it. Average reps accept it. Elite, systems-driven reps know it’s not an objection it’s a stall. A polite escape hatch. A way to remove you from their mental workload until January… when their inbox resets, their priorities shift again, and you start the whole cycle from scratch.
Here’s the truth: your buyer isn’t pushing you off because of timing. They’re pushing you off because you haven’t given them a reason to stay in the conversation today.
Holiday stalls happen when:
You haven’t quantified urgency
You haven’t connected your solution to their Q1 goals
You haven’t framed inaction as a genuine cost
You haven’t made moving forward easy
The antidote is simple:
Create urgency. Reduce friction. Reposition the timeline. Take back control of the frame.
Below is the exact system to flip the script smoothly, confidently, without sounding pushy so “Call me after the holidays” becomes the start of the deal, not the end.
ACTION STEPS: How to Flip the Script
Acknowledge, Then Redirect
“Totally get it the holidays get chaotic. That’s exactly why most teams set Q1 up now. Can I share what other leaders are doing so January isn’t a scramble?”Tie Your Solution to a Q1 Win
Show how getting aligned now accelerates their first 30 days of next year.Quantify the Cost of Waiting
Use data, trends, or missed opportunities. Make delay feel expensive because it is.Lower the Barrier
Offer a micro-commitment: a quick audit, a kickoff doc, a light contract, a placeholder date.Get Something Locked In
Even if it’s a tentative meeting get a real next step on the calendar before the call ends.
Master this, and you won’t fear holiday stalls again.
You’ll turn them into your biggest Q4 advantage.
