5 Ways To Avoid The Holiday Slowdown

Is it too late? Is December typically a slow month for sales for your business? Should you just sit back and wait for 2010 so you can get a fresh start?

This weekend I was working on my Christmas list. I was trying to come up with a few things for the family Secret Santa gift exchange. And what I discovered was that there were a lot of things I’d just forgotten about or put off purchasing and that my wish list had a lot on it. Of course it was mostly gear for cycling, skiing or sailing.

Whether or not your prospects are part of a Secret Santa gift exchange, giving and getting is in the air. Along with the holiday season comes the expectation that we’ll all get what we want during the December holidays.

Yet, most business owners assume that if they’re not in retail or selling items that will show up under a Christmas tree that December is a loss. After all everyone is thinking about buying and giving presents.

Which is exactly why December can be your best month ever.

You too can tap into the holiday spirit of giving no matter what you sell. During the holiday season your prospects are in a mindset to spend money, and are more than willing to spend money on themselves. They’ve got their credit cards out and are ripe for you to market to them.

Here’s how:

Strategy #1: “Target Your Sales Copy to What’s On People’s Minds”

Most people are thinking about giving during the holiday season and wondering two things:

* What would make a great gift for my son or daughter,
* What would make a great gift for my spouse,
* What would make a great gift for my father or mother in-law.

… and they’re wondering

* What should I put on my own holiday list (as I was this weekend),
* What gift should I give myself this year, yes, a lot of people, while out buying gifts for others, buy gifts for themselves too!

You get the idea. Don’t assume people know what they want to buy. I’m often at a total loss myself as to what to buy for my 23 year-old son. So whether you sell to businesses or direct to consumers, help them out with your sales copy by targeting the questions that are on your customers’ minds.

Strategy #2: “Create Urgency To Buy”

When people head out to shop after Thanksgiving, they’re taking advantage of short term sales, feeling the pressure of the limited shopping days until Christmas, and they know that the stores may run out of the items they want if they don’t act right away.

Creating urgency is one of the most effective ways to increase sales, no matter what or when you market. Even if you’re selling HVAC maintenance contracts or snowplowing services, marketing limited availability or limited-time offers is a big motivator.

The end of the year is fast approaching and everyone likes a deal. The problem is we all tend to procrastinate. What’s the solution?

You have the products and services prospects want. Now all you need to do is motivate them to buy. Typically, you may associate Christmas sales with toys, TVs and personal items. You’re right, that’s where much of the spending is. But there are no rules that say you can’t have a holiday sale on your products or services, whether you provide computer systems or accounting services.

Whether it’s a discount on price or a special bonus, when you give your prospects something extra it increases their perception of the value of your offer.

Combine special offers with limited time availability. If you have a website you can put a countdown timer on your offer sales page to increase the sense of urgency.

Strategy #3: “Use the End of The Year To Up-Sell & Cross-Sell Clients”

December 31st marks the end of 2009 and while it’s just a day on the calendar, it has a strong emotional effect on your prospect’s and clients. People see it as a clear ending and January 1st as a new beginning.

At the end of December people tend to reflect a little bit on their past performance and on their aspirations for the coming year. This is the perfect time to tap into their psyche and get clients to review their needs, what worked and didn’t work, and what they’d like to do better next year.

Whether you sell consulting services, or flat screen TVs, the end of the year is an ideal time to cross-sell and up-sell your products and services.

Strategy #4: “Strengthen Your Relationships with Prospects and Clients”

Your primary small business competitive advantage is the number and strength of your relationships with prospects and clients. Use this time to show your appreciation to them. How?

* Tell them. Thank them for their business and loyalty. Gifts are nice but ultimately it’s the thought that counts. Make sure to let them know you value their business and enjoy working with them.

Unless you’re the only source for a product or service clients can always find someone else to buy from. The best way to prevent this is to maintain a strong relationship and this starts with saying thank you.

* Send your most valued clients a gift, but not just any gift. For years I had an investment advisor who each Christmas sent me something from Tiffany’s that cost hundreds of dollars.  As you may know by now, I’m not a Tiffany’s kind of guy and ended up returning almost every one of these to the store.

The key is to give something that your client would appreciate. It’s hard to lose with food. In my case I would have been much more impressed if my investment advisor had sent me something that was less expensive but more thoughtful, like a lift ticket or a ski lesson at Sugarbush where I ski most of the time.

Strategy #5: “Stick To Your Marketing Plan”

Just because it’s the holidays, don’t abandon the proven marketing strategies you’ve been using the rest of the year. It’s more important than ever to maintain shelf space in your prospects minds in December because if they don’t buy this month, come January they may be ready.

Continue to send out your weekly emails, update your site and follow-up with prospects.

That’s it!

Five easy, no-cost ways to increase your end-of-the-year sales and beat, or at least get closer, to your goals for the year.

And don’t forget the countdown clock is ticking for YOU too. If you’re at all interested in making every month your best, you can get into the Insiders’ Club Member Program for 20% off the first month… if you take action today!

Go ahead and “play Santa” and buy yourself access to this wealth-building program, but act fast if you want in. There are were only 15 holiday specials left last time I looked. And whether these sell out or not, this offer ends on December 25th.

Grab it before it’s gone >>

– Charlie

P.S. With the right marketing strategies, December can be your best month ever. And if it hasn’t occurred to you yet, you can use these same strategies to generate a holiday rush of sales, all year long.

Ready to bring a flood of sales all year long? Use this link to find out how >>