The 4th Quarter Sales Slump
Ahhh…4th Quarter. The time of year when the temps get cooler, we start planning Thanksgiving meals and Christmas parties. We’re eating, shopping, visiting, and taking long weekends. We tend to focus more of our attention on family and friends. It’s the best time of year for so many;
But for some business owners, it can be a bit nerve-racking!!!
The days seem shorter, the staff seems to go in and out of “short-timer” mode, and the clients and prospects tend to be out of the office more (and hard to nail down.)
Good ole 4th quarter makes it easy for your clients to delay closing that business deal you’ve been counting on…Or move the kick-off of the new project to the first of next year.
We know every year – that it’s going to happen…the stiff-arm with the same response:
We at Lasso Moon geared up for it this year!!! When we aren’t producing awesome videos and building killer websites, we’re catching up in areas that we typically complain that we don’t have adequate time to do during the year.
Here are some things that every business can do if the months slow a bit for you…
5 Productive Tasks you Can Accomplish During the 4th Quarter Slump
1. Look at your current client list and determine ways to up-sell them on your different lines of business in 2016. Create a plan on when to discuss these opportunities, and get a date on the calendar for the first of the year.
2. Look at your list of prospects, that – for whatever reason, you weren’t able to close this year. What was the obstacle? Determine that, and then develop incentives that will entice them to come on board next year. Get a date on the calendar.
3. Housekeeping. When is the last time you took a look at the software you use daily? Are there systems, plugins or upgrades that will increase productivity, and save you time? Technology changes daily. There are some great tools out there! Feel free to send us a line if you want our recommendation on any of these. We’re happy to share our knowledge when we find a great digital product!!
4. Produce a Merry Christmas / Happy New Year video. You can easily walk around your office with your smart phone and record your staff offering holiday sentiments. Simply download a user-friendly editing app like Windows Movie Maker (for PC users) and iMovie (for Mac users.) and add music to your clips, upload it to dropbox or youtube and send all of your contacts the link.
Or you can produce an animation video. Below – is a video that we sent to our customers last year (before the merging of our companies.) Contact us and we can produce one for you! It’s an easy way for you to get in front of your prospects – and your clients will appreciate the gesture!
5. Really think about your digital marketing. How well are you sticking to the plan? Did the attention to social posts fizzle out some time around June? It’s never too late to hop back on the horse. Make a content calendar for next year. What articles will you write? What topics will you cover? Where will you distribute your content? How will you grow your social profiles? Start your plan now, so that you’ll stay accountable when things get busy. Online marketing is free if you do it right. No sense in not taking advantage of this avenue to increase your exposure!
Enjoy the holidays! Stay productive in Q4! Gear up to hit the ground running Jan 2!!
