Linda here.
I’ve heard many people lament over the years, “We might as well close down in December. No one’s mind is on their business; it’s all about the holidays”.
If you follow that thinking, then you can’t do business in January
because no one has any money, summer’s bad because everyone is on vacation, spring and fall are bad because of school breaks.
Thinking like that is ridiculous and you are missing out on untapped opportunities. Let others languish in December while you dig in and work smart.
Here are some ideas to make your 2017 more abundant.
Prepare for a January sales increase. Ramp up your sales contacts now in anticipation of fresh budgets and buyers anxious for the new year.
Give customers a buy-it-later option. Fact: people can’t buy everything they want. They’ve spent their entire budget, but they want it and can’t get it. You can accommodate them.
Create a “Wish List” opportunity. What would customers buy from you if they could? Give them convenient ways to let you know what they want.
Launch something new. A new product, a new service, an e-book containing valuable information you can give your customers. Think outside the box, it doesn’t have to big, but it has to be different.
Sell next year’s items. What your customers buy in January may be very different from what they buy in December. What could you sell them NOW?
Add extra charges. Be very careful when using this technique. During hectic seasons customers’ tolerance for added freight or expediting fees is higher. They need what they need and they need it now. If you have incurred extra costs meeting their needs, you should be compensated.
You can believe December is a lost month, or you can boost sales and slide into 2017 with a smile on your face and a healthy backlog of orders.