Maintaining Sales Productivity During the Holiday Season

As I was researching this topic, I came across several pieces of good information. Let’s face it; in our industry we know that selling during the holiday season can be a challenge. People are taking time off, buying gifts for their loved ones, celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa and it makes it difficult to reach people on the phone or have decision makers actually make a decision.

There is still a chance to be successful – be productive in other areas.

Don’t Make Assumptions. The common industry assumption is that buyers are busy and don’t want to deal with buying decisions at this time. It is possible the prospects you’re dealing with are actually more ready to buy than you think. People are actually more likely to spend money at the end of the year. They may have a spending budget that they want to use before the end of the year.

Connect with Past Customers – Just to Check In. If getting new customers is a struggle, focus your attention on existing customers. It won’t hurt to check up on your customers. See how they are doing and if they are enjoying their purchased product. Showing that you care about your customers helps with return buying and passed referrals to friends and family.

Marketing Emails. Just because it’s a slower time of year does not mean it should be unproductive time. This is a good time to stay top-of-mind with your customers and get them excited about the new year and new products you’ll be offering. JACA01 Even when people are on vacation, most of them are still checking their email periodically. Make sure you don’t lose sight of your marketing strategy during the holidays.

Experiment. Want to work on changing your sales pitch to customers? Now is a good time. This is a low risk, low pressure time that is the perfect environment to experiment a little bit and get creative.

Humble Yourself. As a successful sales person, you can be resistant to sales coaching and improving, especially when you’re busy making sales and closing deals. If business is slower now it’s the right time to take classes or do some product training. It could help boost business in the new year.

Showroom Updates. If you are looking to make some changes or upgrades to your store, now is the perfect time. These changes may attract attention to new customers as well as the old. Change your window displays frequently with new fresh ideas. It’s amazing how many people will enter a store based on how captivating a store front is.

I wish you all a blessed Holiday season with Family and Friends.