Selling Though The Holidays
Posted by
That Guy
Our sales activities through the holidays will either set us up to be ahead of the curve when the smoke settles after New Years or will have us playing catch up January 3rd and it will be March before we figure it out. The holidays are one of the best times to meet people, catch with old customers, and find out about next years budget and who will be buying. We will discuss a few things that might just help you get where you want to be in 2011.
1. Christmas Cards - I know this sounds like work and it might even be a little corny. But Christmas, Happy Holidays, Kwanzaa, or Hanukkah (whichever works best for you) cards do not go un-noticed. I know Exactly who sent me cards and who didn't. I know who sent one last year and who did not send one this year. I know who had wrote a note and who just put a sticker and business card in there. If you are in a relationship selling business you cannot go wrong with the effort that is put in to this. The key is to not send one to all 20,000 contacts you have ever done business with; but you do send them to the top 20 contacts that you think might have upcoming projects that you can be a part of with your product or service. Then you pull the names and addresses of all those you have done business with in the last 24-36 months; send them cards and send them early, by December 5th. Then on December 10th you have a reason to call all of the these customers and make sure they got your card, ask them how they are doing, and see of they have any upcoming needs you can help them with. Warm calls with a real reason are the best calls..............
2. Networking - Do not let this opportunity pass you by, people love to party between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Find out about any professional organizations you have thought you should have been a part of over the last few years (you know there are a few and you just didn't want to make the effort) most of them will be having a Christmas Happy Hour or Gathering. Look up the information number and see when you can attend an event (usually one a month) so it will most likely be the Christmas gathering. Get a babysitter and make it a date night thing and then take your spouse or significant other to dinner after. Also make a point to call all of the customers that you are informal with people you hunt, ski, drink, go to sports events with and see when they are having their company Christmas parties, you just may get invited. These people also have personal parties they they might just want to invite you to.
3. Organizing - If there truly is office time that you are not on the phone and it seems as though things are slowing down for the holidays; take the time to organize your customer information, get your quotes, customer contact information and pricing all updated for the new year. Create a better filing system on your computer and make sure all of your files are updated and backed up in the company server. This is a great time to eliminate clutter and make a fresh start in the new year. Also take this time to make those last few follow up calls on old projects or sales, that way you can close the job out and get the file off of your desk and that task off of your to do list.
4. Business Planning - Maybe you had a great year, maybe you had a terrible year. Either way, December is a good time to sit down and make a plan for next year. Sit down and determine where you strong points are, determine where your weak points are and then decide where you want your focus to be in the upcoming year. What new customers do you want, what old customers do you want to keep, how are you going to accomplish this, and what will be the benefits. Plot this out somehow, in PowerPoint, on a document in a spiral notebook...........Just make it permanent somewhere and not just thoughts.
The Holidays are a time of great joy and for some a time of great hardship, don't let the downtime at the office make it any worse. Unless you boss is going to just let you have from December 1st to January 3rd off of work then the odds are you will be looking for something to do at the office. Make the best of the time, Show the value you have to your organization and get some cards out, go to some parties, clean up your to do list and work space, plan for the new year and most of all enjoy it, be grateful you have a job this holiday season.
Thursday, October 21, 2010 | 0 Comments
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
