By: Kim Duke
Anyone who knows me…understands I am not a huge fan of WHINERS.
In fact – I try to get away from them as fast as I can get my stilettos moving ( and believe me – I can sprint !)
And yet – at this time of year and right up until September -I will hear these sad little comments from all sorts of business people:
- Summer is always slow for business
- We/I always struggle for sales during the summer months
- I can’t invest in my business/market myself/get a website etc as I don’t have cash flow right now
And then you know what they’ll do?
Because sales are slow/cash flow is tight – they whine all summer long as they doddle the days away.
Then when September hits they start complaining about how slow the Fall is. Oh and puh-lease – don’t forget about Christmas and how slow that season is for “non-retailers”.
Those excuses are as bad as the people who eat Double Bacon Cheeseburgers and then order a Diet Coke.
Give this Sales Diva a break!
Quit Hosting The Pity Party and Increase Your Sales Instead!
In selling – you don’t get any points or MONEY for good intentions – ONLY RESULTS.
And if you want results – then you have to start being pro-active, persistent and progressive. (how can you tell I love alliteration?!)
Here Are Some Scary Secrets About Selling:
- You MUST Sell a Minimum of 90-days ahead. Why? Because if you wait until the month you need the revenue -your competitor has already been there and snapped up the budget. (The old adage “The early bird catches the worm” still holds true!) Plus – when you are desperate you start chewing your nails. Never a pretty sight.
- Customers Are Always Buying or Planning To Buy. Hate to break it to you but just because you want to go golf/sun tan/camping- doesn’t mean the entire world comes to a grinding halt. Customers are always buying. Let me repeat this phrase – CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS BUYING! They just aren’t buying YOUR product or services because you have dropped out of their radar.
- Summer Is A Fabulous Advantage For Fantastic Salespeople. Yes – I count myself in this club ( my customers tell me SO!) As I know the rest of the world has dropped the ball – I stay in front of customers and potential customers on PURPOSE. I STAND OUT because the competition/noise is small or non-existent. So there.
If your summer sales are slow I can guarantee you were focused on something else 3 months ago.
And YOU dropped the ball.
Well – now you need to get a move on and start planning for August and September or you will be re-living your current cash crunch all over again. (and we all know how much FUN that is)
YOU CAN DO IT. Start contacting your existing client base. Take some potential clients for lunch/coffee/greasy breakfast. Improve your skills. Get that e-zine launched. Get your sales and marketing efforts in high gear!
Definitely enjoy your summer and have fun but REMEMBER one thing.
You HAVE to make time for your business CONSISTENTLY or your sales will dry up like the Sahara Desert. And when you’re broke and grouchy – you just aren’t much fun to be around!
And don’t even THINK of sending me a WHINY e-mail. Send a breakfast invite to your customer instead!
Copyright© 2006 -2o1o
Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report “The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make” at http://www.salesdivas.com