Episode 158, 8 tips to keep your sales from going on vacation.

Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.

 

Episode 158,  8 tips to keep your sales from going on vacation.

 

Yes, Summer has arrived, but your sales don't have to.

 

How does the Summer season impact your sales? 

Have you found it even harder to connect with new prospects?  

If you're shaking your head, yes, you are not alone; the Summer presents challenges and opportunities when setting meetings.

 

Our prospects go on Vacation.

Our calls go unanswered. 

Even our LinkedIn requests don't get accepted as quickly. 

It makes our job more difficult when trying to generate sales.

 

So we need to design a plan around when people are on Vacation.

I researched and discovered that certain weeks are more popular than others.

 

For example, you can almost guarantee an automated reply the week of July 4th. According to data from Tripadvisor, July and August are the most popular vacation months. Keep this in mind when building your outreach strategy.  

 

I read an article from Emma Brudner from Hubspot, who shared some great tips to get us back on track during the Summer. 

 

Prospect, prospect, prospect.

40% of sales reps agree that prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process- so it's easy to lose focus. Especially during vacations!

So we can't let our prospecting go on Vacation. We need to continue to find new customers who are a fit for our product and services.

 

Add more qualified prospects for you to target.

The secret to beating monthly quotas is maintaining a consistent pipeline of opportunities. Schedule time daily for prospecting in your calendar; think about the best time of the day that they are more likely to answer your calls.

 

Set Google Alerts

Just because people are on Vacation during the Summer doesn't mean business stops. If you see relevant news, it gives you another reason to reach out and connect. Set up Google alerts for your prospects' companies to keep up to date on any significant announcements. 

 

In addition, keep an eye on clients LinkedIn profile and note any changes. New title? Updated summary? Send a message and rekindle the conversation.

 

Seek referrals.

July is a great month to check in with your current clients and see if some other divisions or service lines can use similar help.

 

Do the work for your client. Look at your best clients' LinkedIn profiles and identify a few companies you know could benefit from a conversation with you. Ask your client if you can say that they recommended you connect because they are happy with the business results they are getting from your product or service. You will build instant credibility, and it will shorten the sales cycle. 

 

 

Upsell.

Is there an opportunity to help solve another critical business issue? Any other emerging growth areas that you can help bring a solution. You have already developed credibility and rapport. 

 

 

Revisit accounts that said no.

Remember no means, Not yet! The prospect who said it wasn't the right time a few months ago? Well, it just might be the right time now. Is there research or a relevant success story that would be important for this client? Are there other business needs that have arisen since your last conversation? Call with a purpose to see if they are on track with their business goals?

 

 

Change up your messaging.

If no one is answering your emails or calls? Stand out from other messages by adding a bit of humor mixed with a dash of seasonality can go a long way in grabbing clients' interest.

 

For example, you might kick off a voicemail with, "You're probably on a beach somewhere now, enjoying the sound of the ocean versus me." It helps if you know something about the prospect that you could tailor a fun message.

 

Go on Vacation.

We deserve and have earned a vacation. So make sure you take some time off. For maximum vacation restoration, leave your laptop behind and turn your cell phone off.

 

There are business opportunities around you while you're on Vacation. I have met new prospects at the hotel, pool, and golf course. Everyone is in a great mood, and conversations flow, just like their favorite beverages.

 

 

Create a Summer Incentive 

Every business goes through a slower sales period. Create a fun incentive that can inspire your team to make that extra call on new prospects to help their sales.

 

Ideas could include:

• Tickets to the Hottest Summer Concert 
• Tickets to Summer Theme Parks
• Tickets to Sporting events
• Tickets to a Comedy Club
• Dinner at a Hot restaurant
• Summer Spa day retreat
• Suppose you don't have the resources to buy the incentives. Offer extra days off work, or they get to work remotely every Monday or Friday if that is not a current option.

 

All this talk about Vacation has me excited about booking my next trip. So I will leave you with aloha.

 

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Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.