Summer is upon us and for the first time in a while, people are able to go on holiday feeling a little more secure. This means many of us will book to go away on various breaks from long weekends to full weeks. This is great news and will bring joy to many; at YBDT HQ we wish you all a brilliant and chilled time this summer.
However, before you turn off all the computers and shut your office door, spare a little thought for your business development and sales activity this summer. Many companies decide to dial down their marketing over the holidays as they figure not much is happening anyway. In addition, any networking and meetings are much more scarce due to the season. Follow ups are neglected and most prospects prefer to speak again in September.
This is all quite normal and helps with switching off and relaxing which we all need so badly, particularly this year. However, the problem with this approach is that due to the nature of business development activities, come the end of the summer, you will find yourself starting to build your pipeline again and as it’s nearly the end of the year, you might not secure any major sales until the beginning of 2022.
Now, if you have had a brilliant year so far and are not really looking for more business until the following year, than it’s not a problem. If you are not in this position, this might be a real problem for you and the rest of the sales team. So how can you have your cake and eat it? Here are a few suggestions:
Don’t switch off your marketing and lead generation activity all together. Instead create a summer strategy:
- Keep lead generation and business development funnels like PPC and outreach campaigns active to ensure you keep building your pipeline.
- Work out a rota for managing leads and involve everyone in the team. This can be a good opportunity for more people to get involved with business development and sales.
- Arrange meetings and sign up for networking events in the weeks you are at work this summer. It will help you keep connected and have tentative conversations which may uncover and develop opportunities.
- Have detailed conversations with prospects on your pipeline, aimed at understanding when they might want to move forward, then work out what needs to be done first and get a clear time line in place where possible.
- Plan your diary and book meetings in advance to ensure you hit the ground running this Autumn.
Once you have done that, make sure you get your cold Pinot Grigio, or whatever tipple you prefer, out of the fridge and pour yourself a large glass. Your summer chilling can now start in earnest.
We hope you find this advice practical and helpful. If you need help setting up a lead generation funnel or support keeping in touch with clients and prospects this summer, get in touch.