How
to Keep Selling During the Holidays
By Susan Young, President, AimFire Marketing
October 2006
For
most people, our business and personal lives get busier during
the holiday season, from late October through the New Year.
While some businesses, such as retail establishments, enjoy peak
sales during this time of year, others, particularly in a
business-to-business industry, struggle to prospect and sell
effectively. More and more, we hear the #1 excuse that we hate
to hear from prospects: "Call me after the first of the
year."
Since sales are important to maintain every month, how can we
keep the sales and marketing efforts going during the final
months of the year? Here are some tips:
1. Hold a holiday open house. Most everyone likes to
mingle, network with colleagues, sip hot cider and taste
delicious appetizers (at least I do). So what better way to get
your prospects to come to you than to have an open house or
customer appreciation night? Invite your customers, prospects,
partners and even members of the media. Hold giveaways with door
prizes and discounts as incentives to boost attendance. Don't
forget to use this time to showcase what's new or unique about
your product or service offering while you have your prospects'
attention. If your space is too small, many hotels have meeting
space for rent, or you can hold a joint event with a partner.
2. Attend holiday networking or charity events. If your
prospects aren't answering the phones this time of year (or
returning calls either, for that matter), try attending the
various holiday networking parties or charity functions for your
industry or for the groups in which you are involved. What a
great way to build relationships with your targeted prospects --
while you are enjoying the festivities of a holiday party. Don't
forget to exchange business cards or maybe even set an
appointment or two while you're there (even if it's for after
the holidays).
3. Tie your marketing with the seasons. Offer a
Thanksgiving special or discount that is only good through
Thanksgiving. Theme your direct mail, email or advertisement
with Fall leaves, turkeys or other holiday symbols. Get creative
and make your marketing messages fun so they stand out from the
crowd. Or simply send a letter or email to your prospects
individually, mentioning the seasonal offer, and make it clear
that the offer is only good if they act before the specified
holiday deadline.
4. Drop by with or send a holiday gift to special prospects
or customers. Find a unique way to be remembered this season
by sending a personal gift, such as homemade goodies or a unique
gift basket to your best prospects or customers. If you deliver
it personally, you'll make an even greater impact. Connect the
gift to your prospects' interests, hobbies or industry, or
connect it to your business or product/service offering. Keep
your name top-of-mind during the holidays and your customers and
prospects won't forget where to go later when they need your
product or service.
5. Show how your product or service will give more free time
or money to spend during the holidays. Most businesses can
honestly claim that their product or service alleviates a major
pain in the prospects' life, such as lack of time or funds. If
your product or service can save time, money or headaches, sell
those benefits in your marketing. Alleviating these pains may be
even more important to your prospects when their time or
resources are more valuable -- during this busy time of
year.
6. Think gift certificates and bulk sales. Can your
product or service become useful as a gift certificate for
business associates? Perhaps you are a business or personal
coach and could target significant others with your service as a
unique gift idea. Or possibly your company's product or service
could be useful on a larger scale to one of your customer's
customers, and you could arrange for a bulk sale at a discount.
Maybe you could even use this opportunity to get your customers
to pre-pay for your services, and of course receive a discount
for doing so. The options are endless.
Remember -- just because it's the holidays doesn't mean that you
can take a holiday from selling and marketing. Although it might
take a little more creativity, you may find that the holiday
season can become your most profitable and successful time of
year. Enjoy it!
Susan Young is
president of AimFire Marketing, an Indianapolis, Indiana marketing,
public relations and website development firm that works with
growing companies to implement effective marketing
communications programs. You
can contact Susan and learn more about Aim Fire Marketing by
visiting www.aimfiremarketing.com.
Copyright
- Aim Fire Marketing. You can reprint this article on your
website or newsletter by including this and the above paragraph.
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