With December looming just around the corner, it’s fair to say, winter is firmly upon us. Here at Your Lead Machine, we are all too familiar with those dark early starts; forcing ourselves out of a warm bed to quickly inhale a coffee and breakfast before stepping outside to spend a painful 10 minutes de-icing the car. The winter months can be a challenge, and while it’s tempting to slip into premature ‘Christmas mode,’ at this time of year it’s vital that you don’t allow your sales pipeline to freeze up – like your wind screen. While you can de-ice your car in just a few cold and unpleasant minutes, a frozen sales pipeline is going to take far longer to recover, setting you off to a slow start in the New Year. Here’s our top tips for maximising your productivity over Christmas, to help you thrive and enjoy your success at ‘the most wonderful time of the year,’ ready for a prosperous 2020.
1. Networking
What better time is there for networking than the Christmas period? Everyone is in a great mood, everyone has lots going on to chat about, so the conversation is always flowing, and everyone is keen to warm up and catch up over a hot drink. Go out and meet new people or invite existing clients out for a chat and a coffee – networking is always a good idea. It could lead to a sale or a referral of your services, it could lead to the start of a fantastic relationship in business, OR it could lead to nothing more than getting to know another friendly face. You never know where your connections might take you, but it’s always worth getting yourself out there.
2. Social Media
With the winter months comes long, dark evenings spent at home, and with Christmas comes extra holiday time for everyone. For many of us, however much we hate to admit it, this ultimately equates to more time spent scrolling endlessly through social media. Therefore, from a business perspective, this is the perfect time to up your activity across all social platforms. Now is the ideal opportunity to get interactive and start posting – your audience will soon begin to grow.
3. Cold Calling
As well as your social audience having more free time over Christmas, we hope that you too have given yourself some much-needed time off. While of course, it’s important that you enjoy this time with friends and family, if you’ve got a few spare minutes and are keen to utilise this time in a business productive fashion, why not make some quick calls?
Call potential new clients – reach out to your target market. Infused with the friendly sociability that comes with the spirit of Christmas, potential clients may be more open to chat and learn about what you have to offer them. Whether these calls translate into sales or simply act as market research, it’s all beneficial and easily achieved in just a few minutes.
Call your existing clients – wish them happy Christmas and best wishes over the new year, developing the rapport that is so essential in business. Check that they’re still happy with your services and make them aware that should they need anything from you at any time, you’re only a phone call away. Clients are likely to appreciate your dedication and good-heartedness, particularly at this time of year.
Upselling and cross-selling – you may also take this time to advise existing clients of any other services that you can offer, or provide an update on future plans that may be of interest to them. This should help to set you off to a strong start in the new year, setting up potential leads as you begin to plan for the following months.
In the meantime, we hope that you enjoy the festive season! Keep warm, keep well and keep that sales pipeline flowing.
