Are your sales taking a siesta?

Liz Wendling //June 8, 2011//

Are your sales taking a siesta?

Liz Wendling //June 8, 2011//

The heat is on and talk of the dreaded summer sales slump has begun. The same excuses have surfaced and they have arrived right on schedule. Any of these sound familiar? “I may as well take off early today, nobody’s buying.” “It’s too hot to sell anything to anybody.” “All my customers are on vacation.” Really? Are you just going to give up and stop selling for the next ninety-four days?

Many people do take vacations in the summer – a week or so here and there – but they are still working the rest of the time. Even if your particular business slows down during the summer months that does not mean you throw in the beach towel, take a siesta and wait for fall.

Smart business owners are seeing the summer as a good opportunity to re-evaluate their business plan and goals. They are using this time wisely to plot out new strategies and experiment on new methods to increase their sales performance.

Here are five sales strategies to avoid the summer slump:

1. Change your attitude – Your attitude creates the space in which you will perform in your business. If you believe the summer is slow and your sales will slump, than that is what you shall receive. Continue your sales activities like it is February or March. Perform in the same manner as you would in those months.

2. Commit to win – It is the commitment to win that gives you the edge, and gives you the creativity and the innovation to restructure and redesign your sales strategies. Making a commitment to win gives you the ability to think differently, which creates new opportunities that will give you the advantages you need to succeed.

3. Sharpen your tools -Most salespeople don’t spend enough time working on improving their sales skills and techniques. If your business is slower in the summer, take the time to learn how to sell more effectively. Begin now by putting your own plan in place to sharpen your sales skills and hone your sales techniques. Great salespeople do not blame the seasons for their slump.

4. Increase sales activities – In the summer months companies and salespeople cut their sales activities. They actually have said to me, “If we are not going to sell anything, what is the point?” It is completely backwards thinking and the type of thinking that will keep you exactly where you are. Increasing your sales activity will increase sales results.

5. Don’t believe the hype – One of the biggest problems with this summer slump chatter is that salespeople use the chatter to fuel the fire and make excuses about themselves and their business. People tend to believe everything they hear and see instead of challenging the summer slowdown belief. If you perceive no one is around and everyone is on vacation then you are setting yourself up for a negative self-fulfilling prophecy and your sales will take a long siesta.

The options are endless to avoid the summer slump; have a summer special, make a few more calls, prospect, follow-up, reach out to old clients, visit existing clients, go to more networking events, ask for referrals. I could go on and shoot a few more holes in the summer sales slump excuses but I think you get the point.

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