Selling During the Slow Season

As we enter the dog days of winter and business seems to freeze out, unless you own a ski resort, people are looking for ways to drive revenue. Before doing crazy things with your pricing, do crazy things with your activity level. Though I'm a proponent of maximizing quality leads, this time of year it's absolutely necessary to give a "to-the-wall" effort. EVERY angle needs to be played and ANY possible line of business needs to be chased. Analyze to paralyze is not an option. Before reading the bullet points of activity below, you must first determine if you have the desire to hit the rocket booster of effort. If not, these points will do you no good. Here goes:

• Network, Network, Network - This is still the most lucrative type of activity. Approaching potential clients with the platform of a recommendation gives you a leg up.
• Get out there - Sitting in your nice warm office will lull you to sleep and put a bullet in your activity. Get moving.
• See your current accounts - Visit current clients and circle the wagons around them. Let them know you value their business.
• Association route - Hit the association events hard. Work them! Don't simply be a wall flower.
• Cold calling - Old school sales still produces a minimum of opportunity. A stop here or there could produce an acorn.
• Research the web - Browse client types and see if there is someone you're missing. Go past the first 3 pages under a topic. You might have missed someone or somebody new may have gotten in the game.

These are just a few of the things you can do to crank it up. You'll reap the benefits in the hot season. After the holidays, stoke up the engines and let it fly!

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