Sometimes, sales goals can feel a bit arbitrary. As long as the business is making money and you’re doing your job well, then why does there need to be a specific goal? Let’s say your current goal is $10,000 in sales for the month (note: completely arbitrary number); if you only reach $9,457 instead of the full ten grand, does it really matter? Probably only to your supervisor.
But we still have to establish sales goals, because we need something to shoot for. Besides, if we aren’t utilizing consistently higher sales goals, then how is our business going to grow?
During the dog days of summer, it can be hard to keep that goal in mind and achieve it. You’d probably rather be on vacation somewhere instead of cooped up in the office. But now’s not the time to relax. There’s plenty of ways to achieve your sales goals in summer, especially if you follow our four-step plan:
Step 1: Set a realistic goal
You have to keep in mind that summer is not always a great time to do business. It’s interminably hot, the stores and malls are full of aimless teenagers and all of the good TV shows are on hiatus. Hence why it’s a perfect time to take a vacation – and many people will. So keep that in mind when setting your sales goal for the summer. Even many of your current customers won’t be available during the summer, so your numbers in general might take a hit.
Step 2: Establish a follow-up procedure
This isn’t referring to the standard practice of following-up with a lead; this is about following up with absences. When you do run into busy leads or folks that are on vacation, don’t automatically cross them off your list. These leads and customers are merely postponing their follow-ups. Be sure to find out when the lead is going to be available (if you can), and make a note on that lead’s file of when you can follow-up. If there’s one thing you should have learned from our blog by now, it’s that every lead counts. Don’t let any slip away.
Step 3: Be persistent
This is something every salesperson should already be doing on their own: being extremely persistent. However, it’s even more crucial during the summer months because of all the aforementioned absences. When people are gone in an office, that means others have to pick up the slack; plus, there will be some fires for the vacationer to put out when they return. So even once a potential lead returns, they may forget to respond amidst the chaos. Or, potential leads that are actually in the office may be too busy picking up the slack to respond. Keep trying. You don’t want to irritate the lead, but you can’t stop trying to reach them until they give you a definitive answer one way or the other. Even if it takes a month, ensure that you get a decisive yes or no.
Step 4: Use the season to your advantage
Strong marketers are always looking for any excuse to contact leads or create a campaign, and summer provides great opportunities for both. Why not create a campaign that features a summer activity? For instance, you could offer to give away tickets to a local theme park. It’s also baseball season, so if there’s a team nearby, create a promotion where customers receive a free pair of tickets with a free estimate/consultation/etc.
Even if you don’t have much of a budget, don’t let that stop you. You can make this a social media campaign, where you ask followers to post a photo of their best beach look and tag your business. It’s quick, easy and, best of all, free.
Regardless of what kind of promotion you choose, don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Now is the time to be creative!
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