Do you sell more or less between now and end December? Any tips to boost sales?

I book the meetings for the next year to come.

It doesn't have to slow down, you just need to find smart business owners that want a way to make more money next year and want to have an additional deduction this year by using your services. A lot of people view the pain of spending money in a different light when they know that they get to cause the IRS pain by adding another deduction.

Different companies have different cycles during the year. It depends on many factors such as the local climate, the types of clients you serve, the personality traits of you and your team, how many people have a tough cold to fight, the buying patterns of your clients customer base, and lots of other things.

No matter what time of year you experience a slowdown, it is a great opportunity for you for several reasons:

1) Your competitors think it is slow, too. They are probably settling down, changing their mindset, and working less. This means you need to stay in peak state and don't think like them. During these times, even though it might really be a slow season for you, a percentage of the lost business is a change in your mindset which leads you to work less. I'd estimate at least half of the lost sales is because the salesperson allowed the season to take them down from the peak state of winning new business. If half of lost sales are because of the salesperson, and half is from reduced client spending - there is a simple answer. Coming into your "slow season" you must keep your head right - and decide you will work even harder than all your lazy competitors. During a high season, everyone is out selling. During a slow season, you can gain a distinct competitive advantage.

2) When you are not managing the work you sold, you can sell more. Now that your competition is resting, you only lose half as much revenue as them because you are staying at the top of your game. Now is the time to strike for new clients. Sure, many may not buy right this minute, but you have a chance to steal them from other salespeople. So, since your business did slow down some, you have more time to sell. Now is the time to grind it out. Every hour you are not managing the work, you should be selling. If your management time dropped by 10 hours per week, you should block off 10 additional hours per week for prospecting and sales. Your wallet will thank you in the coming months.

And if you wonder why you are selling less - but it still seems like you are managing the projects for the same amount of hours each day, remember Moore's Law. "Work expands to fill the time it is allotted." Stay ahead of this by reducing your production time in accordance with your decrease in revenue. If a normal task takes X number of hours, make sure you don't start wasting time and taking longer to do the work. Your sales revenue and work load dropped - your productivity should not.

3) You have the chance to build great momentum and focus. By training yourself to push ahead when the market slows down, you are developing a habit of growth and focus. This can pay you back in much more success than ever. Don't allow yourself to lose the peak state during a slowdown. This is when you need it most! Whenever your competitors are contracting, you should be expanding to fill the void. Push harder, not less. Move forward with so much force that you reach a new level of production. Never reduce your ambitions because of the whims of the marketplace.

4) The amount that you sell less, should be the amount you work harder. If your sales drop by 30% - you should work 30% harder than usual. Most people do just the opposite. They say "Well, there isn't much I can do about this." That is the wrong way to think. That's why I said above that 50% of the lost sales are due to the salesperson. Instead, for every % that sales will drop, schedule that much more work into your days. If sales will drop 30% - schedule 30% more prospecting time. Work 30% longer each day. This might mean adding a couple of hours to your day. To me, it's worth it. The rewards are simply huge! So, if your workload drops by 30% and you spend that time selling PLUS you add 30% to your overall workday - you just increased your sales efforts by 60%. I know it is hard - but this is work. This approach will explode your revenue.

Go grab market share. Forget seasonal issues. Stay in peak state and push even harder. Develop the habit of pushing harder when things slow down.

Slow Competitors + Less time managing projects + Peak Selling Mindset + Increased work schedule = The Perfect Opportunity. You will never have a better time to grow your business than when people think things are slow. When economies contract - there is vast opportunity.

Just keep at it like it's summer. There are plenty of people still doing business.

Work HARDER.