For some B2B sellers and marketers, the summer slump is just a myth. But no matter what the season, all of us experience a slowdown every now and again. Here are some smart tips we've come across on the subject of beating a sales or marketing slowdown (summertime or otherwise) in the B2B space.
“Companies [can] try a variety of creative programs to try to light a fire and get things moving. ON24 uses a three-month contest called the VAULT. Every time reps sell a deal of a certain size, or the Lead Gen team sets a meeting within a target account, they earn a code for the VAULT. At the end of August, four codes will open a vault and earn an incredible prize: Rolex, Macbook with iPod, big screen with surround sound, etc.” Read more here.
“Give your salespeople spontaneous days off when they've earned them. Even if you do this only on very rare occasions, it's a gesture that packs a big wallop. If your team is really being productive let them know it. Unexpected 4 day weekends can pay huge dividends.”
“There’s actually a lot that can be accomplished during slow periods, especially when it comes to your content marketing strategy … Connect with some rockstars … if there’s someone in a related industry who’s rocking their content marketing -- maybe they have a great newsletter, maybe they have great videos or podcasts -- this is a great time to touch base with them and say, ‘Hey, would you mind spending 30 minutes on the phone? I would love to get your ideas and see if I can benefit from your wisdom.’ I find most people are very, very open to things like that.”
“Summer usually slow? Prospect twice as much late spring. Winter slow? Prospect three times as much as usual in late Fall. It might take two or three times as much, during a slow season, to reach the same amount of prospects but by preparing in advance you can still set appointments and close business.” Read more at here.
“Use summer to work with beta testers – take this off time to dig deeper to find out what your customers want in your product.” Read more here.
Do you have a slow season? How do you avoid the slump? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
