Most companies wind down in the summer months because prospects are on vacation, employees take time off, kids are out of school, etc. But 
is that really the best strategy?
The physics concept of “a body in motion stays in motion” comes to mind when I think of taking time off from my sales and marketing efforts. I once read that it takes twice the effort to get something moving than it does to keep it moving — and this also applies to business.
So instead of slacking off on your outreach because you think nobody’s in the office or will pay attention to you, think again. Here are 3 reasons why not letting off the gas in your marketing efforts will pay off big time – now and in the future.
1.) Not everyone is on vacation or closed during the summer months.
Typically, it’s been the norm for things to slow down or even shut down during July/August. But let’s get real, times have changed and this just isn’t the case anymore. My favorite grocery store, Publix, used to close on Sunday’s. But that tradition stopped several years ago. Business goes on even if the office is closed or people are on vacation. Nowadays, even if a business closes, chances are not everyone is “out of the office or totally unplugged,” especially those high level decision-makers you are trying to connect with. It’s not easy to unplug these days, especially for the type of people who are leaders in the industry, the movers and shakers, aka the decision-makers. As much as we’d all probably like to leave the office and forget about the job, it’s difficult when smartphones and internet access is virtually everywhere, making it easy to quickly get and send emails or listen to voicemails. This is why it’s important to continue your outreach or even ramp it up. If you are promoting your business to a potential prospect, what better time for them to see your email or listen to your voicemail then while laying on a beach somewhere in a calm and relaxed mood. Perhaps they are looking for solutions during the downtime when they finally have time to think about things besides putting out fires back at the office.
2.) Now is the time to jump ahead of your competition.
While most companies slack off during the summer months because they mistakenly think “everyone’s gone,” you can grab your prospects’ attention more easily. While the “other guy” (i.e. your competitor) is kicking back and not doing any marketing or sales outreach, now is the time to set yourself apart and pull ahead of the pack. There is a lot of competition for the attention of decision-makers these days, so don’t just assume that during the summer they aren’t looking for solutions and products to meet their needs. If your solution pops up in their inbox and nothing from your competitors does, who do you think they will call? Keeping the attention on your offering is what drives business, so taking “time off” isn’t going to benefit you and may actually even put you a few steps behind. Sometimes people are ready to buy when you least expect it, so keeping your company’s offering in the forefront is key. Be front-and-center engaging your prospects when they are ready to buy. So, use the summer months to jump ahead of your competition and leave them in the dust!
3.) Continue the momentum gained over the previous months or add new prospects and start building familiarity.
It’s so important to build familiarity. Did you know that it can take up to 20 touches before a prospect will even consider engaging with you? I know that seems high, but a lot goes into marketing and branding these days! It’s not just a few strategically placed ads or sending out a few emails, nowadays you need to do more. You can and should use all forms of outreach to make your touch. Use the slow summer months to post more on social media and business insights; have your sales reps make a call – leave a voicemail; send an email with some pertinent information related to your prospect’s interests; or even comment on an article that you know your prospects read. You just never know when that 20th touch will happen and the eyes of the prospect will notice you. It could even happen in July or August.
Use what has been traditionally considered slow summer months to your advantage to capture the attention of prospects. Jump ahead of the “other guys that are taking the summer off from marketing activities”, or just continue to build the momentum and not let off the gas.
The wheels of business don’t stop turning and neither should your prospecting efforts.
And, if you are marketing to Corporate Training and HR, here is your BIG TIP…
Remember this: Your prospecting database is the fuel that drives sales. If you’re not using premium fuel (aka a database of confirmed decision-makers in your target market) it will slow down your sales engine or could even stop it. If you market and sell to Corporate Training/HR and need higher quality fuel or just more fuel to power your sales engine, Mentor Tech Group has what you need.
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Mentor Tech Group’s database contains top quality information for more than 40,000 decision-maker contacts in Corporate Training, e-Learning, and HR. If you have never used Mentor Tech Group’s market intelligence data, you will be amazed at the accuracy of our database and the quality of our service. We guarantee it.
See what our clients are saying. Then, to learn more, please contact the MTG Team at (651) 457-8600, Ext 1. You’ll be glad you did!
We are here to serve you… Celebrating 20 years in business 1999 – 2019!
MTG Sales Team at Transperfect event – ATD 2019
