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All of us look ahead to taking a dip within the pool throughout the summer season when the solar is shining, however the inevitable dip in gross sales from June to August can depart enterprise house owners in a bind.
In response to one 2023 research, two-thirds of B2B companies expertise a gross sales stoop over the summer season, and of the companies affected, almost 75% reported a drop in gross sales of 20% or extra. Additionally, one in 5 claimed dips of 40% or extra.
If you’re in one of many industries that anticipate a summer season gross sales stoop, there are methods to confront it head-on and stroll out of August victorious. These three techniques have been examined by my workforce through the years and have resulted in us reaching $100 million in annual income.
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1. Mail postcards each week; they obtain 600% extra income per lead
I’ve constructed my enterprise on the pure indisputable fact that unsolicited mail advertising works. Postcards might not appear as attractive as a flashy social media advert, however they depart an enduring impression nonetheless. People can maintain a tangible card of their palms and reserve it for a wet day. Analysis exhibits unsolicited mail has a mean engagement charge of 95% and is interacted with a minimum of 4 instances at dwelling.
However the efficacy of postcards actually isn’t any shock resulting from rising digital fatigue. One research that surveyed 10,250 shoppers discovered that 49% mentioned they spend an excessive amount of time on-line and wish to cut back that point.
The very nature of unsolicited mail forces a person to cease and take time to learn the commercial. This provides you a much bigger alternative to hook your prospect and shut a sale. Enterprise house owners even have much more focusing on choices with unsolicited mail than digital commercials, so the marketing campaign will probably be more practical and ship higher outcomes.
Sixty-five p.c of households with incomes of $100,000 or extra made a purchase order previously 30 days due to unsolicited mail promoting, analysis exhibits. So not solely do prospects pay extra consideration to mailers, however in addition they usually tend to buy a services or products from you because of this.
My firm mails 232,000 postcards every week completely selling our personal services like clockwork. Final 12 months, we analyzed 114,373 leads that transformed to gross sales in 2023 and located that we obtain 600% extra income per lead from postcards than digital advertisements. Particularly, $229.41 in income for each postcard lead versus $37.09 in income per lead from pay-per-click. You could obtain extra leads from different advertising channels, however they will not be as top quality as those you get from mailers.
2. Enhance your advertising funds within the 4-6 weeks main as much as summer season to have extra leads within the pipeline
My best advertising precept is to market like loopy — market greater than you suppose is sane. The explanation for it’s because the quantity of effort you set into your advertising will decide your outcomes. The extra you make investments into your promoting, the extra income you will generate.
So proper earlier than summer season begins, about 4-6 weeks earlier than, enhance your advertising funds to extend leads. Whether or not meaning you mail 1000’s of extra postcards, create extra video commercials for Instagram or YouTube, or rent one other gross sales skilled to do outbound cellphone calls, textual content messages and follow-ups, simply give it 1,000%. We rent 5 highschool college students on summer season break to assist make extra cellphone calls to previous prospects and prospects each summer season.
Even when you do not have the extra cash to do that, provide you with low-cost or no-cost methods to succeed in out to prospects extra and unfold consciousness of your model. This could possibly be public relations, extra posts on social media, electronic mail blasts or larger cellphone name quotas for gross sales reps if enterprise is slower they usually have extra free time.
By the point summer season is in full swing, it is best to have a great deal of results in pursue and much more gross sales to shut. This can get you thru the lull till October comes together with the conventional circulation of purchases.
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3. Re-ignite previous prospects and outdated leads with new presents and retargeting
Acquiring new results in get you thru the summer season stoop is necessary, however remember about different alternatives to extend income, like bringing again prospects for a second buy and revisiting outdated leads that by no means bought from you.
For the contacts who’ve been sitting in your CRM for years and have nonetheless by no means purchased a service or product, create a listing and ship them a particular provide within the mail to encourage a response. These mailings could be automated by way of a unsolicited mail API connection. Whether or not you utilize SalesForce, Zoho or different CRM platform, an API connection that automates these mailings will prevent money and time.
Do not assume these outdated contacts are a waste of sources. I’ve had prospects in my database that did not reply to our postcards and emails for years after which they lastly made the choice to succeed in out and begin advertising providers with us. I am glad we by no means gave up!
For the purchasers who have not purchased something shortly, section them into separate lists, equivalent to: have not purchased in a single month, six months or a 12 months. Then, add them to particular electronic mail funnels and mail them postcards with an unique low cost code solely out there to present prospects. If you’re an ecommerce enterprise, do one other advertising marketing campaign that targets individuals who deserted their on-line purchasing carts. A QR code on the mailer will make it simple for them to hop again into your web site and full the acquisition.
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Moreover implementing all of those techniques, you can too use the additional time throughout the summer season slowdown to plan out the advertising for the remainder of the 12 months. The final quarter, very similar to a soccer recreation, is all the time probably the most intense, so make investments some consideration on the best way to finish the 12 months sturdy. With all that additional money coming in, chances are you’ll simply find yourself rewarding your self with a margarita poolside.
