The Slow Season Double Down
It’s summer or Christmas and your business has slowed down. Many businesses slow down, it’s hard to get a hold of leads or your clients, so what do you do now? Here are a few ideas to grow your business during the slow season.
Take a Break
Let’s start off by completely contradicting the title of this blog post. Take a break, go on vacation. This is the best time to relax and spend some time with your family. Get away from work and do the things that re-energize and excite you. Whether that is laying on a beach or going on a 4-day hike.
Automate
I have gotten to know a local Financial Advisor over the past few years and he gave me great advice during the summer. In August, his business completely shuts down. Clients, fellow advisors, lenders…everyone is on vacation. What he does is automate his business. He is miles ahead of other advisors and can scale his business faster because of all of the hard work he puts in during his slow season.
Whether it is onboarding new clients, following up throughout the year or many other areas of his business, he has taken the time to automate the monotonous tasks. Where can you automate your business?
Goal Set
This is one of my favourite things to do. Read our blog on the ‘Think Week‘ I do a few times a year. Your slow season should be a time that you step back and set goals for the coming year or quarter. If you already have goals in place, this is the season to make sure you are on track. Tracking your goals is just as important as setting them.
See our Goal Tracking worksheet to help you not only set goals but track them.
Personal Development
If you have been in business for a while you will know when your slow season is. This is a great time to invest in yourself through personal development courses; whether that is online or through a program or conference. There are plenty of personal development conferences that go on around the world, whether they are for your growth or a conference that helps you grow within your industry.
If you are interested in a conference, choose one in a location you would love to visit and bring your family. Three days at the conference and with a week’s vacation with your family.
Grow Your Network
Reach out to people you really want to connect with and strengthen relationships with those you want to know better. For new connections, swing for the fences. Look for the top dogs in your industry or those you would like to connect with. Try and book it about a month out and fill out a day or two of just connecting with people.
If you plan a day with 3-4 coffee meetings, make sure you choose decaf for at least 2 of them or you will be visibly shaking by the end of it. I have learned this from experience.
Learn New Technologies
Technology moves so fast, researching and implementing new software could save you countless hours for the coming season. Networking and joining groups within your industry will help you identify new technology faster than you researching everything by yourself.
Focus On Other Products & Services
If you are in retail, gift cards will sell better at Christmas than most times of the year. Is there a new service or product you could create in your slow season that would be an ideal time for your clients to use it?
Conclusion
Do not feel guilty taking time off in your slow season, but if you are inclined to work or would like to use the time to grow your business, the above list will help immensely. Is it time to bring someone in to help automate or hand off tasks? Check out our services to see where we can come in to help you grow your business.
Is there anything else that you have done during your slow season? We would love to hear your comments below.
Derek Burbidge, Manager of Sales & Marketing
VEA Pros