Good morning!
Like the training programs that I create, I frequently create these tips and my Tuesday morning blogs from the standpoint of, “What would I do?” In other words, if I were in your shoes as either a salesperson or selling owner, what would I be doing to grow my sales? This is one of those tips…
Over the years I’ve heard myself proclaim print sales to be not so much seasonal but rather, cyclical. That is, we go from dead quiet to picking up to crazy busy to slowing down and then finally back to dead quiet again. That seems to be the cycle. However, increasingly, I’ve heard myself coach my clients about the seasonality of print sales. For example…
I was working with a large-format franchise owner recently and we got talking about the need for the retail market around Christmas time. They have holiday sales and, in many cases, clearance sales afterward. That’s a great opportunity for signage. That conversation reminded me that health and fitness-related industries see a sharp increase in enrollment just after the holidays due primarily to, well, overindulgence. This became a second opportunity for my franchise friend.
As I got thinking about it, I came up with another half-dozen seasonal sales opportunities to bring to this gentleman’s attention: automobile dealers, schools, churches, etc. For each, if it were me, I would create a campaign. That is, why not print up a flyer with some prices and productize your offerings? This would make for an easy sales call: “Did you get my flyer? Can we talk about any of the ideas I offered up to help you increase your sales?”
In the end, I think I will have to change my wording: Print sales is both seasonal and cyclical. By putting together short-term, finite selling campaigns as well as ongoing sales activity, you’d better believe your sales volume will grow.
