The sun’s shining brighter. The days are growing longer. And the temperature keeps rising.
Know what that spells, right? You guessed it:  S-U-M-M-E-R!
And if your small business is like most, summer spells: S-L-O-W-D-O-W-N.
Which totally makes sense… The kids are out of school, and the allure of warmer weather, beachside vacations, and the general promise of summer fun sends working fleeing their offices in droves.
All of which may prompt you to take your foot off the gas and coast a bit through the next fiscal quarter.

But before you hang out yer “Gone Fishin’” sign…

And beat feet to the nearest sandy beach, pause for uno momento and ask yourself this question… Could you be missing out on a golden opportunity?
Studies show many businesses reduce their marketing spend in the summer months (‘cause everybody’s assumed to be three banana daiquiris deep into a trashy novel at the poolside cabana).
By the same logic, however, it stands to reason you competitors are scaling back on their marketing efforts, too. Makes sense, right?
In the void left by your summer fun- imbibing competitors, you have an opening to jump to the front of the line and win some new business.
Toward that end, here are three strategies to help leverage the summer slowdown to your advantage…

Keep in With Touch Top Clients + Tasty Prospects

With more time on their hands, clients and prospects are apt to consider projects they’re usually too busy to handle with their normally overloaded schedules.
How do you take advantage?
Active communication!
A timely email or phone call from you is the fat foot in the door that could yield a handsome piece of new business.
Top tips on best methods and modes of keeping in touch:
So what’s the best way to keep in touch and keep the gateway to new business wide open? Well, you’ve got some options…
Send An Email
As I mentioned in my last post, all about email marketing, Autoresponders are a great way to drop clients and prospects alike into an active sales funnel. In fact, a summer slowdown-busting email sequence is great way to both keep in touch AND reel in some new business.
But short of Autoresponders, which requires more upfront time and effort, a simple reoccurring calendar reminder will suffice. Just a quick “note to self” reminder to stay connected to vital clients and promising prospects.
Quick Case Study – When the summer slowdown hits my business – and it ALWAYS does – I send batch emails to existing clients and circling prospects. Usually following up a few times over a four to six week period. The effort NEVER fails to yields new business.
Pick Up the Phone
These days, people seem allergic to the telephone. (“My God, are those HIVES!? Get that handset away from me!”) Maybe the immediacy or intrusive nature of telephonic communication intimates people? Who knows?
But whatever the root causes, the phone is, in fact your friend. Truth be told, even a brief telephone conversation often communicates FAR more than 100 back-and-forth emails (and eats up a lot less time – ugh just the thought of all that typing is giving ME hives!).
Plus, personality blasts through LOUD & CLEAR via the spoken word. Written communiques on the other hand? Not so much. And when it comes to marketing and sales, personality is an invaluable assets.
In short, pick the phone occasionally and makes some “sales calls.” Especially if your emails aren’t gaining any traction.
Also, keep in mind… with a bit more play in your respective schedules, you have more time to make calls, and clients and prospects have more time to take calls. It’s a win-win, right?
Quick Case Study – When a client fails to respond after a couple of emails (let’s say more than three), I always pick up the phone. And more often than not, I discover the client desperately needs my assistance. They’ve just been too swamped to craft a reply. Boom! More business in my back pocket, all thanks to a 5 minute phone call.
Arrange A Meetings
Many in industries far and wide consider face-to-face meetings a complete waste of time. From a marketing perspective, however, an in person powwow is powerful relationship building tool.
Moreover, “closing” a prospect while you’re sitting across a high-topped table, drinks in hand, is infinitely easier than on the phone or via email.
And the summer slowdown is the perfect time to setup a meet… Both you and your clients are more likely to have the time for some facetime.
Invite them to coffee, lunch, drinks, dinner or even to a casual outing. Because whether it’s a simple coffee date, or weekend barbeque with a cooler full of cold brews, person-to-person meetings can do wonders for your business development efforts.
Quick Case Study – A real estate agent friend of mine recently accompanied a long-time client to an annual real estate convention in Las Vegas. My friend hadn’t attended the event in several years, believing it was no longer relevant to his business. But to his client, it was an exciting new world, and my friend happily played tour guide. A week later, the client tapped my friend to represent him the purchase of an $8 million commercial property. The resulting commission was over $150,000. Not bad for a two day trip to Vegas!

Follow Up With Missing Clients and Lost Leads

Got some breaks in your schedule thanks to the summer slowdown? Use some of that extra time to review your client and prospecting lists…
-Were you consistently doing business with client that suddenly dropped off the map?
-Was a prospect seemingly hot to buy, only to go completely MIA?
Now’s the perfect time to send them an email, make a call, or even better arrange a meeting.
-With an existing client it can be as simple as: “Haven’t heard from you in a while, how’s business?”
-And with prospects, it can be something like: “Thought we were close to a deal, but haven’t heard from you… Let’s catch up!”
Again, with your slower summer schedule, you’ve got more time to follow up on loose ends. And those loose ends often have more time to reconnect with you.
Best of all, the simple act of following up on a few loose ends came result in lucrative new business.

Launch New Marketing Campaigns

Considering exploring email Autoresponders? How about launching a direct mail campaign? Perhaps dipping a toe into social media marketing? Or maybe finally overhauling your long out-of-date website?
Whatever the project, the summer slowdown is the often the BEST time to tackle it. Especially if it’s a “First Time” project. Given the unknown factor, first time projects generally take longer and require more patience.
And with (a) multitude of your competitors wastin’ away in Margaritaville, and (b) many of your clients and prospects with a bit more time on their hands, you campaigns are much more likely to gain traction.
What’s On Your Agenda This Summer?
Doesn’t just have to be marketing related. Of course I’d love to hear your plans in that regard. But interested in your trips, travel and general summer fun, too!
Swing by my Google+ page and gimme the lowdown…