It’s the Summer Selling Season…
… where you hear from your prospects “Let’s get together after Labor Day”.
Growing Your Revenue - Sales never stops and the sooner you or your people realize that, the better.
So how do you continue your sales over the summer? You don’t stop.
The funny part is that your competition is probably slowing down, which makes it the perfect time to get in front of the prospect.
But not if you slow down too.
And by the way, your competition probably just left a voicemail to your prospect about the new price increases, no doubt relieved the decision maker did not pick up his call.
Successful business owners are always selling.
If you don’t like the word “sales”, then call it networking; it sounds so much more sophisticated, doesn’t it?
Speaking of networking, you should tie yourself into one.
TEAM, BNI and active Chambers of Commerce are good networking organizations, not to mention specific trade groups like the DMA and the CTA (distribution and trucking).
The key word is active. Many chambers are just there for show and don’t have the activity a good chamber should have.
Put in the time!
if they have monthly meetings, then be at every meeting.
If they have weekly meetings, then be at every meeting.
People do business with people they know, like and trust; if you are on again, off again in the organization, that trust does not get built up.
It’s like dating; how successful would your dating life be if you went on two dates and then went dark for two months, and then showed up again expecting a hug?
The same goes for prospecting, by the way.
The Economy
The biggest companies have some of the best data for how the economy is doing.
ADP has an excellent grasp of job activity, as they should.
While ADP has overall job growth at a positive 247,000 for April…
Job growth for small business (less than 49 employees) is down 120,000 for the same month. Yeesh.
It was up 96,000 the month before.
The big banks know when credit is getting stronger or softening.
This week, JP Morgan Chase stated that consumer credit in their portfolio continues to stay strong.
This is because customers have not yet drained cash balances that grew fatter during the pandemic.
The key word is cash. If it’s crypto, well – never mind.
Their CEO stated that while the economic forecast has worsened, they are not expecting to add significantly to their loan loss reserves.
That’s bank speak for “We expect everyone to keep paying on time.”
It’s not what I expected, but I’ll take any piece of good news at this point.
Speaking of cash balances, your cash is loosing value at an annual rate of 8.3%. However…
Kiplinger’s says:
Expect inflation to be down to 6.3% by year end – Good news!
GDP – Gross Domestic Product - to be 2.4% in 2022, down from 5.7% in 2021. At least it is positive.
They do NOT expect a recession, by the way. That’s a tough sell, but I’ll take it.
Interest rates for the 10 year note will ease by year end. Also good news!
Unemployment will be at 3.4%. Getting good help will still be tough. Getting bad help will also be tough.
Who knew the fight for 15 was to keep wages down to $15/hour? $18/hour for a busboy??!!
The “R” word: folks, there are WAY too many variables to make an accurate call. It’s really a best guess and the major players are saying “no” to a recession. Here are the unknowns: China, Russia, Ukraine, wheat (see Russia and Ukraine), steel (see Russia and Ukraine), Covid (see China) and politics (see Everyone).
Who was Ray Scott?
He was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1933 and passed away earlier this month.
In 1967 he was in his Ramada Inn room in Jackson, Mississippi, selling insurance and wondering that if people would flock to basketball games and golf, why wouldn’t they watch a bass fishing contest?
He was obsessed with bass fishing and wanted to turn that passion into money.
A born salesman, in the early 1950’s he started selling funeral insurance, collecting money in 20-cent-per-week installments. How do you start that conversation??!!
After serving in Korea, he graduated from Auburn University and joined Mutual of New York insurance.
Shortly after his Ramada Inn epiphany, he put together the All-American Bass Tournament, attracting 106 contenders who paid $100 each to compete for $5000 in prizes and a trip to Acapulco.
It did not make money, but it was a start and he formed the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, or BASS.
At BASS, he appealed to the solitary fisherman with a membership and a sew-on patch to prove it. Membership peaked at 650,000 in the 1990s.
The moral of the story? As a business owner, you should be doing something you want to do and are good at. Ray Scott loved bass fishing and he was good at it. He was also good at sales. You put those three together and it’s a heck of a combination. Make it so.
This just in: Father’s Day is Sunday, June 19. Yes, it’s 3 weeks away, but it’s summer, you probably won’t read this on Memorial Day and whatever you order online will probably show “Not in Stock” in an email you get on the 17th. Just sayin’.
