Momentum Monday: Worried About Your Business Taking a Holiday Too? 9 Ways to Keep the Momentum Going Over the Holiday Season

‘Tis the season for retail business and if you are lucky enough to sell that must-have top pick of the year for under the tree, then ‘tis the season for you! For everyone else, chances are business slows down over the holidays.

Let’s face it – decision-makers pack up and go on vacation, budgets get put on hold until the New Year, and the office focus turns to festive decorations, Christmas parties and holiday hub-bub.

It’s definitely time to take that much-needed break and recharge, but before you close up shop for the season, consider how you will keep the momentum going over the holiday season so you are not starting from square one in the New Year.

9 Ways to Keep the Momentum Going Over the Holiday Season

#1: Festive Outreach – Share the spirit of the holidays with a handwritten holiday cards or even better, hand deliver a holiday basket to your top clients.

#2: Final Follow-up – Take 15 minutes every day to connect with the people on your hot prospect list. Send them a thoughtful note or give them a call to wish them happy holidays. The purpose is to get on their radar and schedule a follow-up for the New Year.

#3: Schedule Coffee Dates – You know all that in-person networking you put off when you were overloaded and overwhelmed? It’s time to catch-up with old contacts over a spiced something latte. It’s amazing what comes out of simple conversations. Chances are you will leave the festive face-to-face with a new idea or lead to follow-up on.

#4: Plan your New Year Launch – Don’t wait until January 1st to start planning your 2011 launch. Get it ready now so you’ll be ahead of the game while everyone else is getting over their holiday hangovers before planning their launches.

#5: Clear Out Inventory – Out with the old before in with the New Year. Get rid of your old and outdated inventory for a massive discount so you can start 2011 off with a clean slate.

#6: Holiday Sale – Just because you don’t sell holiday-related products doesn’t mean you can’t hold a holiday sale. Boost your end of year sales numbers by offering special bundled packages or discounts for prepurchasing.

#7: Start Seeding your Marketing – Don’t wait until you NEED the sales to start marketing. Even if you are in prelaunch, you should be seeding your marketing by dropping hints to your newsletter database or letting your best customers know what’s coming in the New Year.

#8: Survey your Customers – When in doubt, ask your customers! Send out a survey to find out exactly what they want in 2011 and start planning on how you can deliver it.

#9: Map it, Plan it and Schedule it – Don’t get caught with nothing but good intentions for ideas that need weeks or months of lead time to implement. Map out your marketing, plan each step sequentially and schedule in the deadlines and milestones.