Strategies for Products Sold Seasonally

Strategies for Products Sold SeasonallyStrategies for Products Sold SeasonallyIn late autumn, mall shops start hiring extra ausverkaufpeople for the holiday season. They need extra bodies because, during the holiday rush, retail salespeople sell far more than usual. But retail isnt the only industry with a seasonal aspect in fact, most products go through feast and famine cycles. For example, car sales go up in August, when the new models arrive. And most B2B salespeople find that their slowest month is December when decision makers go on vacation. Accountants are swamped with customers in March and early April as they prepare tax returns. Once youve been selling a given product for a while, youll usually get a feel for its busiest times of the year. That means you can take advantage of those times and often more than make up for the leaner periods when its just harder to sell no matter how good you are. Push Hard During the Busy Season The most important thing to remember is th at to maximize your results, you need to push hard during the busy season. Its natural to feel the impulse to neglect cold calling when you have customers lining up to buy from you, but if you give in to this impulse, youll find yourself with an empty pipeline at the end of the season and will have to scramble to get your sales rolling again. While youll probably be very busy during these peak periods, set aside at least a half-hour per day to contact new prospects, be it via phone, email or other channels. During those times when sales are pouring in, your goals should go up accordingly. Dont wait for your sales manager to set up new goals for you plektrum new goals of your own that are in line with your increased customer base. The best way to know how much your goals should be is to check your records from the last busy season and see how you did back then. Your goal for the new busy season should be somewhat higher than your goal from the last season, but not so high that its a lmost impossible to reach. Ideally, your elevated goal during these times reminds you to keep pushing instead of relaxing and enjoying the windfall sales. Set Aside Money for the Slow Season At the end of the busy times, youll no doubt have a bloated commission check burning a hole in your pocket. Enjoy yourself by all means, but set aside at least part of the extra money into a famine fund. Then when you hit the slow season, you wont have to fret about your inevitably smaller commissions. This is even more important when your slow season coincides with extra personal expenses. For example, the B2B slowdown around the end of the year often makes for a leaner holiday season for salespeople if they dont have a little extra tucked away in advance. Plan for the Busy Season in Advance Sales managers and small business owners should start planning for busy periods well in advance. For business owners, that may mean hiring more sales reps on a temporary basis. If you decide to do s o, be aya to bring them in at least a few weeks ahead of the busy period so that they have enough time to become familiar with your products and selling style before theyre swamped. Sales managers may need to work with salespeople to schedule vacations so that the maximum number of salespeople are on the job when things get busy. Managers may also want to work together with sales managers from other teams to be sure that enough salespeople are available when theyre needed most.

Management Horror Stories and Spooky Leadership

Management Horror Stories and Spooky LeadershipManagement Horror Stories and Spooky LeadershipManagement Horror Stories and Spooky Leadership ConlanAs the wind rattles branches on the window and wolves howl in the darkness outside, its time to scare yourself with management horror stories.These tales of ill-advisedleadership and management mishaps will chill your blood and remind you that even the best of intentions can backfire on managers. We offer some leadership tips as well, so you can avoid these terrifying fates.The Chillingly Misguided CEOBusiness consultant Don Maruska of Morro Bay, California, worked with a company that had low employee engagement scores, and the CEO decided to do something about them. He arranged sessions with the employees in which he explained why the business was great and how employees had many opportunities to be parte of its success.While he thought he did a wonderful job, he heard reports back that many employees felt even less engaged, Maruska say s.Leadership Tip This misguided leader knew something had to change, but had no idea how to approach it. He would have been more successful if he had asked employees about their hopes for the business and ideas for how to get obstacles out of the way, Maruska says.Engagement comes from self-motivation, not by promoting the company. After all, your employees already believe in the company thats why they work thereBeware of how You Trick or Treat PeopleMichael DeVine, chief strategy officer and senior consultant at JSAAdvising in thePlano, Texas, office, was brought into a hospital system to do leadership development and determine the reasons for poor employee morale and performance.As part of the initial assessment, he and his team met with the chief nursing officer of the hospital and presented feedback from the staff indicating the womens services unit was understaffed and poorly managed.She replied, You mean that unit where they get to play with babies all day? and laughed, DeVin e says.Leadership Tip The CNOs response showed she did not value the unit at all, DeVine says. It clearly exposed the systemic reasons for why their unit had the highest employee turnover and the fruchtwein reports of safety violations due to poor staffing, he says.Understand the work employees do, take it seriously and respect their efforts to do it right.The Case of the Missing LeaderNick Brattoli, lead consultant at Byrdttoli Enterprise Consulting in Birmingham, Alabama, says he knew of a boss who was a nice guy, but a bad leader. He would present a problem, listen to all of the suggested solutions and decide that having all employees work 100 hours a week, including himself, was the correct answer to everything, he says.The boss also jumped in where he wasnt needed and often wasnt skilled, preventing him from effectively doing his job of leading the team.Leadership Tip Misguided leadership such as this often results in employee frustration. Overworking employees with no overtime while not listening to suggestions or providing training made working there difficult, Brattoli says.He could have been much more effective by trusting the people in the weeds doing the actual work, he says. And remember that overworked employees (and managers) can only survive for so long. The last thing you want is a mass workforce exodus.A Terrifying Lack of Follow-ThroughLaura MacLeod of New York City-based From The Inside Out Project says she worked with a director in a hospitality position. The director was well dressed and articulate, but had no knowledge or expertise in the industry. Problems of all sizes overtime pay, contract violations, no martini glasses, wrong prices in the computer were brushed aside with a smile and Ill see what I can do without any follow-up, MacLeod says.Leadership Tip Management mishaps happen when people make promises they dont keep. Its obviously important to look the part as a manager, MacLeod says. But you need to back it up or no one will t rust or respect you.

Dont Let a Subway Ride Derail Your Job Search

Dont Let a Subway Ride Derail Your Job SearchDont Let a Subway Ride Derail Your Job SearchJust because Wi-Fi is available, doesnt mean you should be.As reported by TechCrunch, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has switched on wireless connectivity in 30 underground subway stations around Manhattan. Whats more, over the next two years, cell phone service and free Wi-Fi will continue to expand to all of the MTAs 277 subway stations.For many New Yorkers, this is great news. Professionals can be more productive during their commute, which may translate to shorter work hours in the office, or at home during family time. Job seekers can also reap the benefits of having phone and www access while in transit by taking advantage of the uninterrupted search time for job sourcing, networking and applying.However, just because Wi-Fi is available, doesnt mean you should be. Typically, the best policy is to never speak to a recruiter or participate in an interview while commuting.Bet ween interrupted service, booming MTA announcements, and crowds of strangers filing in and out at various stations, theres no way to guarantee a professional and confidential conversation. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Dont let a subway ride derail a potentially valuable connection. Before you accept a call in transit, ask yourself the following questions.Can you control the environment?Dont answer the call if your current location is noisy or your cell service is spotty. Instead, let the call go to voicemail, and call the person back as soon as you can find a quiet spot where your call wont be interrupted. Its important to return the call within the same business day, even if its after normal business hours. Theres nothing wrong with leaving a message to say youre sorry that you missed the call and would like to speak the following day.Are you prepared to answer the callers questions?Sometimes a recruiter will reach out immediately after you submit a n application before youve had time to prepare for the phone screen. If thats the case, use the rest of your transit time to review the job description and your application. Have copies of these materials handy when you return the call so you can tailor your responses to reflect your qualifications for the role.Will your conversation be confidential?If you answer your phone in a quiet subway car, then assume your conversation will be overheard by others. While you may not recognize anyone in the car, that doesnt mean your conversation is safe. Theres no way of knowing who is in that car, or who they might know. This is especially important if youre currently employed and exploring other opportunities. The last thing you want to do is get caught talking to a recruiter with a colleague standing in the same subway car.Whether youre underground in the subway, watching your kids at the playground, or ordering coffee in a crowded cafe, pause before fielding a phone call from an unknown ca ller. If you cant guarantee a professional and confidential conversation in a controlled environment, then youre better off returning the phone call later that day when you can.