The Holidays Are Here…Should I Continue Prospecting?

Every year during the 4th quarter, I am hit with the question by sales teams and clients that outsource their prospecting to us: “should we continue to prospect as we approach the holiday season?” Their perception is to shut down all sales activity as the holidays approach because they believe that no one will be in the office doing business and everyone is busy preparing for Thanksgiving and doing their holiday shopping so what is the point of prospecting? My answer each year is "yes, you should absolutely continue your prospecting efforts as we approach the holiday season" and here are a few reasons why:

• Business is conducted all year round. There will always be an excuse to not prospect. There are holidays all throughout the year and the summertime is another popular time of the year that people like to take off as well. However, there will never be a time when everyone is out of the office at the same time. All business does not shut down because of the holidays. Of course, you want to plan your prospecting time around an actual holiday. I don’t suggest calling anyone on Thanksgiving or Christmas day, but the weeks leading up to the holiday and the remaining days after the holiday has passed certainly can lead to opportunities.
• As we approach the end of the year, especially during the holiday season, things start to slow down with many businesses. Therefore, a lot of hard to reach contacts that have typically been out of the office traveling throughout the year tend to be in the office during this period.
• In this day and time, we are armed with technology. Therefore, many prospects can start planning for the new year as well as the current one that we are in. Your goal should be to connect with your prospect during the current year. However, those that are not able to connect with you as we close out the year, certainly can plan for January which will put you ahead of the game at the start of the new year.
• Many businesses, including your competitors, put the brakes on prospecting during this time of year which will open more doors of opportunity for you.

Thinking differently than the masses during this time of the year will certainly benefit you and help you finish off your year on a good note and will provide you an excellent head start for 2018. So, pick up that phone, send that email, attend that networking function and holiday party, don’t slow your prospecting down due to the holidays and the close of the year. Continue your momentum and you will continue to find sales opportunities.

Leslie Wells, the owner of L. Wells & Associates, Inc. is passionate about entrepreneurship. Her motto is "nothing happens until a sale takes place." To learn more her engaging sales training tips and upcoming webinars, visit www.lwellsassociates.com.