Leverage Friday afternoons for phone calls to people you haven’t been able to connect with or with prospects who are tied tightly to a competitor.

It happens every summer. The number of sales appointments that get cancelled goes up and the number of excuses people make goes up. The result? A sales slump.

Summer is not the time to make excuses about things not happening. I like to view it as the time to make things happen, because other salespeople are willing to accept excuses as to why something is not happening.

To avoid the summer slump, here are a few quick things you can be doing:

• Overschedule yourself with the assumption there will be a few appointments that do get cancelled due to vacations, etc.
• Confirm every appointment several days in advance, but when you confirm, do so by sharing additional insights you’ll be bringing.  By posing an additional question, sharing an insight, etc., when you confirm, you’re increasing the importance of the meeting.
• Leverage Friday afternoons for phone calls to people you haven’t been able to connect with or with prospects who are tied tightly to a competitor. Friday afternoons in the summer are when most people start kicking back and relaxing, and as a result, it’s one of the easiest ways to stand out.  Your call on a Friday afternoon demonstrates your commitment to service and hustle.
• Use holiday weeks to your advantage not only for phone calls, but also for appointments. It’s not unusual for a holiday week to throw traditional work schedules out the window. A person who normally might not make time for you could be available for an on-line demo or in-person visit during a holiday week.
• When making appointments, don’t steer away from asking about a holiday week or Friday afternoon, even if you know they might not be available. Just asking for a time to meet during those periods will be seen by the prospect as your willingness to hustle to make things happen.

A summer slump is an attitude. And if you don’t accept the attitude, you’ll find yourself taking the traditional summer sales slump and turning it into a summer sales boom.

Get Mark Hunters Book, “High Profit Prospecting” to avoid the Summer Slump!