Tis the Season…to Have Your Best Sales Month Yet

The holidays have once again arrived. It’s time for parties, lots of yummy food, family get togethers, holiday shopping, and lots of days off of work. That is because, except for retail, nobody does business during the holidays. Well, at least that’s what I’ve heard most of my professional sales life.

Early in my career as a salesperson, I bought into that lie. Every January I’d be broke and starting from zero with no prospects in sight. And every January, panic would kick into high gear. I don’t like anxiety, and I especially don’t like panic.

Then one November, while I was selling real estate about 18 years ago, due to the fantastic advice of my friend Danny Korzeniewski, I learned that this line I had been fed for years was just a big load of garbage. I discovered that in Brooklyn, NY you can make just as much money on the commission of a rental apartment as you can on the commission from the sale of a house in many other parts of the country.

When I identified incoming college students and temporary professors as a great November/December client, I saw my income go up year after year during those months. Many of my fellow real estate sales friends were either at home, attending endless holiday parties, or out on the street telling everyone that nobody purchases or rents real estate during the holidays. Meanwhile, there were a few of us in the office that were working our butts off throughout the entire holiday season. Kudos to Danny, Julie, and Vanessa! Year after year, while the 10 to 13 other agents in our office were broke by New Years eve, those of us working through the holiday season thrived in the New Year!

There are always people looking to purchase your products and services, whether it’s in the sweltering heat of summer or in the cold, dark winter. And guess what? If you don’t follow the leader who tells you there is no business to be had during the holiday seasons, you could potentially have your best months of the year.

My friend Craig sells telephone and internet service door to door. Nine months a year Craig makes 100 drop in calls per week. That means he knocks on a door, introduces himself, gets a business card, shares what he does, and then goes on to the next door. During the month of July and the holiday months, Craig increases his activity to knock on 150 doors per week. July, November, and December are always Craig’s best months of the year. Want to know why? Because his competitors are all at home, in the office, or just completely checked out during those months. All because some fool they met along the way in life convinced them that nobody does business during those months. Craig is very thankful for that fool!

I am encouraging you (maybe even begging you), for the rest of November and all of December, to increase your activity by at least 10% more than what you usually do. You will go into January with business in the pipeline, unlike many of your competitors. When your competitors take off, increase activity.

Try out my motto for the holidays: When they take time off, your sales take off!