Surface Ripples

We're now back from summer holidays, the children should have gone back to school (or be getting ready to start back at university), so where does that leave you?

September is a critical month for businesses. We're all gearing up for the pre-christmas push after a long summer of school holidays and absent colleagues. "Budget period" will soon be upon us (if it isn't already), so this is when you need to knuckle down to set things up for the next year.

So what do you need to do?

First: go over the current year's plan. What did you (and/or your team) want to achieve by the end of this year and how far along are you? What still needs to be done (as you've only got three months left to do it)?

Second: get back in touch with your internal and external network and/or customers. What have they seen/done/experienced over the summer? How can you support them? What might you need to put in place? Have events over the summer affected other people's ability to deliver to you?

Third: make your plan - week by week and month by month. Remember that, from mid-December, people will be off on Christmas holidays until mid-January, so time is short. By putting together a plan, you give yourself focus and direction for the rest of the year and the start of the next. So often, next year's sales are set up in these final few months of the year!

Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy

posted by William Martin @ 16:34