Seasonality Is Not Just For Ice Cream Sellers

This week in England is the last of the traditional long summer holiday. Before the big back to school for the new academic year.

I saw a magazine show feature how the staycation trend has boomed lately. Jetting off to The Med now so passé.

Tourist pounds sterling flood into destinations grateful yet struggling to cope with bulging numbers.

One such tiny coastal village has an ice cream shop. We meet the beaming owner of the place in Croyde of Devon. He divulged that in the week of this August Bank Holiday, he takes eleven percent of his annual sales.

Wow.

One quid in nine for the entire year in just these seven days.

People queue for sometimes a hour from first thing to ten at night.

It reminded me that in b2b solution selling a perception can take hold that seasonality doesn’t apply.

Bid cycles are too long. Procurement is driven by need alone. We’re not selling ice cream.

Well, whilst in many cases this may have a ring of truth, recurring peaks and dips can occur.

The classic is with buying trends. Those keen to spend their allotted budget before the year end, for instance. Or that of their parent company, if they don’t co-terminate.

Most sales outfits are on to this. Yet I’ve often felt they miss a trick. First off, other seasonal triggers exist. Are they all being addressed? I know of a consultancy that successfully pitches year kick-off audits and refresh events. Grabbing spend before it runs dry.

In addition, seasonality may revolve around the use of particular product or service. Upon renewal or revamp opportunities for allied spend can emerge.

Then there’s the creation of particular packages aimed at a specific client side window. This could be FY tied, or for quiet times, such as New Year holidays and the like. Who can possibly resist your “yule log bundle”?!

Or there may exist a regular spike (or bump) for your client of which you’re unaware that you can supply for after (or ahead) of time. Ask and you might be surprised, after all how many businesses have perfectly sloped 45° upward demand (sales) graphs throughout the whole year?

Seasonality indeed may not give you a sales scoop. But then again, it could turn your funnel into an overflowing cone.