The seasonal concept is one that many IT consultants fail to consider when making business plans.  It is often easy to relate the seasonal concept to product sales, but services are often not considered part of the seasonal cycle. 

Make sure you are aware of how the seasonal concept affects your selling trends.Here are some considerations you need to be aware of.

  • The general rule regarding the seasonal concept is don’t expect anyone to make a major buying decision for a small business IT project in the late summer or during the holidays, unless it’s an emergency of course.
  • As a general rule, and in the US especially, don’t expect any major decisions to be made from early July, around the 4th, until Labor Day in early September.
  • If you have a stack of hot leads and prospects and proposals that you’ve cranked out, you should be following up very heavily in April, May and June.  The seasonal concept dictates that when July 1st rolls around, it’s going to be a pretty quiet time for those next eight weeks or so.
  • For the ten to fourteen weeks in the fall season, early September until mid to late November, you should hit the pavement hard.  Follow up on all the leads you have, get out on as many sales calls as possible, generate as many proposals as possible, and try to get commitments for the big projects.
  • Once November 15th to 25th rolls around, unless it’s an emergency or a really hot issue, it’s tough to get people to commit to major things until after the first of the year. When you’re dealing with the seasonal concept you’ll get responses like, “That sounds great. Let’s talk about it in the new year."
  • Always build a financial reserve so when lulls related to the seasonal concept come around, you won’t get caught unable to pay your bills. Always make sure you have adequate capital in the bank for the inevitable dry spells.

Bottom Line on the Seasonal Concept
The seasonal concept of selling will affect you as an IT service provider.  Don’t risk being caught unaware.  Plan for the sales fluctuations associated with the seasonal concept and you’ll be able to withstand the business lows that go with it.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to the Seasonal Concept. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about the Seasonal Concept, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.