As the summer months approach, it can be tempting to take a break from sales activity and lead generation efforts. After all, people are often on vacation or spending more time outside. However, this isn’t always the case. In this blog, we'll explore why it's valuable to continue sales activity and opportunity generation through the summer months.
Firstly, lead generation is a long-term investment. Via consistent sales activity throughout the year, you can maintain brand awareness and build relationships with your customers. Even if they are taking a break from their usual routines, they will still remember your brand if you keep your presence strong.
Secondly, summer can actually be an ideal time to focus on demand creation efforts. With a slower pace and fewer distractions, you can take the time to work on your sales strategies, plan for the future, and experiment with new tactics. With fewer demands on your time, you can experiment with new and varied sales and marketing approaches. This can help you learn what works best for your business and refine your strategies for the future. This can give you an edge over competitors who may be taking a break during the summer.
Thirdly, summer presents a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers on a personal level. By highlighting how your products or services can enhance summer activities, you can show that you understand their needs and interests. Sharing your own summer experiences can also help build trust and loyalty with your customers.
Not only that but with the advent of new technologies, increased regulation, increasing competition in most industries, and the fact that customers are changing the way they purchase goods and services, sales cycles have become slower than they used to be. With the current state of the UK economy can you really afford to miss out on 3 months of potential opportunities, leaving a big hole in your lead generation activities, due to sales inactivity over the summer? Statistics you will read below will show that including these months in your sales strategy could increase your pipeline opportunity exponentially. Can you afford to lose that chunk of potential from your sales pipeline?
Facts that back up the theory.
At glance, CPB can attribute the following to sales opportunities qualified during what is considered summertime slump months.*
£1.3m of sales pipeline solely to 2022 summertime sales leads
£2.1M of sales converted by CPB UK’s customers throughout 2022
* Please note: Not all opportunities were generated/qualified in 2022. Figures are attributed to deals won in 2022,
that were identified and qualified on behalf of CPB’s customers throughout the summer months of 2020-2022.
During the summer months of 2022, CPB qualified 437 sales opportunities on behalf of its customers. We have reviewed lead generation activity from campaigns conducted during the summer months over recent years, which shows the substantial benefits of summertime sales activity and the importance of maintaining sales activity 12 months of the year.
In CPB’s experience, there is no summer reduction in the call to contact ratio. We find that for every IT contact which might be on annual leave, their gatekeeper is generally on holiday too, and so getting through to other contacts in the same IT department can be somewhat easier. In the education field, IT department contacts are more willing to talk as this is when they are in school (without gatekeepers) planning for the year ahead and have the time to discuss options.
In recent years, with the shift in working from home, ProspectaBase has developed its list of mobile and direct dial numbers, so we can usually get hold of people whether they are in the office or not. The direct dial and mobile approach pays dividends, even in the summer months.
Let’s take a deeper look at areas you can focus on this summer to grow pipeline …
Stay top of mind with your customers.
Even if your customers are taking a break from their usual routines during the summer months, that doesn't mean they won't need your products or services in the future. By continuing your pipeline growth strategy, you can stay top of mind with your customers and remind them that you're still here and ready to help whenever they need you. This can be especially valuable if your competitors take a break from their pipeline generation activities during the summer, as it can give you an advantage in the long run.
Take advantage of the slower pace.
For many businesses, the summer months can be a slower time of year, which can make it an ideal time to focus on demand creation activities. With fewer distractions and fewer demands on your time, you can take the opportunity to work on your sales funnel fulfilment strategies, plan for the future, and experiment with new tactics. This can help you stay ahead of the curve and be better prepared for the busier months that lie ahead.
Experiment with new tactics.
As mentioned earlier, the summer months can be an ideal time to experiment with fresh lead generation tactics. With fewer demands on your time, you can take the opportunity to try out new pipeline growth approaches, such as net new logo lead generation, cross-sell and up-sell enablement, social media campaigns, influencer marketing, or targeted advertising. This can help you learn what works best for your business and refine your strategies for the future.
Connect with customers on a personal level.
Summer is a time when people often take vacations or engage in activities that they enjoy, and this can present an opportunity for businesses to connect with customers on a personal level. By sharing your own summer experiences or highlighting how your products or services can enhance summer activities, you can show your customers that you understand their needs and interests. This can help build trust and loyalty over time, which can translate into increased sales and a stronger brand reputation.
What can CPB UK do to help?
We know why you reduce sales activity over the summer – you also have sales team members on holiday and a slower pace of work. This is something we can help with to keep your business and sales activity momentum up during the slower months. We can support with lead nurturing; finding leads and working on them to ensure that during the summer we only pass you the proven sales engagement ready leads that your team has the capacity to deal with and convert. Everything else we will keep ticking over, nurturing until your team is back at full capacity in September.
Why has CPB had such great success with summer marketing activity? It all comes down to opportunity and data. Our multi-touch, nurturing campaign strategy provides the opportunity and our sister company ProspectaBase provides us with access to the very best IT contact data in the UK. As mentioned above, with over 200,000+ IT end-user email addresses and 55,000+ direct dials and mobile numbers, we are able to bypass gatekeepers and access key decision makers even when they are working from home.
In addition, if your marketing team is taking a summer break, hand your content to CPB and we will create digital marketing activities to run throughout the summer, ensuring your brand awareness is maintained and your products/services stay top of mind.
In conclusion, summer is an opportunity not a threat. There are many reasons why it's valuable to continue sales and lead generation activity through the summer months and these continuing efforts can be highly beneficial for businesses. By staying top of mind with your customers, maintaining brand awareness, taking advantage of the slower pace, connecting on a personal level, and experimenting with new tactics, you can set your business up for success in the long term. In the words of Freddie Mercury “The show must go on”, so don't let the summer heat slow you down – keep your pipeline growth and opportunity generation efforts going and reap the rewards in the months and years to come.
Top tips to beat the B2B summer sales slump:
Choose focused, targeted, and personalised sales activities that include a multi-touch marketing approach
Use top quality, intelligent data to understand your target audience and offer solutions that make the difference
Contact prospects and customers, when, where and how they prefer, with targeted and relevant offers, and promotions
