Avoiding The “Summer Slump”!

Have you ever experienced a “summer slump” in your business?

Summer is here, the weather is beautiful, kids are out of school and vacation season is in full swing. If you have children at home it can be logistically harder to work during the summer, and hey, you might want to actually enjoy it too, right?

Not to mention your market may be slowing down a bit … buyers have lost their enthusiasm (they are on vacation too!), referrals and new prospects aren’t coming in as easily or as plentiful as they were in the Spring. Maybe your pipeline is starting to get a little thin. This can up the stress and worry factor, which will only be compounded when you want to play more this time of year.

So how do you balance REALLY ENJOYING your summer and not completely shutting your business down for the rest of the year?

Here are a few tips:

-Timeblock (surprise!) both work and play time. Pull out a calendar, maybe print a blank monthly view from online, and start filling in all the things … kids camps, vacations, barbecues, scheduled events. Now fill in the fun time you want to have. Want to spend two days a week at the pool? Block off those days, and build in your work time. Maybe you work from 9-12 those days, and spend the rest of the day poolside, maybe you plan longer hours working the other days of the week. It is possible to have fun and still have a productive business this time of year. It is important to have a Summer Success Plan, and some version of time blocking is part of that.

-Partner up with a “vacation” buddy. Plan to cover for each others vacations so you can truly relax and enjoy your family time. Maybe even plan with them to trade off some “fun day” coverage too … is it your afternoon at the pool? Maybe they could be your back up to help with business or last minute showing requests, and you do the same for them when they are spending the day on the golf course, etc.

-Set a summer activity goal. A certain number of pop bys. A certain number of hours per week working ON your business, following up, previewing, etc. Involve your partner, spouse, children in the goal too! Plan a reward, maybe a fun family trip, that is dependent on you delivering 30 pop bys this summer, or whatever the goal is that you set for yourself. I’d be willing to bet that suddenly you will have lots of little accountability partners and people around you wanting to help you prep and deliver them! When things are slower it because easier to second guess what works in your business. Focus on the quality and consistency of your activities, and you will see the results.

-Establish an easy summer marketing plan. Maybe it is a regular post with a focus on fun local community events. Maybe it is a summer client party (I’ve given you all the steps you need for this over the last few weeks of your Plan of the Week). Maybe it is a list of summer “helpers” (pet sitters, lawn care services, pool cleaners, etc) that you mail.

The work that we do today we will be paid for in about 3 months. The quality of your fall business is dependent on the activities you do this summer. Do them intentionally … and also make time to play and have fun intentionally … you can do both! Your future business will thank you for it!