Prospecting in summer: opportunities for B2B salespeople

“It's going to be calmer this summer”

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Many salespeople slow down during the summer period and their results drop.

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Then, without having prepared for the return to work, they struggle to get back into the rhythm.

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Yet, summer is full of strategic opportunities that can boost your September results!

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Your competitors are resting and succumbing to the overall lethargy affecting companies during this period.

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While your prospects, on the other hand, remain connected even while on vacation.

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Yes, the overall pace of business slows down.

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No, your prospects haven't tucked their phone away in a drawer for a full two months, especially decision-makers who are always on the lookout for solutions for their business.

So, how can you take advantage of this seemingly quiet period to leverage your sales prospecting?

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Summary

• Nurture the CRM even during the summer
• Position yourself as an expert on social media
• Review the past 6 months and adjust your goals
• Strengthen and automate your sales processes
• Train and upskill

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Here are 5 strategies to get ahead during the summer and skyrocket your results in September.

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Nurture the CRM even during the summer

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Instead of dreading the out-of-office messages sent when a client goes on vacation, see them as an opportunity!

In these automated messages, you can obtain:

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• your prospect’s contact information
• an additional contact (if the email recommends reaching out to someone else on the team)
• a return date from vacation

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With a personalized email subject and a friendly follow-up from you, you even have a chance of not being forgotten when your prospect sorts through their emails upon return.

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To get ahead of your competitors, do your detective work to populate your prospecting files:

• expand the information on your prospects
• analyze their online presence to detect their needs
• research your clients' competitors to turn them into new prospects

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By preparing your prospecting well, you'll line up fruitful meetings when the new season begins.

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Position yourself as an expert on social media

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Your competitors slow down their posting frequency, leaving more room to get noticed during the summer on social media.

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Social media (and your prospects' presence on these platforms) doesn't slow down. Your prospects and clients continue to stay updated on news and opportunities that could ease their return.

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This is the perfect time to position yourself as an expert in your field with quality content that addresses your target audience's questions.

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The more your prospect sees you as an expert on a subject, the more their buying intent increases.

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If your prospect has seen your posts all summer, they will turn to you when making their strategic decisions in the fall.

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Content creation is based on the power of compounding effects, so it starts right now.

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Review the past 6 months and adjust your goals

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The mid-year review is very strategic: by analyzing the results of the first 6 months, you have the chance to improve your processes and strategies during the two months before coming back strong in the fall.

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• Which goals have been met? Which haven't?
• What worked? What didn't work?
• What should be kept? Improved? Stopped?
• What needs to be improved as a priority?

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Look for the 20% of actions that deliver 80% of the results, according to the Pareto principle.

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Thanks to the results from the previous strategies, you can go even further:

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• How do your prospects learn about your solution?
• What are the recurring objections?
• Which arguments work well?
• What are the most frequently mentioned needs?

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This information is precious to better understand your target, know how to speak to them, and have the right words to drive them to purchase.

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These are the answers to these questions that will refine your sales skills for the fall while everyone else is on vacation.

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Strengthen and automate your sales processes

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Thanks to the clarity provided by your mid-year review, you now see more clearly how to improve your processes. This is the perfect time to perfect your prospecting methods... and automate them.

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With the answers from the questions mentioned above, you better understand your ideal prospect, their needs, their objectives, and what drives them to make a purchase.

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Create automations that follow the prospect's buying journey for you: it's a huge time and energy saver.

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If you're already using marketing automation, fine-tune your automations to stay closely aligned with your prospects' expectations.

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Summer is also an ideal time to conduct benchmarks for more powerful and better-suited tools. These are the details that reduce the sales cycle.

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Train and upskill

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While your calendar fills up with discovery calls for September, it's the perfect time to invest in yourself.

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This is typically one of those things you don’t have time for during the rest of the year when the weeks fly by at a faster pace. Training time is often cut short by calls and other priorities.

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The summer calm gives you the time to strengthen your skills and to learn new sales methods. Even the best salespeople continuously train and stay updated with the latest insights brought by younger generations.

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Moreover, the learning momentum during the summer allows you to stay "in the loop" effortlessly and return in the fall without difficulty in reclaiming your usual results, or even exceeding them.

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So, to rapidly upskill during the summer and start September strong, there’s no secret:

• Re-listen to the calls of the top performers on your team
• Brainstorm together on your prospecting and sales methods
• Challenge your skills with measurable training sessions!

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Draw inspiration from the best and note down the pertinent advice and key lessons to revisit in the fall and test in meetings with your prospects.

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The most effective way to progress quickly: sales training programs, which are specifically designed to hone the skills of sales professionals!

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• Custom trainings powered by AI
• Gamified training to challenge yourself
• Clear visibility on your results and performance

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With a training program like TrainX, you boost your sales knowledge and have the opportunity to test that knowledge with the rest of your team.

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