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Slumps suck. We can get into them in any aspect of our lives – career, family, relationships, sports… I know I’ve had my fair share. These slumps can really make it tough to get back on track. Sometimes we need to do something bold – like doing a ‘cannonball’ off the diving board – to kick-start our efforts and make a big splash!
Give this song by The Breeders a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying and how we can make our own splashes this week…
Summer Slumps
Is your demand generation taking a summer vacation? I’ve been preaching to my clients (and to anyone who will listen) for many years that summer is a GREAT time for sales and marketing! I shared some insights about this in a blog post last year (almost to the day!), and it’s still just as relevant.
However, there are some companies that DO face slumps in the summer. HubSpot’s data shows that this year, business leaders are expecting sharper dips as more consumers travel or unplug. Not to mention the volume of HR requests for vacation, as employees have waited months to take them.
Here are some of the trends:
- Web traffic is seeing a summer slump – global traffic is dipping across most industries and segments
- Deals are going up – despite decreased traffic, deals closing are climbing!
If your team’s seeing more deals closing, but fewer qualified leads, signups, or deals created this summer, it might not be cause for panic. However, when your business sees a slowdown or shift of any kind, there are plenty of steps you can take to ensure future success, including:
- Prepare when you can for business shifts
- Launch demand plays
- Use data to guide your strategy
- Don’t forget about your current customers
- Strengthen team communication
- Balance results with employee well-being
Depending on your industry, you may always experience a dip in the summer – but there are lots of things to help mitigate the impact. Perhaps we all need to spend a little more time listening – to employees, current customers, teams and the market.
And Speaking of Hearing Problems…
You’ve heard about many high-profile rock musicians losing their hearing over the years. Heck, there was even an award-winning movie (Sound of Metal) released recently about it. But what type of musician suffers most from hearing damage? Is it metal? Rock? You might be surprised – it’s classical musicians!
That’s right. Rock has long been demonized as the music that makes people deaf. But according to Alan Cross, it’s the symphony orchestra wherein lies the greatest danger of hearing loss!
Studies have shown that anywhere from 5-30% of rock musicians experience hearing problems, but this figure jumps up to 52% for classical musicians. Sitting near the brass section for 10 hours, you’ll experience the maximum weekly noise allowance for industrial noise for a full week! So if you’re spending that much time DAILY surrounded by loud instruments… well, the sound begins to take its toll on your ears.
We may not be able to fix our orchestra friends’ hearing, but maybe we can take this as a reminder to fix our own listening. Maybe your summer slump is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you listen closely to your customers, you may find opportunities you’ve been missing to be their whatever-you-want.
As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.
Looking forward,
Rick
Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat