When is the right time to start a new habit? When is the best time of the year in your industry? When is the best time to actually start a business? When is the best time of day to make cold calls?
Those questions are all different, but there’s just one answer: Now!
Depending on your industry, December or January may have a reputation for being a bad month. In fact, many people even refer to certain businesses or industries as “seasonal.”
Winners, At-Leasters, and Losers
In Sandler, we talk about the concept of winners, at-leasters, and losers. Winners and losers are probably self-explanatory. At-leasters are people that say things like this:
“At least we haven’t gone out of business.”
“At least I’m doing better than that competitor of mine.”
“At least I sold something this month.”
“At least I had some revenue.”
Hopefully you get the idea.
Thinking about those three categories of people, how would you categorize the people that gripe and complain about how their business is seasonal?
Whether you said “at-leasters” or “losers,” one thing’s for sure. They’re not winners!
There’s success and opportunity to be had at any time of the year, regardless of the industry.
Down-time
Let’s say you’re in an industry whose down-time is December. Other people in your industry are expecting less business, so they’re taking it easy. They’re not calling on potential clients or customers, and they’ve mentally checked out until at least January or February.
Nobody else is out there! There’s no competition! Sounds like a great time to be selling!
Seeing Opportunities
It’s like that old shoe salespeople fable. A shoe company sent two salespeople into a third world country to see what the market looked like. After several weeks abroad, they both returned to give a report.
The first salesperson went into his boss’s office. “It’s horrible, boss. There’s no way we can expand over there. Nobody’s wearing shoes.”
Dejected, the boss sent the first salesperson out, and called the next one in. His hopes weren’t high, but the salesperson was actually excited and energetic. “You won’t believe it, boss! The market is prime for the picking! Nobody’s wearing shoes!”
As the Chinese proverb goes: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
What are you waiting for? Get started!
