I know it might be sacrilegious to talk about *the holidays* before Thanksgiving, but I’m a planner AND a business coach, so planning for the holidays is kinda my thing.
The simple truth is - unless you’re in retail or food + beverage, the holidays tends to be the slowest time of the year.
Your client’s time is even more limited.
Your client’s spending + budget might be affected.
It gets darker earlier, and it’s way too cold to get out of bed in the morning.
Work obligations and end of year targets becoming all consuming.
Family is visiting from out of town, or they are heading out to see family….
You get my point. The cards are stacked against us during this time.
Have no fear fam. Today I’m breaking down my top tips to keeping your clients booking sessions and classes, to keep those profit numbers high to close out 2019 strong, and to help you if you encounter of those above objections.
1 - START PLANNING YOUR BUSINESS’ NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER CALENDAR TODAY.
I know being a business owner usually feels like a duck on the water - gliding smoothly over the surface with your feet paddling for dear life under the water. It’s *a lot* juggling teaching, programming, client inquiries, marketing, and admin work; it’s hard enough keeping your head above water, let alone doing anything more than just getting through the day. But if you’ve learned one thing from me, it’s how important forecasting and planning is to grow your business and also keep you sane.
I want you to pull up a calendar and schedule ALL of the following into November and December:
when do you need to run payroll and pay bills
team meetings
team holiday party
member appreciation (if applicable)
any meetings you need to have with your accountant, lawyer or business coach
any workshops/events that you want to host
Literally everything goes on the calendar NOW so 1) nothing falls through the cracks in the craziness of these two months, and 2) so that the date/time is held.
PS - I’ve been planning for Q4 and the holidays since Labor Day and here’s the most important things you should be doing to close out 2019 strong in your business.
2 - BE EXTRA COMMUNICATIVE WITH YOUR CLIENTS
In the most casual, friendly and best way possible, keep in extra touch with your clients during these months so they don’t disappear. It’s really easy to justify not showing up for a morning class because you partied too hard at the company happy hour the night before. But if your client has the kind of relationship with you where they don’t want to disappoint you or they promised they’d come - they’ll come.
So give those relationships a little extra TLC right now.
Encourage them to book their next class or session before leaving the studio. Ask when you’re going to see them next, or even prompt, “see you next week, same time?”
Text or message them on social if they late cancel or you haven’t seen them during their regular classes/sessions.
Text or message to tell them how excited you are to see them at their next class/session.
Which leads me to…
3 - GIVE YOUR CLIENTS EXTRA FUN REASONS TO SHOW UP
Whether it’s a holiday themed class, a toy-drive, a fun playlist or a brand partnership pop-up, make studio time in November and December extra fun and worth while. A few recommendations:
Set-Up a holiday challenge to see who can come to the most classes or achieve the most progress. These are always SO successful because 1) it keeps clients coming into the studio and 2) it helps them combat the dreaded holiday weight gain/lethargy.
Encourage clients to bring their friends or family for free (or discounted) to get new clients in the door and to keep the existing ones coming.
Designate certain classes as charity donation-based classes, or host a toy/food drive at the studio.
Partner with fun + popular brands to pop-up in the studio for sampling and demos. I am definitely going to rally for a morning class if I get a massage after or a box of a new product I’m excited about.
Use social media extra around this time of year. Show people how much fun you’re having and it’ll make them want to be in the fun too.
4 - OFFER HOLIDAY PACKAGES AND PRICING
In addition to Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, you can offer specials for classes/sessions in the months of November + December only. Special limited pricing that’s going to expire come the New Year? I’ll be right there!
5 - KEEP BEING YOU
There’s a reason that your clients come to you right now. It’s because of your intelligence, kindness, motivation, sense of humor and all around magic. You’ve made yourself an indispensable part of their life on the regular, and if you continue to do so, I promise no matter how busy they get, they’ll always make time for you.
xx, D
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