The holiday season is the time of year when many businesses are looking ahead to the next year.  Many sales people tend to slack off just a little at this time of year thinking that buyers are too busy or not available.  The holidays can be a very profitable time. It may not seem like it, but in reality, this is a good time to think about how you can drive more sales.   Here are 5 ways to drive more sales during the holidays.

1. It’s the end of the year, and for many businesses, it is also ending their fiscal year. As part of the process to drive more sales, this is a good time to call your existing customers and ask them about their budget.  Ask them if they have any money remaining in the budget.  In many businesses, one of the worst things that can happen is to be under budget. The reason for this is that if the customer came in under budget, the amount they are budgeted for the following year may be decreased. When budgets are made, regardless of the reason, if you come in under budget there would be little to no chance of getting any increase in budget. Talk to your customers and find out the status of their budget.  If they are under budget, show how you can help them to spend the remaining amount on items that they need. This can be a great way for you to drive more sales.
2. Use this time to connect with all of your customers. It is essential to stay in touch with all of your customers throughout the year. During the holidays, it is just as important to stay in touch in order to drive more sales. The end of the fiscal year can be extremely busy. Your customer may have been tied up in meetings for weeks working on budgets, strategic plans or other matters. It is possible that inventory items may have slipped down significantly and they may not have had an opportunity to contact you to reorder.  Good communication is important all year and to drive more sales during the holidays it is especially important.
3. Consider holding a special event to help you drive more sales during the holidays. Plan a holiday party, open house or other event. People really enjoy holiday events and hosting one will allow you to market your product or service in a relaxed and social atmosphere.  Social events can be a great way to drive more sales.
4. The holidays are also a great time to give nice, personalized gifts to your customers. Bringing the customer a nice gift gives you the opportunity to meet with the customer at a time when many other sales people are staying away. Getting the face-to-face meeting by bringing a personal will not only get you brownie points, it will also give you the chance to drive more sales.
5. At the holidays, many people tend to be more price conscious from weeks of holiday shopping.  If you can, consider offering special deals.  This can help you to drive more sales and reduce any excess inventory that you may have at the end of the year.

Many sales people think of the holidays as time when it will not be worth their time to continue prospecting or to contact current customers.  The holidays have many opportunities for you to develop and maintain business relationships through continued communication. This is an opportunity for you to drive more sales.