The topic for this month’s newsletter and articles is about leading your team through the election and keeping them focused through the end of the year. As it happens, this can be a tough time of year to keep your staff focused, especially with the holidays. But add that it’s a presidential election year—and even more so a hotly emotional one on both sides—and you have your work cut out for you.
In addition to keeping staff focused, we also took up keeping the public focused on the importance of your products and services. Now, let’s go into marketing the future to both your team and your prospects and customers.
End-of-Year Challenges
As we’ve taken up, your challenge through to the end of the year is to maintain focus and keep production happening as it should.
After the election, you’ll have the additional challenge of what I call the “post-election hangover.” Some people are crushed and angry that their candidate didn’t win, while others are euphoric that theirs was victorious. You’ll have this challenge with your staff, and you can simply apply the steps we’ve already gone over—keep them focused on the importance of your products and services. You’ll also have to get them through the holidays.
For the public, follow the marketing steps we discussed in the last article, tie in with the election as needed, and consistently remind the public of why they need your products and services. Many companies also engage in holiday marketing, sweetening the reasons prospects and customers should purchase before the end of the year.
When to Start the New Year?
There’s another challenge which, if not addressed, will definitely cause you trouble: you need to refocus your team and your customers before starting the new year. Now, here’s an interesting question: when do you start focusing on and gaining momentum for the new year?
You could do as some companies do and wait until January to begin focusing on the new year. Managing your business in this fashion is a serious mistake, as you’re already dealing with the inertia of the post-holiday hangover. Having to navigate that and simultaneously plan for and get started with the new year will most likely use up the month of January. That means you won’t be up and running in the new year until February.
The time to get the jump on the new year is in December. Work out the plans for getting through the post-holiday hangover, and by the time January rolls around you will be up and running with a bang.
Begin setting up the new year in December with your staff so they’ll be ready at the beginning of the year. Then, for your prospects and customers, set up your marketing in December, slanted so they’ll be motivated to purchase your products and services in January. Market the future!
Not a Normal Time
No matter how you slice it, you’ve got a double whammy at the end of this year. You’ve got the normal holiday distractions, which always must be dealt with. On top of that, you have a very heated presidential election that will be a constant distraction before and after. The way to deal with both of these issues involves adequate planning and getting those plans for the new year ready before January.
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