3 Tips To Sell To Small Business In The Summer

Summer is typically known for being a slower time for most companies. However, small business owners typically find themselves working overtime and stressed out during the summer months.

Here are some of the challenges small business owners face over the summer. If you can help solve these problems, you are one step closer to making the sale and making the summer months among your best!

Getting New Clients
Many of the decision makers at prospective client companies end up going away on vacation during the summer and it can be hard for business owners to get to a yes. As sales slow down business owners get anxious and desperate to close new business.

Sales Tip: Show how your products can generate new leads quickly and speed up the sales process to land these business owners as customers.

Coordinating Staff Vacations
Summer is also typically the time when the staff at small businesses go on vacation. This can leave the business owner stretched thinly and working overtime to run the company until the employees come back.

Sales Tip: Show how your products can improve efficiencies and automate processes. Make sure there are some short time wins that the entrepreneur can see immediately to help solve their short term time crunch.

Dealing With A Cash Crunch
While employees are away and business is slowing down, rent and wages still need to be paid for most businesses. This can leave many business owners in a cash crunch and unable to make a purchasing decision until the slow summer ends.

Sales Tip: Offer financing. Show the business owners that they can realize the benefits today but not have to pay until they have the money coming in from their sales season.

Entrepreneurs Overworked, Underpaid

The insurance company Zurich recently polled 1,028 small business owners to examine their working habits. The results were that the entrepreneurs are overworked and underpaid compared to their employee counterparts. Many of the small business owners were working up to 72 hours per week, taking no vacations and taking home less than 20,000 pounds per year (equivalent to minimum wage for the number of hours worked).

Overworked Entrepreneurs Takes Its Toll

• 50% are too busy to take lunch breaks
• 48% work 6 or 7 days per week
• 18% work over 12 hour days
• 40% say the long hours are contributing to their stress levels
• 82% have not taken a vacation in the past year
• 42% are concerned with the impact their business is having on their family

Doing Everyone's Job

• 70% do the customer services, sales, operations, supply chain management, HR, risk management, premises and marketing for their businesses
• 60% do their own bookkeeping and accounting
• 50% manage their distribution and IT
  

Not Taking Home The Big Bucks

• Only 51% pay themselves a regular salary
• 42% draw pay depending on the success of the business
• Of those that take a salary, 39% take less than 20,000 pounds

It's important to remember when creating your message for small business owners that their business is one of the most important aspects of their lives. They spend the majority of their waking hours working on the business, do everything from production creating to sales to human resources and don't pay themselves very well for the privilege.