Winter Business Strategies

Winter is a good time to evaluate your business strategies and work on your sales and marketing plan.

By Atlas Roofing

When business slows down in the winter, take advantage of the opportunity to use the quiet time to evaluate your business strategies and work on your sales and marketing plan. A recent post on Atlas’ Asphalt Life blog provides tips, questions and links that can help you get started steering your business in the right direction.

Start by evaluating your business over the past year and asking questions such as what your sales were, how they broke out – repairs, replacement, etc. – and decide if you’re happy with that number or want to grow. The next step is to evaluate the competitive landscape and understand how you can differentiate yourself.

If you do plan to grow, evaluate your team to be sure you can handle the growth. Atlas recommends answering the following questions:

• How many jobs do you want to book, and how many can your teams handle? Determine what you want based on a percentage or number of jobs.
• How many sales calls will your team have to make to land those jobs?
• What is your strategic plan to set yourself apart to the homeowner? What are the things your teams do well, that your company does well, that competitors in your market can’t duplicate?
• How does the workload divide out among your sales reps? Who has the best close rate and who needs a little help? Set up training for all your reps, but spend extra time to boost those who aren’t meeting their potential.
• How much advertising will you need to do, how much can you spend on advertising and what is the best media to reach customers in your market? Determine what has worked for you and what has not, and put your dollars where they will do you the most good. Not sure what works and what doesn’t? Make a point of asking all your customers how they learned about you – did they find you online, either through a search or because they saw an online ad? Or maybe they noticed a yard sign, opened your mailer or found your materials at their door. Once you know, you can plan your strategy.
• How will you measure your progress? Assessment and measurement are crucial. Review your progress throughout the year – quarterly check-ins are recommended – to make sure you are staying on track. Re-assess the plan and adjust as needed.

Join in the conversation and let us know how you plan your sales strategy on the Asphalt Life.