I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
That Time of Year
No doubt, like me, you received a slew of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales notices over the past week or so, whether by snail mail, email, text, or DM.
Perhaps, as a business owner, you also participated in sending your own missives. If so, I hope you got the kind of response you were hoping for...or better.
By all accounts, this was a holiday shopping weekend for the record books with over $9 billion in sales.
Just before the holiday weekend, I helped a few clients craft their holiday sales strategies and wanted to share what my client Anne created as I think there's some great lessons in it.
Anne is a career coach whose main audience is mid to senior level professionals, particularly in STEM-related industries. She also offers workshops for college students and recent grads on college campuses and via alumni groups.
Rather than trying to find one offer that would work for both of these target audiences, she created a unique gift idea for the soon-to-be and/or recent college grad in your life — 1-on-1 coaching for internship or first job search.
I love how this offer actually hits both of her audiences at the same time without being a one-size fits all kind of thing!
In case it isn't clear—her professional-level client-base is the target audience for the offer while her college-age audience is the target 'end-user' or recipient.
So smart.
Here are some other things Anne is doing to ensure a successful holiday offer:
- Giving people what they want
Anne conducted an email and social media poll, providing different possible options, and asked folks to participate. While this not only enabled her to figure out the specifics of her offer, it was a savvy way to identify potential purchasers and add them to her email list.
- Creating a unique gifting strategy
It's hard sometimes to sell a coaching or service gift because there isn't much to the actual gift that is tangible. Anne really gave a lot of thought to this and ultimately decided to create a unique physical gift certificate her clients could present to recipients. In addition, she'll be emailing each recipient a personalized video a few days following the holiday.
While this strategy provides an actual gift to exchange, it also allows Anne to maximize impact right from the get-go by preparing recipients to take full advantage of their time with her.
- Limiting the quantity available
Scarcity and/or urgency are two mainstays of the holiday offer—it's only available for a limited time and while supplies last. I asked Anne to consider realistically how many of these specially-priced offers she could support in the first quarter of 2023 to set a reasonable limit. This also enabled her to set a realistic goal for sales.
If you want to elevate your own holiday offers or set yourself up for a fantastic 2023? I've got something for you.
It's my first ever Post-Black Friday Sale on individual and 3-pack laser coaching sessions.
Whether you use them now or later, this is a gift that will keep on giving and giving and giving.
(Purchase for yourself or the entrepreneur you love!)
| Check out my holiday savings (Availability is limited) |
Until next week, here's to finishing out the year stronger than ever!
PS - If you missed it, last week I talked about The Entrepreneur that Wasn't.
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I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
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