075: Cash Flow At Christmas For Service Businesses

While our retail counterparts are generating up to 80% of their annual revenue over a few short months over the festive season, the service business sector can sometimes be left high and dry with B2B services in particular taking a cruisy (much-warranted) break, causing them to push back decisions, proposals and investing in your business.

That is, if you buy into that BS. Don’t worry, I did too once upon a time…

By listening [and taking notes], you’ll learn:

• The year that changed everything for me
• How stereotypes and narratives like “noone is buying” are total BS
• How getting organised early is your key to making sales before Christmas, listen as I share exactly how you can do this

Enjoy!

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Transcript

Shannon Stone 0:05

H ey guys . Welcome to the podcast .

Shannon Stone 0:42

Super , super excited for this episode and what I will be sharing with you today . I am talking about how service businesses can secure more cash flow and clients at Christmas time , which is typically a really hard time for a lot of businesses or service-based businesses . If we compare it to something like retail , they're generating up to 80% of their annual revenue over the course of two or three months . So service businesses , it can be quite different , and so in this episode , I want to share a bit of a backstory that led me to , I guess , generating more clients at Christmas than any other time , and I also want to share a few different ways that you can apply this in your business . And lastly , and very importantly , I will be doing a masterclass on this topic where I share the strategy from end to end . So there is a strategy around how a service business can generate more cash flow at Christmas . It's something , as you'll hear , that I discovered for myself first and then I was able to share with other people . So if you would love to come along to that masterclass , there'll be a link to that in the description . It's happening on November 20th at 1pm , but there's definitely a replay . So if you do hear this before then , I would definitely suggest that you register . If you can't attend , you will definitely get the replay .

Shannon Stone 2:09

Okay , so

The story that changed the game

Shannon Stone 2:11

let's talk about how I personally , as a consultant , generated the most number of clients to date at that point in time , at Christmas time , which is typically in inverted commas a time that is more difficult to make sales , especially for B2B service-based businesses . And I was able to do it , and I'll share some details around that . And not only that I was still able to take time off at Christmas , so I was able to take a two-week break , and in this break , I already knew I had clients ready to start with me after that two-week break . So this sounds like nothing , unless you're a business owner . If you're a business owner , this sounds like everything and more . This sounds like all of your Christmases coming at once . You've got clients , you can take time off , your mind can rest at ease knowing that you've got clients to start with . You have that security and that stability into the new year . So I would only imagine business owners are listening to this . So I would imagine that is a dream team and everything that you're looking for and more .

Shannon Stone 3:18

So a bit of the backstory . So when I first started my business 2015 , in those early years , I think , like a lot of us , you know we're just finding our feet and I there was so much I didn't know . I didn't know what I didn't know , and one of the things that I didn't know was this I guess narrative that I would explain that businesses in Australia go to sleep in December and January . We've got Christmas , we've got school break , we've got summer break . All of that is January . We've got Christmas , we've got school break , we've got summer break . All of that is happening . We've got New Year's as well . All of it is happening .

Shannon Stone 3:52

And this is , in some regards , there is a lot of truth to it . Businesses often don't really return back to normal ways until about February , and like it took a couple of years to see this pattern happening , and so I have a lot of connections in business overseas and so I was like this is really weird . This is what's happening here . It doesn't happen for you guys . For them Happens generally in August if they're in the UK or the USA , but it was definitely an Australian thing that was happening Until one year .

Shannon Stone 4:23

I basically said , well , actually there's a couple of things that happened when I picked up on this pattern . Then I did something with it . I started to get more proactive around making sure clients were secured on that tail end of the year before Christmas , having those retainer clients signed up and that security there . So I started to do some proactive things . The other thing I also would do is because I noticed that other parts of the world didn't go to sleep as much . I would make sure that I would generate clients in other parts of the world as well . So I started to diversify just the people that I would work with , and that was just one of the ways that helped me to have those clients under my sleeve and give me that security in business as well . So that is one of the things that I did .

Shannon Stone 5:09

But when I wasn't doing that , there was one year in particular where I basically said well , f that I'm going to , I'm just going to put together a campaign , I want to work with some more clients . I had my , I had existing clients , but I wanted to definitely work with some more and I thought I don't really care that it's Christmas time , I'm just going to do this and see how it goes . So it was a bit of an experiment where I just kind of threw the narratives out the window , threw the stereotypes out the window , and said I'm just going to do this and I'm going to see what happens without knowing what was going to happen . So , one part scary do this and I'm going to see what happens without knowing what was going to happen . So one part scary , one part exciting . But long story short , it worked out Like I said at the start . I was able to sign the most number of clients I had to date , I was able to take two weeks off and I was able to start the new year with clients scheduled in , ready to work with me and as you would feel as a business owner , these are some of the best feelings you can feel , because when you do take time off , you could actually take that time off rather than stressing about like how am I going to pay for things now , or and or the work that's ahead of you to get your business to where you want it to go .

Shannon Stone 6:24

And business can be up and down . That can be the nature of things sometimes , but to me it was like the greatest gift of all , the greatest Christmas gift of all . So let me share three things that can help you to secure more cash flow at Christmas and , even if it's not Christmas , any other seasonally quiet time in business that you might be experiencing . So definitely keep this episode handy

Throw the stereotypes out the window

Shannon Stone 6:47

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Shannon Stone 6:47

So the first thing is number one throw the stereotypes out the window , and we hear this a lot at the moment , I really think since the pandemic and just the economic times that we have been in , you'll hear a lot of things like no one is buying that's a really big one or they're buying less , or they're holding onto their money a lot more , or , you know , there's a lot of this constraint around people actually investing in their business or investing in your services . So we have to throw the stereotypes out the window . There is one part of yes , you do have to acknowledge what is going on , and I shared that in the past episode , talking about when there's tougher times in business . You can't ignore the elephants in the room , but at the same time , we can't just fully buy into the stereotypes . If you've heard the saying zig when they zag , I think that's one of the best ones , the best quotes to apply to business . Because if you think about it , if you succumb to something like no one is buying and everyone in your industry is acting the exact same way , then think about who that marketing is hitting . It's hitting all the same people .

Shannon Stone 7:56

So if you adjust and you think , well , I'm going to not buy into any of those stereotypes . I'm going to do things my way and I don't care if it's Christmas time or you know X , y and Z and things are happening . I'm just going to do it the way that I would like to do it and see what happens . And that's essentially what I did when I had what I would say one of the greatest successful campaigns in my business across the last nine years . So number one is to throw out the stereotypes , because I think when you accept statements like that , you're being really submissive to results . It's like you're taking the power away from yourself . You're limiting your potential and just by doing that , you're going to limit the results that you achieve in your business .

Shannon Stone 8:40

So imagine if you just didn't buy into that and you just said well , I don't care what day of the week , day of the month that it is , or what is happening in the industry . This is my business and I know I can help people and I'm going to zig when they zag . And I know still and this is one of the big things I always kept in mind for myself and my clients there's always people buying . It doesn't matter what is going on in the world or in your industry , or what month it is or what is happening . There's still going to be people that buy . So why should they not buy from you ? And that is something zig when they zag . So keep that in mind and throw the stereotypes out the window . That is number one .

Get organised early

Shannon Stone 9:20

Number two so topic and this is focused around securing that cash flow around Christmas . So number two is to get organized early . So , yes , december really is a busy time . It is something we can't ignore . That is , it really is a fact of the matter . But in saying that , we don't want to let that deter us from achieving what we want to achieve and going after our goals . So you have to get organized early If you want to generate clients at Christmastime or leading from now , leading up into that December 25th season . I would really encourage you to get your marketing organized today . That's why the masterclass is happening as soon as possible , so November 20th . So you'll still have time to get your marketing organized , because the closer it gets to Christmas , the more busier it is going to be .

Shannon Stone 10:13

Yes , it's probably going to be harder to it can be harder and it can take longer to get a decision from someone to book in a call with someone because they're going to events , they're going to Christmas parties , they're doing all the at-home things getting organized for Christmas . They could be starting to go away . All these things are realistically happening . But just because that's happening , it doesn't mean you cannot sign clients , it doesn't mean it's impossible and you should kind of throw it all on the back burner and ride out this season . I think take the power within this and just get organized early and start to get going as far as particulars around what the strategy could look like . I'll share more of that inside the masterclass , but I would definitely say you've got to get organized early . Whatever like , you might have strategies that you use in your business already that help to generate clients . So the thing around that is well , we'll do it . You know , ignore the fact that Christmas is happening . We still want to do the things that do work , regardless of what is happening seasonally .

Shannon Stone 11:13

Okay , that is number

Have an angle, urgency and reason people should buy now

Shannon Stone 11:15

two . Number three and this is more of a strategic one , something that can really help you , and it is to have an angle , urgency and reason that people should buy now . So your services . I would imagine that you're probably selling the same services all year round , right ? A website designer sells websites every day of the week , or they could every day of the week same like any other business . It doesn't matter . You're selling the same services all year round .

Shannon Stone 11:42

So why should someone buy from you now ? Why should someone buy from you just because you want to make sales in your business ? Like , imagine saying that to your clients Buy from me because I want to make sales . Like that is never going to fly , maybe for some people if that's a very on brand for you , but I think for the general consensus that's probably not what is going to work . So we need to have a valid angle , urgency and reason that people should be buying from you now .

Shannon Stone 12:12

I'll give you a couple of the reasons . It could be that and I will say it's got to be authentic , it's got to be true to you , it's got to be non-marketing fluff Like I'm not someone who's like what's like what's like the angle of like . How could we make this work and happen ? I always think the best and I have found the best successes come from authentic strategies happening in the business . So it could be that your prices are increasing in the new year , so now is a great time for people to secure working with you now . Maybe you're a website designer and if they put down a deposit now they pay 50% , now they pay for the whole thing , now they get to secure it at the 2024 price rather than it going up in the new year . That could be one of your angles .

Shannon Stone 12:54

Do you have limited spaces ? So maybe your business you know you're capped you've got a certain capacity . There's only so many people that you can work with , so do you have limited capacity . Another reason could be is it in your client's best interest to act now rather than later ? So , depending on what you do , is there something or for some reason that by them making a decision now and even potentially starting to work with you now , it's going to be more beneficial to them . So that could be a really valid reason as well . Another one could be the longer they leave something , is it causing more cost , more pain , more problems to them by not getting it sorted or solved ? So that could be another reason as well .

Shannon Stone 13:38

And I will just say I guess , overall on this strategy and just coming right back to the start , when I shared my backstory , I was able to sign the clients and have them committed either payments down or deposits down before Christmas , but we didn't start work until the new year and that is one of the beauties of this strategy and you don't have to do it this way . You can work whenever you want to work . If you want to work over the break , you totally can . But that was one of the ways . That was the way that I did it . So just keep that in mind with how you want to roll out this strategy , because a lot of that can apply to the marketing that you have as well .

Shannon Stone 14:15

Say , for example , you are a fashion stylist or a dance studio . Maybe you would typically do an intake of new clients in the new year , or enrollment starts maybe January , late January , early Feb , when school goes back . But maybe you could do an incentive now . You're going to do that intake anyway , late Jan , early Feb . But what if you did it now and gave people a reason to buy now ? Maybe it is because of that limited capacity , maybe it is that classes don't start till early Feb , but there's like some pre-work they can do or they'll get access to something where you know they can use December and January to get prepared to get organized . There's so many ways . And just apply that strategy to whatever prepared to get organized . There's so many ways . And just apply that strategy to whatever it is that you do . Not everyone runs a dance studio or not everyone's a fashion stylist , but whatever your business is , how could you apply that ? So these could be things that you're not doing currently .

Shannon Stone 15:13

Maybe you don't have something where clients do pre-work before working with you . It's not inauthentic , but if that sounds like something you could do or something that would actually be a really good idea to do . Adopt that into your business and create whatever you need to create in order for that to match your business . So then you can use it in your marketing as well . It is a really good marketing angle , gives people a reason to buy now and imagine if they go through that pre-work , it's going to make the work that you do with them even better , so so much value add is happening . So there are a couple of ways that you can have , I guess , a really good angle urgency and reason people that should buy now , reasons that are beyond just the fact that you want to make sales . We want to be really authentic with that . So I will say , as you are starting to tell , I hope you can generate clients any time of the year , whether it's Christmas day or any other day .

Shannon Stone 16:10

I think the real reason , the real intention around all of this is that you can generate clients . You can grow your business anytime you decide you want to , Anytime you decide and choose and say you know what ? And that's what happened to me . This is where the birth of this campaign and this strategy all came from . I just said I'm not going to do it that way . I'm deciding that I want to work with some more clients , and that is where the strategy started to unfold . So you can grow your business anytime that you want to . You have to decide when that is and then obviously you need a strategy and some good old fashioned elbow grease and execution to follow that as well . So ,

Action step

Shannon Stone 16:52

as far as action steps go for today , the best action step I can give you to really help you secure that cash flow at Christmas being that you're a service-based business is to come along to the masterclass .

Shannon Stone 17:04

It is on the 20th of November at 1pm . I will be sharing very openly what the strategy is . It's something that I've done , it's something that other people have been able to replicate as well , and if you do come live , you will be able to ask any questions or we can personalize it to your particular business . Do a little bit of brainstorming if we do have time . If you can't make it , definitely register anyway , because you will get the replay and just a little hack that I do for anything that I participate in . I always do the playbacks on like 1.25 , 1.5 . So I speed up the replay , so we might be doing the live recording for 45 minutes , but you might be able to watch it in 30 minutes , depending how quickly you put the replay on . You can do the same for the podcast as well . So if time is of essence for you , then that's a little hack .

Shannon Stone 17:53

So I hope you found this useful . I hope you found this really supportive of your business and to give you some ideas that you don't need to succumb to industry norms or what anyone says . Throw the stereotypes out the window . That was number one . Number two was to get organized early and number three is to have an angle , urgency and reason that people should buy now . If you do have any questions , definitely reach out .

Shannon Stone 18:16

The masterclass link will be in the description . If you cannot see it there , find me on LinkedIn . You'll definitely see it on LinkedIn , or send me a message on LinkedIn . If you're not on LinkedIn which I found out someone wasn't the other day you can always email me , shannon at shannonstonecomau . Alrighty , I will leave it at that for today . I hope you have an amazing week and I'll talk to you really soon .