Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

It’s Not too Late to Think About the Holiday Season…

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rei-opt-outside-600I had a call earlier this week with a client who mentioned they want to share a Black Friday deal for their newsletter subscribers. As we were chatting I agreed this is a good idea and encouraged that we make it a Small Business Saturday promotion as well.

If you’re just now realizing this is something you should be doing for your business this holiday season don’t worry – there’s still plenty of time! (okay, two weeks)

I really loved REI’s anti-black Friday campaign last year and if your business is about health and wellness I encourage you to do something similar for your subscribers of social media fans.

If you have a product or service that you’d like to promote by the end of the year, then I encourage you to think about a Small Business Saturday promotion.

  • Buy 4 massages get the 5th Free
  • 20% off Salon Services scheduled on Small Business Saturday
  • A free additional gift with purchase (great for direct sales folks…)
  • 20% off your package if ordered by the end of November

This is also a great time to be thinking about holiday gifts for clients and holiday cards. You certainly don’t have to do either but if it’s something you’ve done in the past, now is the time to talk to your graphic designer and printers about getting those holiday cards created. And now is the time to figure out your holiday gifts and get them ordered.

There’s still time I promise, but it’s time to start!

Tis the Season: 3 Holiday Questions for Your Business

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IMG_2647This is your friendly reminder that the holiday season is here. I’m meeting with a few of my clients this week and on our agenda: The Holiday’s. Here’s a few questions we’ll be discussing:

  • Do you need to order Holiday cards to send out to clients and partners?

    • How many?
    • When will the list be done?
    • Who’s in charge of mailing the cards out?
    • When will this project be finished?

  • Are you sending out a Holiday eCard?

    • It’s cheaper and easier if you don’t have mailing addresses!
    • Do you need your graphic designer to whip up something for you?
    • Do you have all your contacts updated in your newsletter program?
    • Have you let your marketing consultant know you need help getting this taken care of (hint, hint…)

  • Holiday Gifts

    • Are you sending holiday gifts to your clients?
    • Are you doing a donation in their honor to an organization close to your heart or theirs?
    • When do the gifts need to be ordered?
    • When will they be delivered and who’s delivering the gifts?
    • Do you need to include a card?

Depending on your lists and client base you may be getting to the wire here. Take the next few days and make these lists and create your plan for the holiday’s. Keep in mind clients who don’t celebrate the same holiday’s as you – a nice Festivus pole could be a more welcome addition than a wreath this year.

And remember, a Happy New Year card in early January is always a good option too, especially depending on your target market!

5 Things to Tell Your Clients at the End of the Year

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imagesThe end of the year is a good time to make sure that you have expectations set for the following year for your business and with your clients. For the past month, amongst other things, I’ve been thinking about what my clients need to know for 2015. Here’s a few things you may want to make sure your clients know the next time the contract is up, or if the end of the year is a natural time for changes…

1. Rate changes. It’s good to review your rates each year. I bill at an hourly rate, and that rate went up this year. Not a ton, $5 an hour, it won’t kill my clients, or so they’ve said.

2. Changing your fee structure. I had been billing in 15 minute increments and after some suggestions from friends, I decided to switch to bill in 6 min increments. I think it’ll save my clients some money because I’m pretty efficient. But that’s taken care of (see #1)

3. Holidays and vacations – make sure your clients know what’s going on in your schedule. I try to communicate about a week prior at the LEAST to let my clients know of vacations.

4. Billing– my invoices come out on the first of the month. So for December, I always ask my clients if they’d like to pay early (if they have excess in the budget) or wait till January. It doesn’t make a difference to me, and they’re happy.

5. Major Life Changes- okay, maybe not major, but if you know there’s some big things happening for you in 2015 that you can share, do that. “We’re moving,” “We’re going on a 3 week road trip,” “I’m taking up under water basket weaving,” “I’m prepping for the Zombie Apocalypse, and you should too!” Whatever it is, if it makes sense and will effect your clients, let them know so you can plan around it.