Planning for a Warm Business Season
[by Charles Gupton]
© Charles Gupton
One of the activities I enjoy most during the winter months is building a fire in the fireplace then relaxing on the couch with a good book to watch the flames. I find it far more enjoyable, however, when the work to build and maintain the fire has been done in advance.
One of the biggest factors is having plenty of wood in the house so that it is readily available. Cold, damp wood straight off the outside woodpile is a lot harder to get started and even robs a great deal of energy from a fire that is already blazing. And anyone who’s tried to burn freshly cut wood knows it’s far too frustrating to invest in the effort. Planning ahead makes all the difference in having an enjoyable fire experience.
I’ve found the same to be true of sales and business cycles. When we wait until we need the ‘heat’ of new business, it’s particularly difficult to gather unseasoned, un-ready potential clients we’ve just cold-called on and expect them to be ready to light on fire with a project. It requires effort and a great deal of planning to build relationships with people well before we ask them to engage us on the assignment front.
Just as placing a cold or unseasoned log onto a roaring hot fire robs a great deal of energy, we can lose momentum or heat when our business is roaring along if we have to look for new clients or even start a new relationship.
As difficult as it is for artists who love spontaneity and waiting for the muse to strike before taking action, having a strategy and action plan in place to build sales will make it far more plausible that there will be work for us to do when the opportunity arises.
What steps can you take to build relationships you want to have with the people you want to work with before you call upon them to generate your financial fire?
© Charles Gupton Based in Raleigh, N.C., Charles Gupton photographs real people, really well. He loves listening to others’ stories and relishes the challenge of telling those stories visually. He is, after 30 years in this business, more excited than ever about creating images that communicate, while also ensuring that his subjects and clients come away with a remarkable experience. www.charlesguptonphoto.com / www.charlesgupton.com
One Response to 'Planning for a Warm Business Season'
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I like the work ethic you’re promoting here. Don’t just wait for business to come to you – get out and do the work to make sure it’s there.
As far as what to do during the slow season, my wife and I actually discussed this recently. If we didn’t have kids, we’d probably have 2 locations – one where the slow season was during winter months and one where the slow season was during summer months. I didn’t realize it until I was talking to a photographer from Nevada (I think it was Nevada), but they apparently have their slow season during the hottest months because it’s too hot outside. The slow season that we’re used to in the midwest where we are is apparently still a pretty active time for photography there. Crazy!