Dear Readers,

Lots happening now around Chicago Sales Strategies – we’ve got some good news and some not so good news. Starting with the bad news- due to some unforeseen technical issues, the first video in my sales plan series is a bit delayed – my apologies to all! Without making any promises, I hope to have it up this weekend (and let’s all pray to the technical video wizards for their support).

In more exciting news-  I will be presenting to the Schaumburg Entrepreneurs Group tomorrow morning over breakfast – discussing the key components and critical importance of sales plans to your business (if your sales plan is an Excel file, you need to contact us ASAP).

One of the things that has kept me very busy these past few weeks has been house hunting – so I thought I’d talk very briefly about seasonality. Right now is most definitely a sellers market (at least in the Chicagoland mid-range housing market), with desirable properties lasting less than a week on the market. My agent has been at this for a long time – and she sees the same thing happen every spring.

Retail is perhaps the most extreme example of seasonality – with many retailers making 75%-90% of their profits in the last 6 weeks of the year. After all, that is the origin of the phrase “Black Friday” – black being an accounting term for profitable.

Seasonality is not a good or a bad thing – it simply is what it is. If you are in a seasonal industry, it is crucial you understand it and plan accordingly – although I will suggest that it does require a bit more discipline, especially if the “up time” is early in the year.

That’s it for this week, and just remember – for as much as there are universal truths, the devil is always in the details. You need to ensure that you are working with partners that understand the intricacies of your business.

Until next week!

Rick