Episode 313
Planning for Fall During Summer's Slower Days [ Ep 313]
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Summer often means slower sales and distracted clients for service providers, coaches, consultants, freelancers, and creative professionals. But instead of panicking or checking out, what if you used this season strategically?
In this episode, I share why summer is actually your unfair advantage if you know how to use it. We'll talk about embracing the natural slowdown instead of fighting it, staying connected with your audience through light-touch, authentic nurturing, and practical ways to prepare your business for the busy fall season.
This is for done-for-you and done-with-you service providers ready to turn seasonal dips into planning time, marketing prep, and client experience upgrades. Whether you're a coach refining your offer, a consultant mapping your sales goals, or a freelancer updating onboarding systems, you'll get clear, practical strategies to make summer work for you.
Here's your Next Steps:
- Take the "Where's the Gap in Your Business Strategy" Quiz
- Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn or Facebook
- Visit my website to learn more and apply for the Focused Visionary Accelerator
- Sign up for my newsletter - Sunday Morning Brew - delivered every Sunday at 6 am
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Transcript
Hey, hey.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:We're talking about summer.
Speaker A:It's here.
Speaker A:Your clients are on vacation, you're going on vacation.
Speaker A:Your calendar feels a little lighter.
Speaker A:There's a little bit more white space in it.
Speaker A:Well, from a business perspective, probably less white space from a personal perspective.
Speaker A:And it's super, super tempting to disappear.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:And I have talked about summer multiple years, every year in a row.
Speaker A:If you want to go back and look at June of the previous year, you can find episodes regarding summer every single year on this podcast.
Speaker A:But this year, I really want to talk about how to stay connected during the summer and also how to use the summer slower season to kind of prep for a really strong, strong fall.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:There is a little bit of an unfair advantage to using the summer.
Speaker A:However, I also feel very, very strongly about enjoying summer, especially for those that are in countries or states that get very limited summer months.
Speaker A:So, anyways, that's what we're talking about today.
Speaker A:Strap on in and let's dive in.
Speaker A:So, so here's the thing.
Speaker A:First and foremost, summer is naturally slower, right?
Speaker A:Like, it just is.
Speaker A:There are certain businesses that are going to keep going strong throughout the summer.
Speaker A:There are certain people, you know, and you're always going to see people promoting, saying that they have these big launches or things are going good or they're not going to slow down, or there's no such thing as a summer slump and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker A:I've talked about this other a million times, okay?
Speaker A:But summer is just naturally slower, right?
Speaker A:You need to prep for and plan for and be prepared for, you know, a drop off in client calls, maybe a little bit slower in sales.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Because people are just busy and kids are home, Summer camps are in session, vacations are happening.
Speaker A:I mean, there's a lot of vacations that go, you know, happen.
Speaker A:And in general, people just have different schedules in the summer.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So you're going to start even in the podcast.
Speaker A:Like, even for this podcast, I will start to see a decline in listenership and downloads.
Speaker A:It just happens because people just aren't like, in work mode as much and they're not listening to podcasts as much.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, I was actually super surprised that so far, my email, my Sunday morning brew email is still getting like a 58 to 62% open rate.
Speaker A:I really, truly expected that to drop in the summer.
Speaker A:But here's the thing.
Speaker A:Like, I expect it.
Speaker A:So when it doesn't, it's like a surprise.
Speaker A:And it's a welcomed surprise.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, I really appreciate it, okay?
Speaker A:But here's What I want you to very clearly remember and keep yourself in check and whether you need to write this on a post it note, plaster it on your whiteboard, right?
Speaker A:Like, if summer is slower, do not assume your business is failing.
Speaker A:Do not assume you are doing everything wrong.
Speaker A:Do not assume you need to make a million pivots and you need to throw everything away and start over and change a million things and all of that, right?
Speaker A:Like, it isn't.
Speaker A:It's just summer, okay?
Speaker A:Like, it's just the season for it.
Speaker A:You're not doing anything wrong.
Speaker A:You're not.
Speaker A:I promise you, you're not doing anything wrong, okay?
Speaker A:So you just need to really focus on the things that you can control and being consistently, like, being consistent and staying connected in the way that feels good to you.
Speaker A:But here's the other thing.
Speaker A:Before I dive into, like, ways that you can stay connected and all of that, as far as, like, using summer to propel you into fall, here's what I really want everybody to hear and listen.
Speaker A:For those of you that live in countries or states that do not get summer months, and for those of you that suffer from seasonal depression, or those of you that really enjoy the summer heat and hot weather and sunshine and boating and the beach and water and the pool and all of those things, I want you to embrace that, right?
Speaker A:Like, I know in the Northeast, where I'm from, in Syracuse, they went six months, six straight months where every single weekend it rained or they had some type of precipitation, so snow or rain, six months, six months, they did not have a dry freaking weekend.
Speaker A:So let me tell you, if you've got a dry weekend, go out and enjoy it, okay?
Speaker A:Or a dry week.
Speaker A:Like, if you know the weekend's gonna rain and on Tuesday, Wednesday, it's clear, like, get your booty to the pool, right?
Speaker A:If you are that type of person that thrives in that, I want you to go and do those things, okay?
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And I don't want you to feel bad about it and I don't want you to feel guilty about it, all right?
Speaker A:So that is first and foremost.
Speaker A:If you are somebody that thrives in the summer and you want to enjoy it, go enjoy it, okay?
Speaker A:And don't let anybody tell you that you are failing yourself, that you should be working harder, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker A:However, if you are going to embrace what that season has, then I just want you to also understand that you are going to see a slowdown, you are going to see less sales, you are going to see a drop off in your calls, right?
Speaker A:Like you can't want one thing and also expect the results of being on all the time.
Speaker A:So just be very, very clear in your expectations.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:But here's what I want you to think about is what are the ways that you can stay connected without adding more to your plate and without at.
Speaker A:Without missing out on the things that are important to you, right?
Speaker A:Because again, there is a level of out of sight, out of mind.
Speaker A:But again, if you disappear for two months and then you come back, like, it's not the end of the world.
Speaker A:It really isn't.
Speaker A:So, but even then, I don't think anybody needs to really, truly disappear.
Speaker A:You've got scheduling softwares, you've got email.
Speaker A:You've got these, you know, an app on your phone.
Speaker A:There's things that you can do to stay connected, right?
Speaker A:So maybe it's just consistently sending out your email once a month or consistently sending it once a week, right?
Speaker A:So for me, the Sunday morning brew is consistent.
Speaker A:I don't see myself ever stopping that.
Speaker A:Like, even in, like, the craziness that was of June with vacation and my mom being in the hospital and ICU and all the things, like, I still found the time to write my email because I'm in such a routine with it that it doesn't take me that long.
Speaker A:So whatever that is that you're in a routine with, whether that's scheduling out some content.
Speaker A:And here's the other thing.
Speaker A:Use old content.
Speaker A:I want you to use old content.
Speaker A:I have been looking into all of the content that I have from this podcast, and I paid copywriters for years and years and years to write content.
Speaker A:I'm literally drowning in it.
Speaker A:And I was reading it the other day, and I was like, this content is all still extremely relevant, right?
Speaker A:So, like, the summer is a great time to repurpose old content.
Speaker A:You don't have to create new content.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:And you can even actually in a lot of these schedulers, set it up to repeat.
Speaker A:Do you think anybody's going to say, like, oh, my God, I feel like that was the exact same post I read a month ago from Michelle.
Speaker A:No, nobody cares.
Speaker A:Nobody's paying that close of attention, right?
Speaker A:Like, I promise you that.
Speaker A:So, like, schedule the content out to repeat.
Speaker A:Like, at least it keeps you top of mind.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:And then as far as, like, networking or showing up, there's a lot of groups that are, like, once a month, there's some, you know, you can show up inside of a Facebook community if you're in a private or paid community, Spend your time there, right?
Speaker A:Like, if you are in, like, one private community and, you know, five free communities, like, just put your time and effort into the paid community and let the free ones go for a little while.
Speaker A:Like, nothing, Nothing is going to be that urgent.
Speaker A:Like, I think that's what I want you to remember is, yes, like, sales comes from, you know, showing up and doing the work.
Speaker A:But also, if you really want to embrace this summer, then just pick the one thing that you can stay consistent on, whether that's.
Speaker A:It could be direct outreach, it could be, again, email, like one marketing channel.
Speaker A:It could be blogging, it could be a podcast.
Speaker A:If you have a podcast, you could just stay consistent with your podcast, those type of things.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So light, touch, nurturing, that's what you're really going for, is staying top of mind.
Speaker A:Because your audience attention is just as scattered as yours, right?
Speaker A:Like, they're just as busy.
Speaker A:They're enjoying their summer, too.
Speaker A:They're not consuming content the way they normally do.
Speaker A:None of us are.
Speaker A:Like, when I was on vacation, I didn't really consume a ton of content.
Speaker A:When my mom was in the hospital, I didn't really consume a ton of content, right?
Speaker A:So, like, it just.
Speaker A:You don't consume as much content and so you don't need to put as much content out there.
Speaker A:Although, because people are not seeing it as much.
Speaker A:Like, that's why I'm a huge fan of email, because it's in their inbox.
Speaker A:Now, I know people have like these inbox issues, but that's a topic for another day, okay?
Speaker A:So you can just do the things that will consider.
Speaker A:Like, that's super easy.
Speaker A:But here's the other flip side to this point.
Speaker A:The flip side to this is that because so many people take a break in the summer and so many people don't post that your content has the potential or anything that you're doing for visibility, right?
Speaker A:Anything that you do for visibility has the potential to reach more people or be seen by more eyes or more dedicated eyes because there's less noise in the space.
Speaker A:Because there are so many people that are not creating content because there are so many people that are not showing up because there's just a lot less going on.
Speaker A:That it is still a really, really powerful time to sell.
Speaker A:Because there's so many people that aren't selling, right?
Speaker A:There's so many people that are not selling that when you are, you're getting more eyes on your content because there's just less content to absorb or less.
Speaker A:You're getting more eyes on your Offers and whatnot.
Speaker A:So I definitely think that there is a very fine line.
Speaker A:But again, everybody's got to do what feels good to them.
Speaker A:You know, again, like in the summer in Florida, it' rainy season.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like our weather is not ideal and it's hot as hell.
Speaker A:So my summer is like most people's winter.
Speaker A:So for me it's a great time to work.
Speaker A:We don't have hardly.
Speaker A:We went on vacation early in June and we don't have any other vacations planned for the rest of the summer.
Speaker A:So summer to me is like go time.
Speaker A:It's go season.
Speaker A:I'm going to be like balls to the wall.
Speaker A:Like I'm posting more content, I've got more episodes I'm doing.
Speaker A:I've recorded a bunch of extra episodes in Pocket Insights.
Speaker A:I'm hosting workshops because I have the time right.
Speaker A:And so it's just, it's a great way for me to stand out a little bit because again there's less people creating and selling during the summer.
Speaker A:So catch 22, right?
Speaker A:So think about how you can stay connected, how you can continue to stay top of mind.
Speaker A:It could just be some casual check ins.
Speaker A:Again, super short emails.
Speaker A:They don't have to be long emails.
Speaker A:They can be very short.
Speaker A:You could do continue to do virtual coffees.
Speaker A:I've been doing four on four coffee chats.
Speaker A:I started doing those or in the summer.
Speaker A:So I'll drop the link if you want to participate in that.
Speaker A:Like it's, that's a great way to leverage your time.
Speaker A:It's like me, you and two other people all in an hour.
Speaker A:And I keep a directory so I'm going to make introductions.
Speaker A:So that's a really fabulous way to just continue to like stay connected.
Speaker A:And you can hop on one of those whenever it's convenient.
Speaker A:So those are available stuff like that.
Speaker A:A lot of people are doing those little things like that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But here's the other thing is that fall we all know is a super busy season.
Speaker A:The very end of Q3 into Q4.
Speaker A:So September, October, November, really busy seasons.
Speaker A:They're launch seasons, holiday season.
Speaker A:It's people in business planning mode, prep mode.
Speaker A:People start to freak out because it's like, holy, it's now all of a sudden the end of Q3, the year's almost over, I got to get my act together.
Speaker A:You, I mean, and so you can utilize your summer downtime.
Speaker A:Especially if you've got more free space in your calendar to plan and get ahead, get ahead of the game.
Speaker A:Like if you know you've Got a launch coming up for Black Friday, which I don't recommend just because it's craziness, but I mean, there.
Speaker A:It's powerful.
Speaker A:It's just.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:It's not my thing, but.
Speaker A:Because I love to shop on Black Friday.
Speaker A:But, you know, if, you know, you have fall offer coming up, you know, every year I do business planning at the end of the year.
Speaker A:I always run a business planning event in December so I can get ahead for that.
Speaker A:I've got my retreat happening in November, so I can get ahead of the game for that.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, this is a great time to kind of clean up your systems, your operations, any onboarding that's going wrong.
Speaker A:This is not a season.
Speaker A:I would say it's a good season to create something new, but I don't know that it's a great season to launch something new.
Speaker A:So it's a good season to create for a launch in the fall.
Speaker A:That's what I would really, really think about is, like, what do you want to market in the fall?
Speaker A:What are your sales goals in the fall?
Speaker A:What do you.
Speaker A:Is your pricing correct?
Speaker A:Do you want to change your packaging?
Speaker A:How much capacity do you have?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Can you start prepping your audience?
Speaker A:Can you start doing a visibility campaign?
Speaker A:Can you start doing podcast guesting?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, what are the things that you can be doing now that are going to prep you for those fall launches, for that fall visibility?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I think that that is a great opportunity because you've got the downtime, right?
Speaker A:You've got the downtime.
Speaker A:So it's a wonderful season.
Speaker A:And there are other people who actually have a lot more childcare in the summer, so they're busier and they're working one to one.
Speaker A:So don't be afraid to put offers out there.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Don't be afraid to secure clients and say, hey, listen, I've got this thing.
Speaker A:It's starting in September.
Speaker A:Do you want to secure your spot now?
Speaker A:Like, I know, and I can get you going.
Speaker A:Maybe you offer a couple bonus sessions in the summer to get them going, but you start in the fall, right?
Speaker A:There's so many different ways you can incentivize and promo, but this is a good time.
Speaker A:Like I said, there's less.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:There's less people promoting, so the eyeballs that are watching are consuming less.
Speaker A:So you can.
Speaker A:You can stand out a little bit more.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:But plan your fall offers.
Speaker A:Get ahead of the game.
Speaker A:Be ready.
Speaker A:Start looking at August, September, October, November.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Print out your calendars and figure out what.
Speaker A:What offers do you have when do you want to promo?
Speaker A:How much promo time do you need?
Speaker A:Are you going to live launch?
Speaker A:Is it Evergreen?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, there's so many things that you can prep to use for that busy, busy season, and then you can be ready and like chill in December if you wanted to be.
Speaker A:Although December last year was like crazy busy, I did not expect that.
Speaker A:But I am planning for it this year.
Speaker A:I will tell you that December was not as slow as I expected it to be.
Speaker A:And I do feel like December is going to be busy again this year.
Speaker A:I'm just seeing a little bit of a trend.
Speaker A: ake December off, but because: Speaker A:And I think there is going to be a big push at the end of the year because people are just coming up a little bit short, right?
Speaker A:And so they're going to do what they need to do to hit their goals.
Speaker A:So anyway, that's just.
Speaker A:I have no idea if that's true or not.
Speaker A:It's just my feeling.
Speaker A:And it may or may not be right.
Speaker A:But summer, I want to wrap with this.
Speaker A:Summer is summer, right?
Speaker A:And it can be whatever season you want it to be.
Speaker A:And you can use it to prep for the fall, you can use it to continue to stay busy, you can ramp up, you can slow down, you can do whatever the hell you want.
Speaker A:That's the beauty of it, right?
Speaker A:And what works for one person, again, doesn't always work for you.
Speaker A:So I would say this, if you want some action steps, here they are.
Speaker A:I would really encourage you to pick one type of connection or top of mind visibility strategy that you can commit to.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So like, what does that look like?
Speaker A:Does that look like three direct outreaches a week?
Speaker A:Does that look like scheduling out content and reusing old content?
Speaker A:Does it look like, you know, going live?
Speaker A:Does it look like hosting a masterclass?
Speaker A:Whatever that looks like.
Speaker A:Does it look like attending a networking event once a month?
Speaker A:And that's it, you know, whatever it is, but like, just pick one.
Speaker A:You just want to do something to stay visible.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And then really look at what is the one thing that you want to start preparing for in the fall, right?
Speaker A:Is it that you need to update some marketing?
Speaker A:Do you need to work on the back end of something?
Speaker A:Do you have an offer that, like the.
Speaker A:The systems aren't quite set up, the client onboarding's not really set up, and where can you Prep for the fall.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I really would encourage you to print out.
Speaker A:I know it sounds old school, but, like, print out or go buy a calendar.
Speaker A:Because the visual representation is so much easier to see it.
Speaker A:Like, when you can see those months printed, you will see how quickly they go by, too.
Speaker A:Especially with time off and holidays and kids schedules and all the things.
Speaker A:So print them off and work backwards.
Speaker A:That's the easiest way to do it, is look at your fall and work backwards.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So that is what I want you to think about is summer.
Speaker A:How to stay connected, how to allow yourself the slowdown.
Speaker A:And remember, if things are a little slower this summer, it doesn't mean you're failing.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Can I get an amen?
Speaker A:I just learned that you can comment if you listen on Spotify.
Speaker A:Somebody told me that you can comment on Spotify and I can, like, respond and we can chat about it.
Speaker A:So, like, if you're a Spotify listener, I'd love for you to try it.
Speaker A:Like, comment somewhere on this episode.
Speaker A:I'd love to see it.
Speaker A:Like, I don't even know how I find that, but anyway, are you with me?
Speaker A:Okay, Summer, let it be the season that it is, because it is just that season.
Speaker A:I'm telling you, I'm eight years into this.
Speaker A:There are some summers are super busy and they, you know, exceed your expectations.
Speaker A:And then there are other summers that are like, oh, my gosh, it's like absolute crickets out there.
Speaker A:2025 is kind of a wild card.
Speaker A:So I don't really know what to tell you.
Speaker A:I think you're going to see a little bit of both.
Speaker A:I think you're going to see the people that are out there promoting and doing their thing.
Speaker A:And I also think you're going to see the people enjoying summer, especially those that were in the Northeast that literally got six months of straight rain.
Speaker A:So go enjoy your summer.
Speaker A:Have fun, and just like, be present, be present.
Speaker A:No matter what you choose to do, be present in it.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:I love you.
Speaker A:I believe in you, and I will talk to you soon.
Speaker A:Thanks so much for listening today, but remember, now it's time to take action.
Speaker A:My goal is to get you results.
Speaker A:So what is one action you can commit to taking this week?
Speaker A:Feel free to share it with me in my DMs or tag me on your socials.
Speaker A:Not sure what action to take.
Speaker A:Grab the link in the show notes and schedule a strategic power hour.
Speaker A:We can talk through it together and get you a strategic plan of action in just 60 short minutes.
Speaker A:Oh, and one last favor.
Speaker A:As with every podcast, reviews and ratings are what help us continue to show up and grow.
Speaker A:So if you wouldn't mind, please take a quick minute to leave a five star review on Apple or Spotify and share this episode with a friend.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker A:Talk soon.
