How to Keep Up Sales During the Summer

It’s no secret that sales can slow during the summer months. After all, most folks — including agents — often take advantage of school schedules and warm weather to go on family vacations, or simply check their emails a bit less than usual. When there’s outside fun to be had, it can seem more difficult to meet your insurance sales goals.

But the usual “summertime slump” doesn’t have to be your story. In fact, there are a number of tactics agents can use to take advantage of quieter summer months and keep their sales strong, and prepare for a swell of business in the fall. Read on for five key tips on how to keep up sales during the summer.

Expand Your Client List

One of the key ways to keep your business strong over the slower summer months is to find new clients to work with. And your existing client base is key to helping your growth. Take the time to reach out on an individual, personalized basis and ask your clients if they have any referrals — neighbors, relatives, kids going off to college in the fall, or friends who might be in need of insurance. The more care you put into your ask (via a phone call, a letter, or an email), the more likely you are to get a response.

The summer is also a great time to speak with local realtors and apartment building managers, as many people move during this season. Introduce yourself to new faces and offer your services to anyone who’s just come to the neighborhood — even if they aren’t ready to talk business right away, they’ll remember that you reached out.

Get Specific with Your Offerings

With more time on your hands, you can craft marketing materials that are specific to your various products and services. Perhaps you launch a series of targeted newsletters with in-depth Q&As, or write and post blogs on your website that you didn’t previously have the time to focus on.

You can also host free webinars or in-person workshops to educate existing clients and potential clients on your offerings. You’ll likely reach people who haven’t yet received specific information relevant to their needs, or people who have been on the fence because they didn’t have all the answers they needed. Not only does this work help generate immediate leads, but it will remain useful long past the summer and solidify you as a thought leader in your niche.

Follow Up on Past Leads

That to-do list you never seem to get to? Now is the time to tackle it. From basic housekeeping (finally organizing your email inbox, for example) to brilliant-but-never-executed ideas, to-do lists can prompt all sorts of change in business. You may stumble on an entire new demographic of business by finally following up on a past lead, or finally creating that social media profile you’ve been meaning to start.

Get Involved in Your Community

As mentioned earlier, the summer months are all about fun — and you should have a bit of fun, too! There’s no better time to get involved in your local community, and folks will remember a friendly face. From Fourth of July parades to neighborhood barbecues, make sure you take a break from work to be an active member of your community. After all, you can’t put a price on traditional face-to-face networking.

This is also a great time of year to sponsor a local event. With so many people out and about, you’ll get plenty of eyeballs on your business logo at the neighborhood pool, for instance, or at the high school baseball tournament.

Start Preparing for the Fall and Winter

Even with all of these tips, there is a chance that summer sales can cool down. But you can use your time wisely to make sure that fall and winter more than make up for it! Start prepping your marketing materials well in advance.

You can write and schedule seasonal social media posts, blog posts, and email newsletter series over the summer so that you’ll have more time for clients. Analyze problem areas from past years (as well as big sellers!) and work in advance so that you have any necessary materials ready to go when the busier season hits.