With Christmas just around the corner, a lot of focus and attention will naturally turn towards the festive period and the excitement of spending time with family in the weeks ahead.

This can lead many businesses to incorrectly assume that December is a bad month for calling prospects and securing new business contracts. However, this is not always the case, as the final month of the year can offer a unique set of opportunities for firms to capitalise on.

There is often a misconception that businesses are winding down in December and key decision makers are less likely to engage with incoming telemarketing communications.

In reality, the opposite is true, as December has been proven to deliver positive results in terms of securing new business meetings, providing the correct approach is taken.

 

Friendly responses

One of the key reasons why December is often a good month for calling new prospects is that people are generally in a positive and friendly mood given the time of year, which can help your cause, especially if it’s the first time reaching out to a specific individual.

The ‘festive cheer’ can have a positive influence on the reactions and behaviours of some individuals, allowing callers to start out on a positive footing and strike up an immediate relationship with the prospect.

Even if you are unable to arrange a new business meeting during the first phone conversation, the positive nature of the initial contact can lay the foundations for a healthy long-term relationship to develop, as the individual might welcome a follow-up call in the New Year.

Whatever the outcome may be, the positivity surrounding the festive period will only improve your chances of converting calls into strong new business opportunities.

 

Planning for the New Year

Another important benefit of contacting key decision makers during December is that many of them are in the process of planning their diaries for January, so they can hit the ground running after the Christmas break.

Although you may not be able to secure a face-to-face meeting before the New Year, making initial contact in December will boost your chances of arranging something for the first few weeks of January.

Not only this, but businesses will also be discussing and creating strategies for the year ahead, detailing their plans, targets and priorities for 2022. During those discussions, it may become clear that they require external support to achieve what they’ve set out – support that your business may be offering.

Therefore, it is important not to delay your approach, as you may miss out on an opportunity and be beaten to the punch by one of your close competitors, who has taken the initiative to call before the New Year.

 

Beat the competition…

When you consider these key benefits as well as the fact that key decision makers generally have a much quieter schedule in the lead up to Christmas, then there is no reason why businesses should refrain from making initial contact in the coming weeks.

Even if the person you have contacted doesn’t have the availability to meet face-to-face, they should engage with the conversation enough for you to make a positive first impression and lay the foundations for future meetings.

Ultimately, it won’t hurt your chances to take the initiative and reach out to prospects before Christmas. If nothing else, it gives you an opportunity to filter down your list of targets, removing businesses that don’t require your services.

Remember, if you were skeptical about contacting people in December then the chances are your competitors will be too, providing you with an opportunity to get in there before anyone else.