Selling in a new season — Kelford Labs Weekly

Seasons are awfully distinct up here in Canada.

At some point, the winter coats and boots go into the closet and the rain jackets and running shoes come out.

Bar and restaurant patios move into what had so recently been slush-filled streets and sidewalks.

Driveway snowplowing businesses become landscapers and lawn mowers.

We prepare for what will be, optimistically, three months of nice weather before the first frost coats the world in its icy wickedness again.

And I always marvel at everyone’s ability to adapt, to act as if there’s nothing strange about a temperature that swings dozens of degrees overnight. Like there’s nothing unusual about ice falling from the sky one day, and green grass erupting into view the next.

We just keep going, adjusting to the way the weather and the seasons remake our priorities.

And yes, many businesses and industries are purely seasonal, shutting down for parts of the year and making hay in others.

But most don’t. Most adapt to the season. 

And our marketing must, too.

But I don’t really mean the seasons of the year. I mean the seasons of the market.

I mean the context within which we operate and sell our services.

“When circumstances change, we have to change. And we’ve got to change our marketing, too.”

— Should you change your marketing?

The season of the market changes, perhaps not as often but certainly just as severely, as the real seasons. And it remakes and remixes our prospects’ and clients’ priorities.

What was important just a few days ago might not be so important today if the season has changed enough in that time. 

So the way we’re selling might not make as much sense now as it did mere moments ago.

What we do is probably still useful, still helpful, still valuable.

But the way we demonstrate that value may no longer work, or at least not as well.

“It’s all about knowing for certain that we can’t know anything for certain, so we prepare for everything that’s likely.”

— Action under uncertainty

When the seasons change, we may just want to wait.

But we don’t have to.

We can change, too.

“We don’t need to know what will happen next because we’re prepared for whatever happens.”

— What flexibility means

We can adjust our marketing to fit the new moment. To fit the new set of priorities our prospects might hold.

We can remake our messages to suit the season.

Now, I have a request: I’d love to get more specific about how to suit your marketing to the current market “season,” but I want your questions. What’s changing in your market? What are you noticing about the current “season”? I’ll do my best to answer your questions in an upcoming newsletter.

Just reply to this email to tell me what you think, or ask any questions!

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