By Shana Lynn Yao

We're head on into the holiday season and while Santa is busy with the elves in his workshop, if you're like me and serious about your business, I'm sure you're mind is filled with more than just snowflakes and reindeer.

The holidays are my favorite season because the hustle and bustle of holiday marketing and selling has been my life for over 28 years as a retail and shopping center Marketing Director and now entrepreneur working with small businesses and small business owners. It's so fun to think that almost 30% of annual sales are made in December alone!

So if you haven't been making your numbers, or want to set a new even higher target, this is the month to do it!

Here are a few tips that will help you maximize your holiday sales this month.

➻ Sell VALUE over PRICE - This is the golden rule of ALL business (not just the holidays but something to take note before you start discounting everything). If your business is positioned right - which means at the high value it should be - your clients are NOT buying what you have strictly on price. You can't go low enough to "convince" them to buy.

On that note, that means when your MARKETING is right, you need to use this time to build AWARENESS. You can do that by promoting possibly one or a few things at a low price/special offer but keep everything else at a normal price.

Remember, that the message you send out by "going salesy" impacts your long term value.

➻ Set a December sales goal -  this is where most entrepreneurs start wrong. They set out to make money, but without a target, thinking that if they make money, that is how much they can make. This puts you in a state of lack, and doesn't force you to think outside of the box and make bold moves, which are essential to actually gaining sales momentum.

Instead, set a sales goal (a high number) and design/decide the marketing strategy you need to use to reach it.

➻ Know which products and services you are going to sell and discount. Decide which ones you want to highlight, which ones you put on sale, and which ones will bring in the most cash. This way, when you meet a new person and see you can help them, you aren't fumbling trying to remember what you have that you can just show them or send to them right away.

➻ Continue growing your network. Marketing is a push/pull strategy - so produce your good work but also make an effort to build relationships online. (this does NOT mean live on Facebook but spending deliberate and focused time to connect with people who need you.)

➻ Market yourself EVERY SINGLE DAY with the intention of selling a product or service EVERY DAY. I know that sounds intimidating - like you don't want to bother people - but %FIRSTNAME%, you have a business. People aren't going to not like you because you're doing your job. And if they do, why do you care? They probably weren't meant to be graced by your presence anyway :)

➻ Keep them coming back. Maximize your sales with people that visit your website or store. Create a bounce back coupon, a % off additional purchases at a later date, and even offer free shipping. The customers who buy from you once are more likely to be the customers who will buy from you multiple times. Use the holidays as an opportunity to build awareness.

➻ This may be the most important, but decide that you are worth it. YES. You are worth putting yourself out there, trying your best to meet your income goals, and deciding that you are enough. That's what confidence is. It's the inner knowing that you are always right and perfect when you decide the rules (my celebrity hair colorist told me that - and it's how he went from nobody to being respected as one of the best hair colorists in the world).

I'll leave you with a video I did yesterday about how to get confident on demand. And I want to hear, what will you be trying to this season to get your profit goals met?

Know that if you think you're worth more than the amount of money you're making. Let's get you into the black and then some. 

Hi! I'm Shana. I'm a Brand Strategist, a creative mind and a dog lover who believes in helping others do good in the world with your work. I'm all about helping clients uncover solutions to the blocks that hold you back in your business, to increase your abundance, and build a business and brand you are proud of. 

I created TOTAL GENIUS to help you uncover your brand DNA. It's the solid foundation of your business based on who you are and what you love so that you can actually have a business that makes you rich - from the inside out.

After years of studying neuroscience, human behavior, and psychology, in addition to my award winning 28 year career as a business and marketing strategist, I discovered the art and science behind building a purposeful and profitable business by empowering your strengths and life experience and building it into your brand story that connects and sells.

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