How many people do you know that only market their businesses when things get slow and the pipeline dries up? This is all too common, unfortunately, and it really needs to stop. Your business is not a rollercoaster (even though it may feel like one) and it’s not a healthy way to grow. Allow me to illuminate with a metaphor:

You intend to grow corn year round so you can eat like a king. You have two choices – which one makes more sense?

1. Corn takes about 6 months to grow to bear fruit. In January, you plant all of your corn seeds. By July, you harvest. By August, you plant again, because by then, the seeds are dried and ready to go. You have a bountiful crop and it lasts you for one glorious month where you have more than you ever needed and you end up having so much you end up giving some away. Unfortunately, after that, there is none and you’re hungry and have to live on very little until the next crop is ready to harvest. What do you do from November until the next crop is ready to harvest again?
2. Given that it takes about 6 months to grow to bear fruit and about 7 months to have new seeds from the original crop, you do your seed plantings in 7 consecutive monthly intervals. You continually reap the benefits, beginning in month 6. When crop 1 is harvested, dried and has produced viable seeds, you are ready to start over, and have a steady supply of corn.
   Is it obvious to see which the better choice is? Even more importantly, do you see WHY?

In scenario 1, you are faced with the likelihood of having business/corn come in waves where there are extreme highs, but also extreme lows, to your supply. When you experience the extreme highs, you may not need the entire “crop” and have to turn some of the business away. When you experience the extreme lows, you may end up with very little to live on. In other words, this may translate to lost potential revenues that you couldn’t handle because you were either too busy to handle the bounty or too hungry to afford the seeds you needed to plant to start a new “crop.”

In scenario 2, you are faced with a slower but steadier supply of business/corn. The “crop” that comes in is what you have prepared for and can logically handle in an efficient manner, where there is little to no “waste.” Maximum benefit with no change in effort.

In summary, if you plant marketing seeds now and regularly throughout the year, you can expect to regularly harvest new business from new prospects and existing clientele.