Thought For The Day

The Power of Good Timing

Any manufacturer or marketer would want to see his sales graph soar as soon as the product is launched. One sure way to see that your sales figures do not pick up is to launch the product or service at the wrong time. Alternately, time it right and half your job is done. As they say “Well begun is half done”.

The right time to launch sales of warm clothing for example is just before the onset of winter. The right time to advertise for fresh recruits is just before the university results are out.

Another illustrative example of the power of timing is in stock market operations as many know.

The lifeline of any business is sales and recruitment. More sales and more recruitment are needed to survive in a tough competitive market.

Timing of your sales pitch would depend on various factors as explained below.

1. X’mas gifts for example are best launched in early December of any year.



2. Cold and cough medicines can be promoted during monsoons for good results



3. Sports related products are best promoted just before an upcoming competitive event.

Right timing is important in business recruitment as well. During these times of recession some companies may resort to retrenchment. The laid off employees may be in search of their next job. They are likely to be more receptive to business opportunities. It is of utmost importance to work on the mentoring aspects while talking to such prospects.

People involved in marketing know well that advertising can be very effective in boosting sales if timed correctly. We have all seen how textile manufacturers time their advertisements to coincide with the school reopening dates. The advertisements in local FM, local TV channels and print media also should be timed correctly to be effective.

Big companies with surplus funds plan to diversify into other activities. They follow market trends closely and decide on which sector to invest in. In marketing field also one need to sense the trends and moods of the people you plan to sell to. Right timing again! We certainly cannot expect someone to listen to our sales talk if he is busy preparing for his university exams. The best time to meet him would be after his exams are over.

Let us say you have conducted an business seminar. The best results for recruiting downlines would be in the days immediately after the seminar. You should follow up with your prospects at regular intervals during the next few days without overdoing it. Be careful not to make follow up calls to a person in the mornings as he would be busy rushing to his work. Or if it is a holiday he may be sleeping till late morning. So follow up calls should be timed correctly. Calling up prospects several days after the seminar would be too late as they might have lost interest in the business opportunity.

Timely prospecting is the essence of success in marketing.