Cracking the Code of Holiday Sales (Yes, start prepping now!)
Aug 09, 2023Episode 245
Roxanne Wilson & Taryn Sowa
Ever wondered why Black Friday got its name? Or how to turn the holiday shopping frenzy to your advantage? We are here to illuminate these mysteries and share our best strategies for making the most of the 2023 holiday season!
We'll guide you on:
how to prepare early for the holiday rush
why list building is a crucial aspect you shouldn't overlook
how your holiday sales performance can set the tone for your business in the first quarter of the next year
Tune in as we share why having a plan is an absolute necessity and provide tips on dodging potential pitfalls. We'll also discuss how big companies leverage the holiday rush and how you can too. Let us help you navigate the holiday season like a pro and maximize your sales.
Ever wondered why Black Friday got its name? Or how to turn the holiday shopping frenzy to your advantage? We are here to illuminate these mysteries and share our best strategies for making the most of the 2023 holiday season!
We'll guide you on:
how to prepare early for the holiday rush
why list building is a crucial aspect you shouldn't overlook
how your holiday sales performance can set the tone for your business in the first quarter of the next year
Tune in as we share why having a plan is an absolute necessity and provide tips on dodging potential pitfalls. We'll also discuss how big companies leverage the holiday rush and how you can too. Let us help you navigate the holiday season like a pro and maximize your sales.
Welcome to Rock's Talks, the podcast that helps network marketers grow their business on social media. I'm Roxanne Wilson, social media network marketing coach, with nearly a decade of experience in the space, as well as television and radio experience, and a passion to really help you and empower you to be the best network marketer you can be, which means knowing yourself and knowing your brand.
Speaker 2:
And I'm Taryn Soa, your social media sidekick. I run all things behind the scenes at Rock's Talks, While being the right hand woman to Roxanne, I also strategize and manage our full social media plan. So I would love to share with you the tips, the happenings, all the things going on in the social media world.
Speaker 1:
Each week, we're here to give you the latest and greatest direct selling, social selling, network marketing, whatever you like to call it. The end game is for you to really understand your business, understand yourself and your brand and to rock it on social media. Happy holidays, come on now. Happy holidays, everybody. Happy holidays.
Speaker 2:
There you go. We haven't heard this tune in a while from you.
Speaker 1:
I know, I hope that something like like. It was like a good like Trigrick oh my gosh, activate holiday plan. Now it's like the secret song all around the world, all these direct sellers and small business owners are ready to get into Christmas action. I love it, which is different than Christmas in July, which is why we're not time-outed during Christmas in July. It's not the same thing. Exactly, these two are not the same thing.
Speaker 2:
It's not Christmas in August Exactly.
Speaker 1:
It's getting ready. Christmas in July is an excuse to get a lot of sales, and that's fine. Take it forward, but that is not a Christmas marathon, and when I say Christmas, I mean the holidays, Happy holidays. So if you do not celebrate Christmas, that is, you don't stop listening, because Christmas happens to be many things, including, yes, a major time for people to be buying gifts and shopping. Yeah, and for themselves, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Not just for others. No, yes, Exactly so. As a result, historically, if you're new to the podcast the Pottypot podcast and the Lester, hello, it's so good to have you and you are part of the RocksTalks community. What you don't know is that one of my major major mountains dying on the mountain, but I am putting a banner on it is getting you ready for the holiday season.
Speaker 1:
I think we need to go into like, why that's so important? Okay, but you don't go there. It's like why is she talking about Christmas? Tell me she's not talking about Christmas.
Speaker 1:
Some one of my instructors I was taking a Shred class at my gym and she was complaining about how she went to Costco and Costco had ribbon already for Christmas and she's like oh, not yet. Come on now people. So she's like I'm not going back till February, which is a lie because you can't buy that much of Costco. You do have to go back before then. But here's the deal that I'm not talking about it just so that, like you can, I can like sell you on Christmas, before anyone else says it's not the goal. I'm talking about it now because you have to have a plan and play and start that right now. In fact, you may have noticed that Last week we talked about list building and there's a reason for that. Because your list, if you don't have anyone to spell Christmas to guess what you're not going to? Now is the time for that. You go back and watch that list in that episode, or watch it because it is like fire and gold and amazing. Right, Terry Berry, turn up my heart.
Speaker 2:
It's so good, so juicy.
Speaker 1:
But right now. Now you know that let's talk about the plan and why you need the plan. Back in the day I was a host on International Shopping Network. That's where I first learned from my mentors the importance. I hadn't done retail before that. I didn't know. For those of you who have done retail, you probably know that there's some things that maybe you're like. I wasn't the grandpa, but you know that there are things in place because around October things just showed up. They don't just show up without a plan. That plan happened prior.
Speaker 1:
The reason this is important is this People are in a buying mood and spirit the last three months of the year. That's one, two. How you do, how much you sell, how many people you recruit during that time dictates how you're going to do the first three months of the year. Oh, so, literally, when you think about the holiday season, it really determines half of the year. And let's be real, I know you guys never want to think about it when we're in the summertime, summertime, but you know that in the summertime you check out, they check out.
Speaker 1:
Your numbers typically are not what you'd want them to be. In the summer they're not because that's sweetest, but if you have a really great six months prior or around there. Yeah, six months prior, that's right. That makes up for all the things. So it's determined. There's a reason Black Friday was called Black Friday, not because of the color, which I do love, the color black black but because of the fact that in the numbers unlike when you think about accounting businesses would be in the red all year long. And that one day, that Black Friday, that kickoff to the holiday season traditionally, although we know it's a lot sooner, as you know that that would get them in the black, so red would be like negative, we're spent more money than we made and that one day would get them in the black for the whole entire year.
Speaker 2:
That is a great way to think about it, that as business owners, I think we need to put on the hat. That not every month you're going to like keep having amazing, amazing, amazing sales Maybe you do. That's awesome, but it does fluctuate.
Speaker 1:
Totally, totally.
Speaker 2:
And knowing that your summer is slow, ok, take this time plan so you can really cushion yourself here coming up in the last half of the year.
Speaker 1:
I love that you said that, because a good example of fluctuation is this when you have a month where you or your company does like a site wide.
Speaker 2:
20 percent off. 20 percent off or get one free.
Speaker 1:
Guess who's not shopping the next month? The people who shut the month.
Speaker 2:
Me. I got what I needed. I bought for three months. Thank you.
Speaker 1:
That right there, exactly. And so you need to realize that's the same thing with holidays. Now you might say, ok, well, why would I want to do holiday specials if I know that's going to happen? Because people are in the mood and they're looking for ways to spend their money. There's only a fine amount of dollars, right? So money doesn't grow on trees. Your mama told you that a long time ago and you know it's true.
Speaker 1:
Or if you have a dollar tree not a dollar tree, but a tree that a tree that money grows on you're keeping it to yourself when you should really share it with the rest of us. Don't be like JLO and hide all your beauty secrets. So you have to realize that they want to spend this money, they're going to spend it somewhere, and the reason you're seeing Christmas start sooner and sooner and sooner the season is because big companies realize oh wait, if we're first to the well, we get most of our all the water. It really comes down to you. Yeah, you must not scare you. This is to let you realize that you do need to have a plan in place right now.
Speaker 2:
Right now.
Speaker 1:
Right, we'll start formulating Heck, yes, we're in August.
Speaker 2:
Heck. Yes to the yes. Okay, right now, people, you pause this podcast. No, just kidding. Don't pause it yet. Listen to it into its entirety, because we do have something to make this easy for you.
Speaker 1:
Do we? Yes, okay, yes, you know. I remember like back in the beginning days when I was like all right, all right, that work markers. Right, all right, social sellers. Right Right, you need to have a holiday plan in place, they looked at me like I was sidelined but the small few stayed around and gone and like, oh my gosh, had a great holiday season. In the next year. More people are like I hear you know I do holidays. I'm like I know you hear you know to do the holidays. Last month, the year, we did a whole ultimate holiday workshop.
Speaker 2:
Workshop. Oh, that was so good, so good, so good.
Speaker 1:
We're not doing that this year, if you haven't heard me for the last three years say, and you all are like, why not Roxie? And if it works, why are you trying to break it If it don't? If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it, cause I'm a manifest. We don't do the same thing over and over again.
Speaker 2:
That's literally what I was going to say, cause she's a manifest and you missed the train. Bye.
Speaker 1:
If I was anyone else, we would do this on repeat, am I right? Yes, yes, but that's too boring. Uh-uh, I'm not sure what the content is, but that doesn't mean that the content juicy, juicy, good content is not there. Y'all, I've got this strategy for you. You can see it in many different iterations, the steps. I think I even put the workbook the workbook is even available Like, yeah, just get off your duffs. Um, yeah, I think I did that. It was a very, it was a process. I was like, okay, cause there's so much Christmas stuff, I even said listen, if I forgot something, I'll add it to it. Here's the deal. I did this my Christmas in July, cause my Christmas in July was getting married, just in case you were wondering.
Speaker 2:
Forget the fourth of July. We are getting married Christmas in July.
Speaker 1:
Oh, you're going to get some people mad. We do love the United States of America and we love our independence.
Speaker 2:
We do and I love that day I was celebrating, I was traveling.
Speaker 1:
No, I already traveled, I was you were there. You were there, I was splitting around being a bride. Let me just tell you this Okay, yes, I was just saying my life.
Speaker 2:
She was the white and the red, white and blue.
Speaker 1:
I was, anyway. My style of sidebar, my styles. I got my hair done again. She's telling me I'm coming too soon. She's like you, coming to something I don't know. I just started mermaid locks. I don't know when to come and not to come. Anyway, she's like. I saw your Instagram stories, which are highlights, by the way. Now did you see my pretty highlights? I did a nice job.
Speaker 2:
I saw them. I didn't click through them because I watched them in real time.
Speaker 1:
I didn't say yes, but they're there so and she's like what I can't believe is that you wore white the entire time I go. I know it was so great. She's like how did you not get it dirty? And she's like the third or fourth, fifth, 10th person. I said there's a trick, and I've learned this a long time ago.
Speaker 1:
There's a trick to wearing white and not getting dirty. Okay, it's not like, oh, I can only have rosé or white wine. It's not like oh, I can only eat clear things, substances. That's not what it is. It's not giving up. That was my belief. When you don't worry about getting stuff on your white clothing. You don't get stuff on your white clothing. I'm telling you. I'm telling you it probably goes back to the whole thing about. I learned from this one of my coaches, so you know the word no. Our brain does not comprehend the word no. That does not mean let me put that in the right context Okay, cause no means no. But when you tell yourself you're not going to do something like gummy bears, which I've had to try to tell myself, I feel like your brain knows the positive Gummy bears.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, Gummy bears Right. So when you say something like I'm not going to get anything on my white clothes, get it on there, get it on there. You made it a magnet.
Speaker 2:
I'm going to try that out, but here's what I really think. The solution was what you have so many white outfits. As soon as you spill, you change.
Speaker 1:
Never wear it again. That sounds very sensible, but I never had to do that and I even. I wore my aloe, or a Scott calls them aloe sweats and white traveling. Traveling I got on multiple planes, yes, whatever that way and back, and I had a little bit of thing that could be dusted off. That was it. Wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 2:
I'm telling you, you guys, if you get anything from this podcast, screw the holidays. It's how to wear white, how to wear whites, how to look.
Speaker 1:
Yes, ok, sorry, we get back to the subject in hand. It's very important. That's a bit like y'all try it and you'll come back. Go rock and roll, right, if I don't give up, then it's all good.
Speaker 2:
Got it, I'm doing it yes.
Speaker 1:
Where were we with that wearing white?
Speaker 2:
So can people get past holiday things? I think that's what you were alluding to.
Speaker 1:
I was alluding to the fact that July was wedding for me so energetically. It's all there. It's all there. It's amazing. It's juicy stuff, by the way. It's stuff that literally small business owners like you have grown their business in a big, major way. From it you have the breakdown of your social media strategy. You have the breakdown on parties, on how to do corporate gifts, on how to set up the specials or use specials based on what your company suggests. You even have information on how to track it, and so you can look back and go this is working. Let me pivot. You got all that and you've got the Rarassis Kumbah in there. I put our podcast episodes, by the way as well, to about the holidays in there, just so you know. So it's so great.
Speaker 1:
And so at the end of July, I was like, ok, I'm going to give this away. I'm just going to give it away. Z if I just mention it, I'm going to give it away and say, listen, y'all, you need to. My one thing is you can have it for free or complimentary, whatever you want to call it, but you just got to use it. Don't sit on it. And so I did. I opened the vault, closed back the vault. The vault's closed. Well, there's always people who hear about things like I wanted it and right now I'm not selling it, I'm literally giving it away, and so it's like you need access to it again. I get that, ok. Did you hear that noise? That noise was the elf named Terbear tearing up my heart. Running back over to the safe, happened to grab that old skeleton key and unlocked it, and she was pulling it open.
Speaker 2:
Prying it open for you guys. Prying it open the Christmas vault.
Speaker 1:
The lights, all the Christmas-colored and Hanukkah-colored lights just came on.
Speaker 2:
You guys happy holidays. We have a gift for you Happy holidays, happy holidays.
Speaker 1:
Happy holidays, happy holidays. I was snapping like I didn't have rhythm. I was stepping on the one and two. That's funny. It's too poor, you know if you know. So, yeah, it's open. I'm opening it back and listen. If you already have it, you're doing a disservice to anyone else on your team from America who wants to let you know by not telling them hey, here's the vault, go get it.
Speaker 2:
Here's the vault. Let's go through this together and plan our holiday season now In August. We'll give you a little leeway if you wait till September. Tiny leeway, but get the vault now.
Speaker 1:
Yes, so don't share your. Don't do that. Don't share your login. That's not right. Just let them know they can get it for free too. Yeah.
Speaker 2:
We sold this last year. You guys, we sold this and the year before and the year before for money. You're welcome.
Speaker 1:
What else are we selling it for?
Speaker 2:
Only fans.
Speaker 1:
Oh, wow, wow. Take it, I'm a married woman. Ok, I don't do that. Roxanne it's time. It's time we have that chat. I'm out If you do it and you're married. I'm not judging you, I'm just saying my husband would not be down for it. That's all I'm saying. Oh, judgment here on this podcast. You do you, you make your, you get your bag, girl, you get your bag, as they say, as the kids say Find me on only fans.
Speaker 2:
I am married, just kidding, which is totally fine.
Speaker 1:
Now people are looking up Urban Dictionary. What does get your bag mean? Get your bag.
Speaker 2:
You guys, this was fun, maybe too fun. Should we go to behind the scenes? Let's what's going on with you, you guys? Okay, so I have, but the time you're listening to this I'll have way more. But I have, in a month and a half, put a hundred miles on my bike, pedal bike outside. Wow, I was pretty proud of myself when I saw that number pop up.
Speaker 1:
I was like you know, you're like Lance Armstrong, but without the drugs and the attitude. I might have the attitude and then you do that I don't throw people under the bus and they're lying when you cheated. That's not you.
Speaker 2:
No, I didn't. You guys, I do need to confess. Oh, it is an electric bike. Yeah, we know that so when I go uphill I Do turn it on so maybe you are the cheating part of Lance Armstrong. I just can fast, I can fast. My Long enough took you long enough. I am hauling a hundred pounds of children and usually groceries, in the back of that bike. I deserve the throttle up the hill.
Speaker 1:
Are you are. I think you got his redemption. He was on that show, like where they're all like Marines or something you know I'm like, but I think he's on that. No, was he in the Mars show? He was on the Mars show, which I never watched, like fake, fake, going to Mars of celebs and like now I'm good, so I'm just without this summer, I swear.
Speaker 2:
Oh, no, maybe like March.
Speaker 1:
Because this, because the Tom that's not some Schwartz was on it.
Speaker 2:
Sounds like a show I do not need to watch so I didn't watch it.
Speaker 1:
I didn't know, no desire. And now that the Martians have come here and we know that, why do we need to watch show where they go there, right, yeah yeah, we're past that, so that's your okay.
Speaker 1:
So for me, well, what can I tell you? Well, I'll tell you what the thing. I'm like my grandmother to pass away. So I just want to just say amazing woman, holy Mills 89, just right around there, ten kids, wow, I'll tell you, because this is like so she had ten kids, she had Her house, so has them, 27 grandchildren, okay, and 18 great-grandchildren. And then she like Adopted a whole, like she's got a adoptive kids as well too, like that she just took on her own anyhow Amazing because she had so much time to then adopt children too.
Speaker 1:
She's a saint thing and literally she, she, till the till, the moment she couldn't really speak. She could list off exactly the order of everyone and, when they were born, everyone on that entire list. Yeah, anyhow. So it's been an interesting time. You know, it's like the circle of life, it is that, it's really that. But I feel like she's the bedding of our family and so she, if you're going to go, which we're all going to go, guess what? No one gets off this like train, this train going, and you get to be the conductor for life. No, um, she kind of did the Betty White route, where she just got to live A full life and do her thing, and so that's really exciting. So, yeah, tell my grandmother that's what I got to your grandmother.
Speaker 2:
Um, I think that's it. We'll see you guys next week. Bye, thanks for listening to another episode of rock tucks. We would love for you to help us get this message out to other network marketers. If you could follow rate review wherever you are listening to this episode, we would greatly appreciate it. And hey, if this episode speaks to you directly, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it on instagram stories. Be sure to tag us over at rock's talks.
Speaker 1:
Always remember you're not ahead, you're not behind, you're exactly where you're supposed to be and we'll see you next week for another episode of rocks talks.