Who’s afraid of Friday 13th?
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Peaks, troughs and superstition
So, today is Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious?
I am but only a tiny bit. I won’t walk under a ladder unnecessarily and I always salute a single Magpie but other than that I’m pretty chilled about Friday the 13th.
I discovered though that there are quite a number of people in the world who are absolutely terrified of Friday 13th. Terrified to the extent that they simply won’t leave the house at all today.
More than 60 million people in fact claim to be affected by a fear of Friday 13th – and there is even an actual name for these people. They are called paraskevidekatriaphobics (don’t even try to pronounce that one). They won’t go to work, drive their cars or even get out of bed today for fear of encountering terrible luck, despite the fact that they could just as easily have an accident or encounter bad luck whilst at home.
So, I was thinking, as you do,
- Does this mean that all those people who aren’t going out are simply sitting at home and doing absolutely nothing?
- Or are they perched, nice and cosy in bed with a packet of chocolate hobnobs to hand, firing up their laptops ready to do a spot of online shopping?
- Or maybe even that is too risky – perhaps the keyboard might electrocute them or there might be the potential for a nasty accident involving computer wiring and trip hazards or the risk of a broken nail whilst ripping open the packet of choccy hobnobs?
- Who knows?
But, to put it simply (and not totally seriously) there could be 60 million frightened people online today, all spending money because they are too fearful to take part in any other more potentially dangerous activities. This means that a peak in sales could be a real possibility…
Ok, seriously now though, there are likely to be many peaks and troughs throughout the year with online sales. Friday 13th may not see a ‘peak’ or a ‘trough’ but there are plenty of other times when you’ll see definite highs and lows with your sales.
It doesn’t matter what you are selling
Some months are always going to be traditionally quieter while other months will see the profits rolling in steadily with no problem. What you need to remember is that it’s the same for every online seller – it’s not just you. And the key is to always make the most of your busy times but also to make the most of your quiet times too rather than panic when sales drop off slightly. Use the time to your advantage.
To be honest, whenever you start selling online, you will always need to complete one full year in order to get a totally accurate idea of how things will work out for you long term. It will depend on the products you sell, how effective your marketing is and how hard you work, but by the end of 12 months you’ll be able to see your own peaks and troughs which will allow you to predict the next 12 months and so on.
Is there a fool proof product you should sell to avoid up and down sales?
Well, this will depend on the niche you are selling within but let’s look at an example. Imagine you are selling paddling pools on eBay UK. You will notice a huge peak in sales during the spring and summer months and then your sales are likely to drop off completely in the winter – pretty obvious right? But what if you are selling a product that is generally purchased all year round? Will you still get peaks and troughs then?
Yes, you will. Baby goods are pretty much year round online sellers. Women are always going to be having babies and so the demand for baby products will always be there. But there will still be times when sales are slower and there will be times when sales are flying. I’ve sold baby products myself in the past and know from experience that these products are definitely year round sellers but I always noticed a dip in February and again in July – this happened year after year.
Now the July dip I put down to holidays – if people are away they are not online buying stuff – or if the weather is warm everyone is out enjoying their barbecues rather than sat inside purchasing goods online, but the February dip has always baffled me. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the first credit card bill has come in after Christmas and people are generally short of cash.
So, there really is no single product that will sell in the exact same amounts month after month after month. And that’s why you should always ensure your inventory includes multiple products. This way, when one product has a lull, another will potentially be on the up.
Keep track of your sales
The key is that you must mark down on a calendar or in a diary exactly when your busy times and quiet times are where sales are concerned. When you have done this you’ll be able to work out a much better plan of action for how you’re actually going to run your online business because you’ll know when the quiet times are coming and then you can use that time to evaluate what you are doing and work on improving your sales and marketing.
The important thing is to not focus on the down side of things. I know that this is the natural thing to do because a drop in sales can be worrying, but you should actually spend this time focusing on positive things such as how well your business is doing overall – and how to sell more.
In the quiet times, review your goals, tweak your marketing and research new products so that you’re always being pro-active and you’re prepared for anything.
Running a successful business requires your attention, so don’t be tempted to rest on your laurels. I can assure you that you will be grateful for the time you spend evaluating every aspect of your business as it will ultimately bring you better results.
As always I wish you the very best of success,