Here’s What You Need To Do For Christmas NOW

Whether you like it or not, we’re now into the Christmas countdown. Whilst it’s the last thing you probably want to think about right now, remember how difficult December can be – often the worst month for revenue and certainly the worst for getting paid!

So, without further ado, here’s what I believe you should have your eye on (don't worry, I won't be encouraging you to put up the Christmas tree!).

Catch up with invoicing

Who’s going to pay you in the last couple of weeks of December? Yep – no-one!

With Christmas Eve falling on a Monday, the last working day for many businesses will be Friday the 21st December . If you’ve not invoiced for work yet, it’s time to get cracking! Otherwise, before you know it, clients will do all they can to avoid you before they hit the pub early on Christmas Eve and that will lead you with unpaid invoices that won’t get paid until January.

Remember, if you don’t like chasing up invoices as much as you like wrapping up endless Christmas presents, Miss MPS is here at your service to do that job for you. In fact, we’ve even helped with the wrapping before too (seriously!).

Decide on your Christmas hours

Try and prepare the little things like this in advance. There’s nothing worse – or unprofessional - to phone a company that says its open online, only to find when you call there’s a voicemail message announcing they’re not open. So, decide when you’re shutting down for the holidays, inform your staff and let your clients know too!

Here’s your checklist on what to update:

• Website
• Email signatures
• Email marketing campaigns
• Facebook (and other social media)
• Your Google My Business listing

If you want some time off over Christmas, don’t forget that the elves at Miss MPS could be picking up your calls up for you, ensuring you never miss a sales lead or important message.

Plan your resources

Now might be the time you receive a glut of holiday requests from staff who have forgotten that they still have 3 days left to take before they lose them and all decide that they want to take those days around Christmas. In that case, plan ahead. Don’t let half your staff take days off when your marketing guy is simultaneously planning the year’s biggest marketing campaign to go out!

Check your suppliers too; are they still able to fulfil what you need from them in-line with when you’re open? Preparation is the best way to mitigate risks – imagine if you couldn’t get support from your IT support company for a week, or you promise next day delivery and your courier can’t cope. Have your Plan B ready.

Not got the time to do the research? You guessed it! Miss MPS can help out with that one too. We also save clients thousands by carrying out supplier reviews on their behalf. We are also here to help with any important tasks that come up if you find yourself short staffed.

Make use of the dead time

It really doesn’t take a week to give the office a tidy. The last couple of weeks will likely be much quieter, leaving the door open for you and your team to get ready for a roaring 2019!

So what can you do to prevent twiddling thumbs?

• Send out thank you cards to clients (and remind them on what you can do for them)
• Ask for testimonials/case studies – your customers might be bored too!
• Get writing and scheduling blog posts into the New Year
• Mystery shop your competition
• Hold a marketing meeting to brainstorm your first quarter’s activities

Clare Runham runs Miss MPS , a team of virtual personal assistants who are there to take the stress away from small business owners. From arranging appointments, to full-scale event planning, they do it all at a cost-effective hourly rate.