Why are small businesses so bad at running sales? I’m not talking about making profit or actually selling products and services…I mean RUNNING a sale or promotion.

In my experience, there are 3 big reasons that small businesses don’t do well with sales. First, a lot of small business owners don’t want to come across as “sales-y,” so even if they do have a sale or a new product launch promotion, they are hesitant to talk about it or promote it.

Secondly, most small businesses have lean profit margins, so when it comes time to offer a discount, they can’t really afford to drop prices. That is another conversation for another time, which usually ends with me telling you to INCREASE YOUR PRICES so you can make a good profit (and afford to do discounts occasionally).

But the third and biggest reason sales fail? They don’t PLAN for their sales in advance.

So many businesses wait until a few days before Valentine’s day and they think, “hmm…how about a Valentine’s Day sale?!” The problem with this is they don’t have the time or resources to get their marketing materials together to promote the sale, and then (coupled with the first reason) they end up too scared to talk about it half the time.

The success of a sale is going to be determined by how many of your customers are aware of it. “Sneaky sales” are not effective! The point of giving discounts is to increase the volume of sales, resulting in more profit and more awareness. If no one knows about it, no one can take advantage, and the whole thing flops.

So how do you make your audience aware of your sale? You tell them about it ahead of time. You talk about it with them during the sale. You remind them right before it ends. You should be communicating about your sale in as many ways as you have open to you – email, newsletters, social media, your website, signage or flyers if you have a physical store. And you know what that all takes? Planning!

Planning ahead of time is the most important thing you can do for any sale or promotion you run. You need graphics designed, emails and captions drafted, posts and newsletters scheduled, signs and flyers printed, coupon codes created. All of that takes time and energy, so it needs to be done well before you need it.

I would recommend planning out your sales at least 1-3 months in advance so you can get all of these pieces in place. And then once you do, don’t be afraid to talk about it! Post it everywhere! Get the word out! And see how much better your sales go from there.

And you know what will make a sale even better? Having it ANNUALLY! That way, your loyal customers will know to expect the sale and will get super excited once it drops.

Small business owners deserve the traffic and the profit that a discount, promotion, or sale can provide. We just need to execute it well! I’m excited to take the rest of the month and unpack exactly what planning for a sale looks like.