Managing Sales During the Christmas Season – National Pallets

If summer sales have slumped, there’s no doubt you’re eagerly anticipating the festive season rush in the months ahead. You’ve been a good employer and you’re hoping Father Christmas is going to reward you with more customer orders than you’ve ever sent off.

Let’s suppose Father Christmas is real, and that he grants you your wish. And let’s say that with the festive season just around the corner, at least half of your employees will be taking off. And then let’s say that it’s the middle of winter and several of your remaining staff have fallen ill. And let’s take things a little further still, and say that some of your imported goods struggled to cross the channel on time to properly label.

This little disaster scenario, this is the one you have to look out for. It’s easy to dream big, but if your systems aren’t in place to handle increased demand you’ll end up playing catch-up until the next time Father Christmas needs to deliver 3491 decorative Christmas plates. Here are a few suggestions to help you avoid a Christmas catastrophe.

HIRING SEASONAL ELVES WILL DO MIRACLES FOR YOUR SALES OPERATIONS

Yes, you’ll pay more. Many students jump on the opportunity to earn some extra cash before the start of the next semester. With overtime hours you’re looking at overtime pay, but the extra cost won’t compare to the financial disaster you’ll end up with if you find yourself severely understaffed and unprepared to handle operations. Get in those helper elves and let them do their magic.

OVERSTOCK, ORGANISE AND CATAGORISE EVERYTHING

Whether it’s your biggest seller, or an item that you know will be popular with one small demographic, make sure that you’ve had it properly set up in the system. You don’t want to hear from the angry lady who ordered one specially for her mother, only to discover the item had already been sold out. If an item hasn’t been marked in the system, orders will get screwed up and just watch one little glitch escalate and get out of hand.

IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL THE FAT LADY HAS BEEN DELIVERED TO YOUR CUSTOMER’S DOORSTEP

Running smooth holiday operations are not limited to what’s in store. Customers will only give you a 5 star Google rating if their items were delivered on time and in one piece. Getting your deliveries right is the final step, and it might also be the most important. Regulations and restrictions can be very complicated to navigate and with so much else to get right in store, hiring a great courier like National Pallets can be a real life saver.

Be sure your items are being well looked after once they’re on the truck. Most couriers offer pallet delivery. When properly secured your items will be safer on that stubby piece of wood then in the back of Father Christmas’ sleigh.

To recap: hire extra help, start planning and organising now, and team up with a courier service you can trust to deliver the goods, because it’s that timely delivery that’s really going to get people talking about your business online, and that’s exactly what you want in order to ride the holiday sales wave, even after Christmas has long passed. 

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