Just what are you doing at the end of the month?

When I first started in this business I hated the week(s) that contained the last two days of the month and the first two days of the next month. All I heard was "I'm too busy closing out the month." It seems like some dealers spend an entire week doing nothing but closing out the month before. If you devote this much time to working on getting the past lined up, how much time do you spend working on the future each month? In all forms of advertising there is a lead time that must be taken into consideration. With direct mail it's typically 1.5-2 weeks before the sale takes place. Which means, if you'd like to have a sale during the first half of the month it needs to be planned the month prior. I know you'll all be shocked to hear our busiest week is typically the first week of the month. It really comes on strong during the last half of it. It's as if everyone just realizes on the 5th they haven't planned anything for the month yet. These jobs are then rushed through to get out by the third week of the month. These quick turn arounds cause anxiety and hurried decisions just to make sale dates before we're back in "close out" time. Today is Thursday the 25th, why not take some time today or tomorrow to really think about what you need for next month. Get a couple of calls into your consultants with your different media and get them working now (instead of this time next week) on some new campaigns for October. You'll be happier with the quality of the ideas, and the amount of time you have to get it wrapped up.