How to Build a Strong January Before the Year Ends
The founders who have a strong January don’t wait until January. They build it a few months before.
December and January are typically slower months, which means revenue can be a little lean for some businesses. In January, it’s too late to start thinking about the year ahead or to influence sales figures for the quieter months. By the time the plan is worked out, it’s March, and the first quarter has gone.
I don’t mean to alarm you, but preparation for the next year needs to happen a few months out.
So this edition is practical. Below are five things I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. They’re not complicated, but done consistently they have always served me well, and they’ll serve you well too. They’re how you keep building your business through the end of the year instead of stalling when the new one begins.
If you’d like a clear picture of where your business stands before you start, take The 7% Club Scorecard →. It’s free and takes just a few minutes.
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Review your existing clients, and book January now
Your existing clients are your fastest, lowest-cost source of growth. Go through your list client by client and ask: What have we delivered this year? What has changed in their business? What will they need next year that we’re not yet providing?
That review almost always surfaces a new service, an extension of current work, or a value-add you could introduce. Then take the step most people skip: get it in the diary. Book strategy sessions, annual reviews, planning workshops and check-ins for January and February now, while your clients are already thinking about next year and before their calendars fill.
A client who has a January session booked in November is a client who starts the year working with you.
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Curate an offer for a group of your clients
As you review your clients, patterns will emerge. You’ll notice several are facing the same challenge or would benefit from the same thing: a planning program, a leadership intensive, a review package, a quarterly strategy series, a valuable learning workshop.
Package it. Put together a curated offer built around what would add the most value to that group, and discuss it with them now, aiming to have it confirmed a month or two before it starts. That gives your clients time to budget and commit, and gives you confirmed revenue before the year even begins.
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Host an event, and ask clients to bring someone
Organise an event for late this year or early next: a breakfast, a roundtable, a lunch, an end-of-year briefing. Invite your clients and ask each of them to bring someone who would gain value from it, whether that’s a peer, a business partner or a colleague.
You’re giving your clients something valuable, and you’re meeting pre-qualified prospects in the warmest way possible: introduced by someone they respect.
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Review your marketing focus
Look at every channel you’re investing in: your website, socials, newsletter, podcast, events. For each one, ask two questions. What is actually working? And what is getting attention but not converting into conversations, enquiries or clients?
Activity is not the same as traction. If a channel is eating your time without producing results, change it, cut it back or stop it, and put that energy into what’s proven. The more laser-focused and specific you are, the better traction. Make sure you have the right marketing assets to support these activities – a brochure, a capability statement, a catalogue, a free download, a case study, an invitation – and have them created now.
Generic doesn’t work. Focus does.
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Make a list of 10–20 people to catch up with
Write down 10 to 20 people you’d like to reconnect with: past clients, former colleagues, advisers, referral partners, people you’ve simply lost touch with. Book coffees and catch-ups, or invite them to your event alongside a fellow guest they’d enjoy meeting.
It’s a genuine chance to reconnect. It’s also a natural opportunity to share what you’re doing and the value you’re delivering for your clients. Those conversations often lead to referrals on their own. And if they don’t, you can always ask. If you’re talking to the right people, they will be happy to help if they can.
Know where you stand before you plan
Planning for January is important now, and having a bigger picture view of where your business is strongest and where there may be gaps is important for the future.
The 7% Club Scorecard gives you that picture in a few minutes. You’ll see what’s working, what’s holding you back, and which areas to prioritise as you plan for the next 12 months.
Here’s to a strong finish to the year, and an even stronger start to your new year.
Jenny
Better strategy · Better business · Better life
P.S. Pick one of these five moves and do it this week. And if you haven’t yet, take The 7% Club Scorecard so you know exactly where to focus first.
