Why small businesses should never onboard new clients in November or December

For most small business owners the end of the year is a real limp to the finish line.

And if you work in social media management as I do, November and December are some of the busiest times of the year.

So as much as I have trouble saying no to cries for help, I’ve learnt to exercise that important no muscle in November and December, by not taking on new clients.

Why? Well, after owning and operating my own agency for the past seven years I’ve noticed a certain pattern with the type of clients who “urgently” require our services in November and December. And while there are always exceptions to the rule, there’s a vast majority who have lofty expectations and completely unrealistic budgets.

I believe it’s an SME danger zone, and here’s why.

1. The timing is shorter than Danny DeVito

Onboarding a new client to effectively manage their social media takes time… it’s like dating someone new. First you have to organise the logistics like contracts, service deliverables, social passwords, admin rights and connections. That’s assuming there’s no issues such as rogue Facebook Business Manager ownership. It also takes time to work out your voice, what you like, how you and your business want to be represented on socials, and sometimes this can take up to three months. Which obviously doesn’t work for a two-month-before-Christmas-hustle.

2. The unrealistic expectations

There’s a belief that bringing in a digital team will solve all your woes. Whether that’s by an overworked marketing team, looming KPIs yet to be hit, or a myriad of other business reasons.

Don’t forget at this time of year you’re also navigating increased days off and holiday requests in both the incoming business and your own team. No matter how much you try to manage expectations, I can almost guarantee those warnings will not be heeded and people will feel let down because targets (real or imagined) have not been met.

3. This is a panic move to sell

Even for our long-standing clients, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas are seen as the Hail Mary sales patch, especially for e-commerce.

For businesses that have seen lower-than-expected sales for the first 10 months of the year, a digital agency will be seen as a saviour to hit those sales targets.

And while we have been known to work miracles, this time of year is also a highly competitive sales space with lots of noise. If your digital strategy has been woeful all year, it’s going to take some work to fish you out of the algorithm rubbish bin.

4. Our existing clients want fries with that too

At this time of the year, our existing clients get busier too. They usually want extra photo shoots, more ads, supersized content and EDMs because, as discussed this is the Hail Mary season of golden sales. They want to ride that purchasing wave and want us to get them there. So, we’re sorry, but there’s just no more room at the Inn.

5. Christmas brings out all the emotions

We get it. Christmas time and the lead-up to it is rarely drama free — both in business and personally. All of us suffer a little bit from festive fatigue, which is why if you bring new clients on during the November to December danger zone they may not see the best of you or you the best of them.

Wait until after a break, because January brings with it renewed ideas, refreshed staff and plenty of time to onboard clients.

Ignore this advice at your peril. But just remember why you should never feed a Mogwai after midnight.