Almost every business is affected by seasons, whether it’s a digital agency or a local cafe. There’s no escape from the seasonal sales patterns. That’s why, in the next 5 minutes, I’m going to show you how to stay fed, generate more leads, and manage to grow in the low seasons. Let’s get into it.
Pattern Of Doom
Back when I was a student, my first job was as a programmer for a small software company.
We sold a very niche piece of software on low-ticket plans — the kind of $9.99 or $24.99 memberships you see online. I’ve always been a curious person who likes to poke around and understand, so once I got comfortable, the first thing I did was to start exploring the system.
It was almost midnight, and I was deep in a rabbit hole. I kept typing, testing, and opening random files — lost in the thrill.
The office was silent except for the sound of my keyboard.
I typed, I typed, I typed, then finally pressed Enter.
Boom.
Silence. For a second, I just stared at the screen — frozen. Then, out of nowhere, I felt a faint breeze as I looked at the company’s sales graph.
There it was. Clear as day: a pattern. Every June and December, sales would drop 17-21% like clockwork.
It was only March, and I was tired, so I saved the plot, closed my laptop, and called it a night.
Didn’t think too much of it.
End Of May
It was a sunny May morning. I remember grabbing a coffee and opening my PC to join the team meeting.
At the end of the meeting, my manager spoke up. His voice was flatter than ever.
“I have to share something important with the team,” he said.
“I’m sorry, but it’s been decided. Every team has to let some people go.”
“Some of you won’t be continuing with us. I will be calling those after the meeting.”
I froze.
My eyes drifted to the calendar, May 19. That late-night plot flashed in my head instantly. My heart started racing.
Was it going to be me? Was I about to lose my job?
I just sat there. Frozen, hoping the PC wouldn’t ring. Four long hours passed… before it was certain.
It wasn’t me.
I was safe, but I knew the next wave was inevitable.
Surviving The Second Wave
Near the end of summer, the CEO called us all into a meeting to talk about the seasonal pattern.
“As some of you already know…” he said.
Apparently, the pattern I’d discovered months ago was no secret. This wasn’t the first layoff. Then he continued,
“This time, I’ve decided to bring in someone new to tackle it.”
A marketing hire. His name was Antonio.
At that time, I was still a full-on engineer — the kind who believed good code could fix anything. So hiring a marketing guy felt pointless.
Still, if it meant keeping my job through the new year, I wasn’t going to complain.
Over the next few months, Antonio took charge. He had us set up the infrastructure and rolled out:
- Landing pages
- Email sequences
- Nurturing campaigns
- Search ads
- Lead magnets
- Articles
For weeks, we went back and forth while he rolled out everything.
It was all fun to watch him throw around words like “funnels,” “offers,” and “lead generation,” but deep down, we all had the same question:
Was any of this going to fix anything?
Disappointment
By February, I checked the plot.
I was disappointed. The pattern of doom was still there. Same drop, same shape, same pattern. My mind went straight to thinking: Who is next? I had to force myself to focus and get back to work.
That evening, I found myself alone with Antonio in a meeting and couldn’t resist. I said: “It didn’t work. The plot’s still the same.”
He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Are you sure? Did you also check the numbers?” I froze. I had been so obsessed with the pattern that I had forgotten to check the actual numbers.
Antonio opened the plot and set the timeline to the last three years. There it was, the same pattern, yes, but with a massive jump in the baseline. He looked at me and smiled. I was shocked, and I couldn’t hold it.
I laughed.
Then he said something that has stuck with me ever since:
“Every business has its feast and famine cycles. You can’t fix it; they’re natural. You just have to build enough momentum that even in the famine, you’re still well fed.”
Since that day, I have seen it again and again. Every company I worked for and every client I had all had seasonal patterns. If you are struggling with a similar sales rollercoaster, the solution is simple: MORE.
– Emre