The Busy Season is Over—But You’re Still Buried. Here’s Why Marketing Matters Most Right Now
If you’re like me, there are months where you look at your workload and think:
“How am I going to get it all done?”
You wonder if you’ve taken on too much. You’re buried in client work. The overwhelm creeps in. And when that happens, marketing feels like the last thing you have time for.
You tell yourself, “I’ll get to it when things slow down.”
But then—things do slow down.
A big project wraps up. A long-term client’s work comes to an end. And suddenly, you can breathe again.
But right on cue, another thought pops up:
“Shoot… now do I have enough work lined up?”
Cue the scramble to “get back out there” and start networking again.
The Trap We All Fall Into
This cycle is so common in professional services. When we’re busy, we push marketing and business development to the back burner. But when the pipeline gets quiet, we feel that urgency to drum up new work.
I fall into this trap myself.
When I’m busy, it’s hard to make time for networking, marketing, and visibility. But if you don’t stay visible when you’re busy, those little slumps creep in. And that’s when you start asking yourself:
“Now what? Where’s the next project coming from?”
Why You Need to Market When You’re Already Busy
The hard truth is this:
Building new business takes time.
You can’t just flip a switch and instantly fill your pipeline. It takes weeks (often months) of nurturing relationships, staying visible, and staying top-of-mind with referral sources and prospects.
That’s why marketing isn’t something you do when you need work.
It’s something you do so you don’t feel panicked when work slows down.
For me, that looks like:
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Re-engaging with AAM (Association for Accounting Marketing)
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Attending Legal Marketing Association events
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Showing up at Bar Association meetings
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Keeping in touch with referral sources regularly
There are plenty of people out there who need your help. But if you don’t make the effort to stay in front of them, they won’t know you exist.
What’s Your Go-To Move When Things Get Slow?
These slumps don’t usually last forever. But when they hit, they really make you think.
So I’ll leave you with this question:
What do you do when business slows down?
Do you double down on networking? Focus on content? Or maybe reflect on what you could do differently next time?
I’d love to hear how you navigate the ups and downs.
