3 ways to turn your summer sales frown upside-down.

And save the date — Trainual’s Playbook conference is back, baby!

Welcome to The Manual Weekly – LI Edition, the can’t-miss newsletter for business leaders. You’ll find snackable bits of news highlighting emerging trends, actionable resources, and proven best practices that can help take your business to the next level.

This week’s must-reads:

• A process template for how to lead and manage your remote teams.
• Guess who’s back, back again? Playbook’s back, tell a friend!
• How to start building your org or role chart in Trainual.
• And got the seasonal sales blues? Try these 3 tactics.?

Template of the week: Leading and Managing Remote & Hybrid Teams Process

Let’s face it: The in-office, Monday through Friday, nine-to-five schedule isn’t the status quo anymore. Remote- and hybrid-optimized teams are becoming increasingly common (and inspiring a whole new genre of work memes).

But having remote employees also means adapting to a new kind of leadership — one where Zoom meetings, Slack messages, and emoji reactions have replaced traditional face-to-face interactions. And that means a new type of training is required.

?? So, set up your leaders and managers with this Leading and Managing Remote & Hybrid Teams Process template — filled with strategies to improve communication, performance management, and more.?

Check out our entire template archive of free and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

Get hyped — Trainual’s Playbook conference is coming!

We're back, baby! ?? With three days that will change your business forever.?

We promise... Playbook 2024 isn't your average conference. We're talking must-steal strategies, hands-on building, and real-time results.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves: Playbook isn’t your average conference. Want to take your business to the next level? We got you covered with:

• Hard-hitting advice from badasses who've been there, crushed that.
• Battle-tested playbooks to transform into a lean, mean, growth machine.?
• Real-life networking with other high-growth companies.
• Exclusive hands-on workshops for building a better business.
• And we're just getting started!

And this year, we’re taking things to up a notch: We’re coming to you live and in-person in Phoenix, AZ!

So, save the date — it’s all going down November 12-14, 2024. We can’t wait to see you there!

?? Get your tickets now!

Hot tip: Don’t wait. These early bird prices won’t stick around for long!

Trainual tips: Setting up your org and role charts

If you want to keep everyone aligned on the reporting structure of your org, it’s time to build one of the following:

1. Org chart. Show every position in your company and who reports to who.
2. Role chart. Map employees, reporting structure, and responsibilities by role.

(Bonus points if you build both.)

It’s pretty obvious what org and role charts should include — names, contact info, responsibilities, links to helpful training, blah blah blah.?

Here’s where things get tricky: Let’s say your company has two equally high-ranking leaders at the top (it’s giving Michael and Jim as co-managers vibes), or two different roles leading the charge. How do you get started when these charts are supposed to have just one person or role at the top?

We got you covered. Here’s what you can do in Trainual:

• Step 1: Create a new user or role that’s just for the top of your chart. You might want to call it something general or use the name of your company.
• Step 2: Click “Edit chart” and designate that person or role as the highest ranking.
• Step 3: Have your leadership duo report to your new highest-ranking person or role and keep configuring your chart from top to bottom.

?? See what this looks like in action.

3 methods to beat your seasonal sales slump?

When the temps go up, the sales go down. It’s stat time: Two out of three B2B businesses experience a sales slump over the summer, and of that number, almost 75% reported a drop of 20% or more.?

Ouch. And this doesn’t just happen in the summer — depending on your industry, a seasonal sales slump is to be expected (just ask Spirit Halloween). But having a drop in sales at the same time every single year means knowing exactly when you can start preparing. So, here are three methods for beating your seasonal sales slump:

1. Try direct mail marketing. We get bombarded with so many digital ads everywhere, from online articles to social media. But a physical postcard in your mailbox has a different lasting effect — and one company experienced 600% more revenue per lead via postcards over pay-per-click campaigns.
2. Increase your marketing budget in the four to six weeks before your slow season. This tactic should get you more leads to work with that you can work through during the slow months.
3. Focus on past customers and old leads with new offers. New leads not working out? Try reaching out to old contacts and getting them up-to-date with your latest offerings.?