What calls to make in January when sales slow down: a plan for the quiet weeks
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
After New Year, January is quiet for many businesses: holiday shopping is over and companies are just starting the year. Don’t waste these weeks. Call back leads who said “I’ll think about it” in autumn, offer servicing or a repeat order to customers who bought six to twelve months ago, ask December buyers for quick feedback and clear wrong numbers out of your database. Give every call one reason. In a month with few calls, paying per minute costs less than a salary.
Why January is slow
In December people spend on gifts, the festive table and year-end purchases. In January wallets are thinner, and companies are only just approving new budgets. Furniture, appliances, events and many B2B services get fewer calls. Treat this as a month of preparation, not a lost month: use the phone to line up customers for the months ahead.
Five calling jobs for the quiet weeks
| Job | Who to call | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Old leads | People who said “I’ll think about it” in October–December | Still interested? What stopped you? |
| Lapsed customers | People who bought 6–12 months ago | Time for servicing or a repeat order? |
| Feedback | December buyers | Three short questions: happy, what went wrong, would you recommend us |
| Database clean-up | The whole list | Is the number right, who to talk to, which language |
| Spring bookings | Customers who use your service in spring | Book a convenient date early |
How to prepare the list
- Export from your CRM the last three months of leads closed as “thinking”, “too expensive” or “later”.
- Remove people who have already bought and anyone who asked not to be called.
- Write one reason per group: a new model arrived, delivery got faster, spring bookings are open. A “just a reminder” call with no reason doesn’t work.
- Set a daily limit, for example 80 calls a day, so you can still call back everyone who asks.
- Record answers in fields: “interested”, “later”, “not needed”, “wrong number”. In February you build the next list from these fields.
Sample call: back to an autumn enquiry
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, this is Malika from Uy Mebel. Nilufar opa, you asked about a corner sofa in November, do you remember?
Caller: Yes, I remember. It seemed a bit expensive then.
Sado: I understand. A more compact version of that sofa has just arrived, and January delivery is faster too. Would you like to come and see it?
Caller: I could come on Saturday.
Sado: Great. Shall I book you for Saturday at eleven? We’re on Qoratosh Street, next to Samarqand Darvoza.
Caller: Yes, eleven works.
Sado: Done. We’ll remind you on Friday. Thank you!
If the customer says “not needed”, thank them and don’t call again. That’s a useful answer too: your list gets cleaner.
What to measure at the end of January
- How many numbers you reached, and how many were wrong or switched off.
- How many old leads became interested again, and how many turned into a visit or an order.
- The complaint heard most often in the feedback calls: fix it before spring.
- How many people booked for spring in advance: plan March–April and your staffing from that number.
Paying in a quiet month: talked minutes only
A salary is paid even when calls are few: for example, an operator earns 4 million so‘m a month while the phone is silent. With Sado you pay only for talked minutes, 800 so‘m a minute, with no monthly or setup fee. For example, 30 calls a day in January at two minutes each: 60 × 800 = 48,000 so‘m a day. More: pricing.
In the quiet weeks, AI outbound calls work through your list: you upload the Excel file to Auto-calls, and the operator talks live with each customer in Uzbek or Russian, records the answers and calls back at the stated time anyone who said “later”. Results download to Excel. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Which customers are worth calling in January?
People who said “I’ll think about it” in autumn, customers who bought six to twelve months ago, and December buyers. They know you, so the conversation is easier than a cold call.
Isn’t calling about an old enquiry annoying?
Not with a clear reason: a new model, a new lead time, spring bookings. If they say “not needed”, thank them and take the number off the list.
What does an AI operator cost in a month with few calls?
Only talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute, no monthly fee. Few calls means a small bill, and unanswered numbers cost nothing.