Summer might bring sunshine and vacations, but for many B2B companies, it also brings a slowdown in sales. Between out-of-office auto-replies, longer decision cycles, and distracted prospects, the summer season is notorious for creating friction in the typical B2B sales process. But here’s the good news: with a proactive and strategic approach, your business can keep its sales engine running—even when the mercury rises.
Why the B2B Sales Process Slows Down in Summer
The summer slump isn’t just a feeling—it’s a proven trend in the B2B world.
Two-thirds of B2B businesses report slower sales in the summer, with nearly 75% seeing drops of 20% or more. And for one in five, the decline exceeds 40%.[i]
So, why the dip?
Summer vacations slow decisions. Most businesses attribute the slowdown to customer and prospect vacations, which lead to longer decision cycles. Internal teams also take PTO (attendance decreases by 19%), leaving key sales and marketing initiatives under-supported.[ii]
Budgeting cycles cause delays. Summer often falls between quarters or fiscal planning windows, which means purchasing decisions are deferred, even if interest is high.
Productivity drops. Between June and August, workplace productivity generally falls by 20% and workers are 45% more distracted.[iii] Combined with fewer meetings and stalled deals, this slowdown can be demotivating for sales and marketing teams.
But it doesn’t have to be. Whether your goal is to re-energize leads, expand brand awareness, or prepare for a big fall rebound, here are five smart strategies to maintain B2B sales momentum this summer.
Five Strategies to Maintain B2B Sales Momentum
1. Re-engage & Nurture Existing B2B Sales Leads
When new prospecting slows, shift your focus to leads already in your pipeline. The summer months are perfect for warming up dormant contacts and guiding lukewarm prospects further down the funnel.
Rather than focusing solely on net-new leads, summer is the perfect time to breathe new life into existing relationships, which can be moved closer to conversion with the right touchpoints.
Reactivation Email Campaigns
Start with reactivation email campaigns. Those that offer actionable tips or solutions, rather than pitches, tend to resonate well. A subject line like “Still struggling with lead quality? Here’s a 3-step fix” can spark interest without sounding pushy. Marketing automation platforms like HubSpot allow you to set up B2B email nurture sequences that guide contacts through their journey at their own pace, even while your team is away.
Lead Segmentation
Lead segmentation also becomes essential. By organizing contacts based on their activity, industry, or stage in the buying process, you can deliver more targeted and timely content. And don’t underestimate the power of a seasonal hook— “Ideas to Spark Q3 Growth Over Iced Coffee” could be just the nudge a lead needs to re-engage.
Need ideas? Check out our B2B email marketing strategy guide.
2. Optimize Your B2B Marketing Content Strategy for Summer
When everyone’s traveling or catching up on work remotely, attention spans get shorter. That’s why it’s smart to create “snackable” content—quick reads, visuals, and short videos designed for people on the go.
Snackable & Summer-Themed Content
Think: short-form blog posts, LinkedIn carousels, or infographics that deliver value in under two minutes. Better yet, tie your content to the season with timely themes like “Top Marketing Trends to Watch While You’re on PTO” or “What Your Q3 Strategy Needs Before Labor Day.”
Video Marketing
Video is another strong performer during the summer. Short, under-a-minute videos that showcase product features, campaign previews, or leadership insights are more likely to get watched than downloaded whitepapers this time of year.
Repurposed Evergreen Content
Already have high-performing long-form content? Repurpose it into shorter, digestible formats. A whitepaper could become a short blog series. A webinar recording could become a highlights reel. Your audience will appreciate the brevity.
3. Double Down on Brand Awareness
Summer may not be the time when deals close, but it’s absolutely the time to stay visible. Building and maintaining brand awareness ensures that when decision-makers return to the table in the fall, you’re top of mind.
Targeted Social Ads
LinkedIn ads, podcast sponsorships, and programmatic display campaigns are great for nurturing awareness during this downtime. Focus on thought leadership and value rather than direct conversion. Use soft CTAs like “Learn More” or “Explore the Guide” to encourage clicks without pressure.
Retargeting Campaigns
Retargeting campaigns are also effective, serving custom messaging to those who’ve engaged with your content before. Whether a visitor browsed your product pages, downloaded a gated asset, or clicked on a social ad, retargeting allows you to reintroduce your brand while their interest is still warm.
Sponsorships & Branded Giveaways
Sponsoring niche B2B podcasts or newsletters is another great way to reach your audience while they’re more likely to consume content in a casual setting. Want to take it a step further? Launch a branded summer giveaway. A seasonal promotion with fun swag can be a creative way to get noticed and encourage engagement.
4. Empower Your B2B Sales Team
A quieter calendar offers the perfect opportunity to invest in your sales team. With fewer external meetings, your reps have more time to refine their skills, align with marketing, and build meaningful connections.
Create Summer-Specific Sales Collateral
You can start by developing summer-specific sales collateral. Seasonal one-pagers, presentations, and email templates that acknowledge the slowdown with a creative spin make outreach feel timely and relevant.
Encourage Casual Prospect Interactions
Casual outreach works particularly well this time of year. Instead of formal product demos, try setting up virtual coffee chats with prospects. The lower-pressure format often leads to better rapport during slower months.
Conduct Sales Enablement Training & Alignment
Internally, consider running training sessions or marketing-sales alignment meetings. Sharpening your messaging and strengthening team collaboration now can lead to smoother execution when business picks up again.
5. Plan for Fall & The B2B Sales Rebound
Fall is a pressure-cooker for B2B companies rushing to meet end-of-year goals. Instead of waiting for the rush to begin, use the summer slowdown to get your systems and strategies in place.
Your B2B Summer-to-Fall Momentum Map
☀️ June – July: Prep & Audit
- Clean up your CRM and remove stale leads
- Segment and score active prospects
- Refresh nurture email content and sales collateral
- Align marketing and sales goals for Q3-Q4
🍉 August: Build & Nurture
- Launch reactivation and B2B email nurture campaigns
- Run brand awareness and retargeting ads
- Finalize creative assets: landing pages, emails, ad graphics
- Schedule a training or strategy sessions
🍂 September – November: Execute & Convert
- Launch Q3/Q4 campaigns and lead magnets
- Attend fall trade shows and industry events
- Follow up quickly with inbound and event leads
- Push for conversions before year-end closes
💡 Use this timeline to structure your team’s summer sprints – small steps now lead to big wins when sales activity rebounds in the fall.
Clean-Up Your Pipeline
Start by auditing your pipeline. Review your CRM, archive cold leads, tag high-potential ones, and identify contacts likely to convert in Q3.
Pre-Plan Your Next Campaigns
Begin building your next campaigns—landing pages, emails, social content, and event strategies—so you’re not playing catch-up come September.
Schedule Sales & Marketing Sync Meetings
This is also the perfect time for your marketing and sales teams to sync. Schedule strategy sessions to align messaging, targets, and follow-up processes. Many key industry events take place in the second half of the year, so finalize your participation plans and prepare your promotion strategy early.
Maintain Your Momentum
The summer slump may be seasonal, but it’s far from unbeatable. By nurturing leads, tailoring content, increasing brand visibility, strengthening your sales team, and preparing for the fall rebound, you can keep your sales momentum strong all year long.
At Sagefrog, we help B2B companies turn slow seasons into smart opportunities. Whether you’re nurturing leads, building brand awareness, or preparing for fall, our B2B integrated marketing approach delivers results.
We specialize in digital strategy, content creation, campaign development, and automation—so your brand stays active even when your prospects aren’t. As a HubSpot-certified agency, we help you make the most of your CRM and marketing tools to create scalable, automated systems that continue working while your team takes a breather.
Need help developing a custom strategy that keeps your brand moving forward—even in the off-season? Let’s talk.
[i] Sopro, “Summer Slumps: How Can B2B Businesses Deal with Them?,” Sopro Blog, accessed June 1, 2025, https://sopro.io/resources/blog/summer-slumps-how-can-b2b-businesses-deal-with-them/.
[ii] Akooda, “The August Slump: Why Productivity Drops and What You Can Do,” Akooda Blog, accessed May 30, 2025, https://www.akooda.co/blog/august-slump#:~:text=Studies%20have%20found%20that%20between,workers%20are%2045%25%20more%20distracted.
[iii] Akooda, “The August Slump.”
