Sun, Sand, and Sales

Hola from Barcelona! ☀️

I'm writing this while spending a few days here with some of my friends.

The city is buzzing, and tourists are everywhere!

The sun is scorching, too; mojitos are flowing, and every loud scooter passing by is a reminder that it's summer.

If you sell in Southern Europe - Spain, Portugal, Italy - you know the feeling.

July arrives, and the whole region starts slowing down.

August? In Italy, it is called "the death month." Offices empty. Buyers vanish.

Inboxes fill with the classic reply: "Let's talk again in September."

Fair reason? Fake excuse? Who knows.

Either way, Q3 suddenly feels like a desert.

Fewer deals, slipping targets, and frustration.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Below are the three moves I'm currently working on with my own clients.

They're simple, actionable, and - most importantly - get your team pumped instead of panicked when the world slows down.

1. Turn Quiet Weeks Into a Learning Camp

Empty calendars aren't a curse; they're a classroom.

• Review or build your playbook: Does it still match your ICP? Is it up to date? If you don't have a playbook, summer screams, "write me."
• Double (or triple) coaching: One coaching session per week? Make it two. Two sessions? Make it three.
• Sharpen the saw: Reading list, micro-courses, or a mini-demo challenge: anything that stacks new skills counts.

2. Prospect When Others Pause

A big surprise: people pick up the phone over the summer. Why?

• Less noise in the inbox = your message stands out.
• Decision-makers travel less than you think. Many stay near home or HQ, catching their breath while everyone else is away.
• Summer mood = curiosity mood. Fewer meetings mean they're more open to new ideas.

What we do:

• Test fresh verticals.
• Resurface old leads.
• Book September meetings now.

3. Step Back, Recharge, Then Tweak

The most underrated lever is real rest.

Give your team permission to log off correctly. Slack mute. Out-of-office on.

Here's my rhythm:

--> Week 1–2: Total switch-off.

--> The final few days or week 3, if you're lucky: Energy returns.

Grab a notebook and map out quick wins:

• What process feels heavy?
• What "tiny change" could speed September by 10%?
• What do I want to implement, and what bad habits do I want to drop?

Because when you're rested, improvements jump at you.

Implement one or two before you're back in the day-to-day swirl.

Tiny fixes made in August often fuel big wins in Q4.

Summer can feel like drifting away with nothing accomplished, but it doesn't need to be that way.

Coach harder. Prospect smarter. Rest deeper.

Do that, and September turns from a scary restart into a launchpad you've been secretly building all along.

Enjoy the sun, friends.

See you next week, folks!

– Matteo