The December Paradox: Why the "Slow" Month Is Your Highest-Leverage Opportunity

The fields on our farm look empty and lonely right now.

If you drove past our farm today, you'd think nothing was happening. No crops visible. No activity. Just frozen prairie under gray December skies.

But beneath that dormant-looking surface, a slowly growing ecosystem of two dozen different native flowers and grasses are adding nitrogen to the soil, preventing erosion, and creating organic matter that will fuel next spring's explosion of blooms.

For the neighbors who didn't plant cover crops and have empty exposed fields, they'll be starting from scratch in April while ours is already primed for growing something beautiful and exciting.

That's the December Paradox.

The month that looks like nothing is happening is often when everything important gets decided.

And it applies to your consulting practice, too, and a lot more than you might think.

The next three weeks will largely determine whether you start 2026 with a warm pipeline or a cold one. With momentum or scrambling. With clients ready to sign or conversations you haven't even started yet.

Here's what I have for you in this issue: 

🛠️ The December Paradox: Why the "slow" month is actually your highest-leverage opportunity for 2026 

🤖 The "December Advantage Architect" Prompt: Plan your Q1 pipeline while competitors coast into the holidays 

What Most Consultants Believe

"Nobody's buying during the holidays."

"I'll start fresh in January."

"Decision-makers are checked out."

"It's time to coast."

That's nonsense.

I hear these every December. And every January, the consultants who believed them are scrambling like dateless cheerleaders a week before prom to fill their empty pipelines.

The Reality Nobody Talks About

Here's what's actually happening in December:

Decision-makers are MORE reflective. Year-end naturally triggers them (and us) to slow down and think strategically. They're reviewing what worked, what didn't, and what needs to change. They're mentally planning 2026.

Inboxes are LESS crowded. Your competitors are making excuses and sipping eggnog. So, that valuable message you send actually gets read instead of buried inside 47 pitches from marketing amateurs who don't know what you know.

Budget conversations for 2026 are happening NOW. Not in January. Now. The money is being allocated while you're wrapping gifts and baking pecan pie (my favorite).

You build relationships by showing up while others take their foot off the gas and escape behind their excuses.

Being present in December without an aggressive sales pitch builds trust that builds pipeline for January and beyond, and pays dividends for years.

Plus, and more importantly, it's the kind, generous, loving, human thing to do.

Remember that the only thing that we have in this life that is truly worth anything are the trust relationships we have with other human beings.

When we're at life's end, all the toys go back in the box. The only thing we have are relationships and memories.

The Math That Should Wake You Up

But since we're talking mostly here about building your business, the consultant who uses December strategically gets a 30-day head start.

The consultant who coasts spends January playing catch-up.

By February, one is closing deals while the other is just starting conversations.

Same skills. Same market. Completely different results.

All because of what happened (or didn't happen) in December.

The Three December Disciplines

I've identified three disciplines that separate consultants who dominate Q1 from those who struggle through it. They're not complicated. But they require intention and action.

🌱 Discipline 1: NURTURE — Warm Existing Relationships

Don't sell here. Your job is to make a genuine human connection.

The people who already know and trust you are your highest-leverage relationships. Past clients. Referral sources. Colleagues who've seen your work. Strategic partners.

December it is a special month that gives you permission to reach out without an agenda.
"How was your year?"
"What's on your mind heading into 2026?"
"I was thinking about you and wanted to connect."

Specific actions:

• Personal notes to past clients (handwritten beats email, email beats nothing)
• "How was your year?" conversations with zero pitch
• Genuine gratitude expressed without expectation
• Remembering the humans behind the business relationship 

The insight: People remember who showed up during the holidays without an ask. That memory matters in March when they have a problem to solve, or when someone asks them for a consultant recommendation.

🌱 Discipline 2: PLANT — Start Conversations That Bloom in January

Seeds planted now germinate in 30-60 days.

December is perfect for re-engaging prospects who went dark in Q4. They weren't ready then. Maybe they're ready now. Or maybe they'll be ready in January if you've stayed on their radar.

Strategic outreach approaches:

• Prospects who went dark: "I've been thinking about our conversation from October. As you're planning 2026, I had an idea I wanted to share..."
• Dormant relationships: "It's been too long since we connected. What's keeping you busy heading into the new year?"
• Warm introductions: Ask current clients who else should know about your work. December is perfect timing—low pressure, high goodwill.
• Content that addresses January problems: Publish now, rank by January. Write about the challenges your ideal clients will face in Q1

The psychology: December gives you permission to be forward-looking without being pushy. "As you're planning for 2026..." is a natural, non-salesy opening.

🌱 Discipline 3: ARCHITECT — Design Your Q1 Before It Happens

While competitors REACT to January, you've already PLANNED it.

Most consultants stumble into January hoping things will work out. Smart consultants (like you as a subscriber to my resource letter) enter January with their calendar already blocked, their offers refined, and their first moves predetermined.

What to architect now:

• Q1 calendar blocked with revenue-generating activities (not just "busy" activities)
• Offers refined based on 2025 learnings—what sold, what didn't, what needs adjustment
• Content calendar mapped for at least the first 6 weeks
• Follow-up sequences designed for the seeds you're planting this month
• First-week-of-January actions already scheduled 

The difference between "hoping" for a good Q1 and "engineering" one is what you do right now, in the next three weeks.

The Cover Crop Connection

Those cover crops in my field aren't just sitting there. They're actively working:

Fixing nitrogen in the soil → Building resources I'll use later
Preventing erosion → Protecting what I've already built
Suppressing weeds → Reducing competition for spring growth
Creating organic matter → Enriching the foundation for everything else

Your December disciplines work the same way:

• Nurturing fixes relationships in place so they won't erode over the holidays
• Planting prevents your pipeline from going dormant
• Architecting suppresses the chaos that would otherwise dominate January
• All of it creates the organic foundation for Q1 growth 

The field looks empty. The work is invisible. But spring exposes who prepared and who didn't.

The Four December Mistakes

❌ The Generic Holiday Blast
Mass "Happy Holidays from [Company]!" emails. Forgettable. Deleted immediately. They communicate nothing except "I feel obligated to send something."

❌ The Complete Disappearance
Going dark from mid-December through January. Your competitors who show up take your mindshare. When prospects think "consultant," you want them thinking of you—not whoever stayed visible while you vanished.

❌ The "January Fresh Start" Fantasy
Believing you'll magically have more time, energy, and motivation in January. You won't. January is chaos. The holidays are over, everyone's playing catch-up, and you'll be right there with them—unless you prepared in December.

❌ Confusing Busy with Productive
Holiday parties. Year-end admin. "Wrapping things up." Activity that feels like work but doesn't move the needle. December can disappear in a blur of busyness that produces nothing.

Your December Action Plan

📅 Week of Dec 9-15 (This Week):

• Create your "Nurture 10" list—past clients, referral sources, key relationships who deserve personal attention
• Create your "Plant 10" list—dormant prospects, people who should know you, warm introduction targets
• Send 3-4 personal nurture messages (not mass emails—personal)  

📅 Week of Dec 16-22:

• Complete nurture outreach (all 10 should hear from you)
• Begin "2026 thinking" conversations with your Plant 10
• Block Q1 calendar with non-negotiable revenue activities 

📅 Week of Dec 23-29:

• Light touch week—respect the holidays
• Architect: refine offers, finalize Q1 content plan, design follow-up sequences
• One thoughtful "plant" message to your highest-priority prospect 

📅 Week of Dec 30 - Jan 5:

• Final nurture touches
• Q1 launch preparation—everything ready to execute
• Enter January with pipeline WARM, not cold

The December Advantage

The consultants who dominate Q1 don't start in January.

They start now.

While everyone else is mentally checking out, they're:

• Deepening relationships that will generate referrals
• Planting seeds that will bloom into conversations
• Architecting a quarter instead of reacting to on

The paradox: December FEELS like the time to coast. But it's actually your highest-leverage month, precisely BECAUSE everyone else is coasting.

The field looks empty. But underneath, everything important is happening.

Make these three weeks count.

Want to dive deeper? Check out these related articles:

👉  Engineering Your Season Change
👉  The Gratitude Lens: Why Perspective Is Everything

You might also find these interesting:

🔎  The 10X Brainpower Lever: How Top Consultants Multiply Output Without Working More
🔎  The Human Edge: Why AI's Trust Problem Is Your Biggest Opportunity

P.S.: When you're ready, here are more ways I can help you...