Naughty List Holiday Habits Tanking Your Biz (And How to Fix Them Before January)

Every year, business owners blame the holidays for slow sales, low engagement, and lost momentum. But here’s the truth: the holiday season isn’t the problem — the decisions you make during it are.

In this episode of The Pursuit of Badasserie, we’re calling out the naughty list habits that quietly sabotage your business during the most emotionally-driven buying season of the year. From pulling back on marketing to panic-discounting and ghosting your warm leads, these choices don’t protect your business — they stall it.

We break down why the “slow season” myth refuses to die (even though buying psychology proves otherwise), how successful businesses use the holidays to build momentum, and what you should be doing right now to avoid the January scramble.

If you want to end the year energized instead of exhausted — and start Q1 ahead instead of behind — this episode is your wake-up call.

What We Cover in This Episode:

Why “slow season” is a mythConsumer spending doesn’t stop during the holidays — it shifts. People buy faster, emotionally, and for convenience.

The Naughty List Holiday Habits:

• Assuming “everyone’s checked out” and stopping marketing

• Getting hooked on discount addiction instead of value-driven offers

• Overcommitting during the holidays — then under-delivering

• Pausing content until January (and losing visibility)

• Ignoring warm leads who are ready to buy

• Ending the year burned out instead of building momentum
  

Why the holidays are prime time for upsells

Your existing customers want speed, ease, and solutions — not cheaper prices.

What successful businesses do differently during the holidays:

• Run retention-focused campaigns

• Pre-sell Q1 offers and programs

• Lean into urgency, emotion, and clarity

• Make it easy for buyers to say yes
  

How to avoid the January panic cycleMomentum isn’t built in January — it’s built in December.

Key Takeaways:

• The holidays don’t kill sales — inconsistency does

• Discounting is not a strategy; positioning is

• Warm leads are gold during the holidays — don’t ghost them

• Retention beats acquisition every time

• Ending the year strong is a choice, not a calendar event
  

Scaling — and selling — through the holidays isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things consistently while everyone else disappears.

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