What are the slow months for B2B, and why

We sell shrinkwrap software to other companies, and we've been in business for just less than a year. Our sales are about 45-50% to the US, 20% UK, 10% to Australia and the rest to other countries.

I noticed a significant (~40%) drop in sales in July (mostly due to a drop in US sales), and talking to others this seems common. What are the slow months for B2B sales, and what are the reasons behind them?

I own a business that is a Technology Consulting & HW/SW Reseller. What I notice is that both Schools, Governments, and certain other organizations have buying cycles that need to fit into either an operational schedule, or a budget cycle. For example, Schools tend to purchase in late Spring and Summer so that they can get new gear installed over the summer when students are not in session. State Government here in Pennsylvania (US) runs on a budget that starts July 1st. They may tend to buy things in late June to use up the budget they have and early July to use the budget they received before it is taken away. We see a slow down on the corporate side during the summer and over the Christmas holiday because of people taking vacations. Depending on the industry, there can be a lot of factors that affect the buying patterns of people.

The phenomenon of slow summer sales is present for both B2B and B2C. It's easy to understand why consumers don't purchase as much - the holiday seasons is later in the year, and people are more likely to spend their money on vacations than on a product.

For B2B, I would hypothesize that it's an extension of B2C. The companies that you're selling to are probably making consumer products, and they need fewer of what you offer because consumers are purchasing less.