The Marketing Plan To Get The Results You Want

Many business fail for want of sales and sales often suffer because of poor or total lack of planning. Before your fork out money to hire people, especially sales people, you need a marketing plan.

To begin, let’s be clear. Marketing and Sales are different. I know, “elementary, my dear Watson,” but you would be surprised to know the number of people who do not know or appreciate the difference. Marketing is about who is needs your product or service, is likely to buy it, and why they would buy it. Sales on the other hand is communicating that message and giving people a reason to by from you or your organization versus someone else.

A marketing plan should be developed before you hire people or rent space, just to be basic about it. If you, the entrepreneur, and do not know why people want and need your product or service, how could anyone else, especially a customer? Since sales and the resulting revenue is the life-blood that keeps business alive and produces growth, resources devoted to enhancing that process can only pay big dividends. Marketing is communicating the whys to the potential buyer i.e. Why do I need this? Why should I buy from you versus someone else?

So here are 6 steps to help you develop a marketing plan:

1. Identify the features and benefits of your product and service

2. Determine exactly why people would want and need your product or service

3. Identify the number of people who would buy your product and service, where and how they can be contacted

4. Determine the means you will use to communicate to those people you have targeted

5. Implement your plan

6. Measure the results in terms of sales

I guarantee many leads that can easily be turned into sales if you will just follow this simple 6 step plan.
As you sit reading this, You are probably thinking about your marketing plan and wondering if results could be better. I promise you results can be better and for less than you might expect.