Accomplish something from your sales and marketing plan everyday!!
When running your own business, it is easy to get caught up in the task at hand, the deadlines, and the deliverables. But it is important to keep some attention on the future and maintain a long-term view of the business.
Do not allow yourself to spend all of your time on today’s operational crisis while neglecting business promotion, customer service, and long-term relationship building. Force yourself everyday to do something that will help you get new customers, to make additional sales to existing customers, or to get the word out about your business.
The classical Chinese proverb reminds us:
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao-tzu
….and that journey continues with another step, and another, and another. You can only progress on your journey toward your goals if you continue to take step after step. These steps need to become regular, consistent and ongoing to continue to make progress.
Likewise, you must work at it to sustain or grow your business. You need to maintain a consistent sales and marketing focus to make sure your business endures and prospers.
Make it a habit to accomplish something from your sales and marketing plan every day. Every day you should be working on expanding sales, both directly and indirectly. Examples of some less direct activities you can undertake to position your business for increasing sales:
• Follow-up with existing customers
• Offer special promotions to dormant or former customers
• Meet with your biggest customers
• Meet with your targeted prospective customers
• Send out a promotional mailing/e-mailing
• Attend a networking event
• Sponsor a local business/consumer/community event
• Hold a special event for customers and prospective customers
• Meet with the sales team
• Refine sales messages
• Update sales management tools
• Optimize advertising
• Issue a press release
• Establish a new sales channel
• Address a new market segment
• Update sales literature
• Develop a strategy to increase competitive position
• Differentiate your products/services from competitors
• Optimize price points
• Map out an expansion plan
Of course you will want to select the items that are most important to your own business growth and success, and those items will logically have been reflected in your sales and marketing plan.
The important point is to not let a day go by without focusing on your sales and marketing tasks. By making them your top priorities, your business will benefit and you will be rewarded for these efforts.
When running your own business, it is easy to get caught up in the task at hand, the deadlines, and the deliverables. But it is important to keep some attention on the future and maintain a long-term view of the business.
Do not allow yourself to spend all of your time on today’s operational crisis while neglecting business promotion, customer service, and long-term relationship building. Force yourself everyday to do something that will help you get new customers, to make additional sales to existing customers, or to get the word out about your business.
The classical Chinese proverb reminds us:
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao-tzu
….and that journey continues with another step, and another, and another. You can only progress on your journey toward your goals if you continue to take step after step. These steps need to become regular, consistent and ongoing to continue to make progress.
Likewise, you must work at it to sustain or grow your business. You need to maintain a consistent sales and marketing focus to make sure your business endures and prospers.
Make it a habit to accomplish something from your sales and marketing plan every day. Every day you should be working on expanding sales, both directly and indirectly. Examples of some less direct activities you can undertake to position your business for increasing sales:
• Follow-up with existing customers
• Offer special promotions to dormant or former customers
• Meet with your biggest customers
• Meet with your targeted prospective customers
• Send out a promotional mailing/e-mailing
• Attend a networking event
• Sponsor a local business/consumer/community event
• Hold a special event for customers and prospective customers
• Meet with the sales team
• Refine sales messages
• Update sales management tools
• Optimize advertising
• Issue a press release
• Establish a new sales channel
• Address a new market segment
• Update sales literature
• Develop a strategy to increase competitive position
• Differentiate your products/services from competitors
• Optimize price points
• Map out an expansion plan
Of course you will want to select the items that are most important to your own business growth and success, and those items will logically have been reflected in your sales and marketing plan.
The important point is to not let a day go by without focusing on your sales and marketing tasks. By making them your top priorities, your business will benefit and you will be rewarded for these efforts.
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