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As an integral part of the distribution
system, you are responsible for making things happen in your business
and in the marketplace. You should be asking yourself,
"What are my goals are for 2000?" and "What am I willing
to change to achieve those goals?"
To ensure that you accomplish your goals, you need a marketing plan so
that you can take appropriate action. A marketing plan gives you a
track upon which to run.
This is why pilots file a flight plan. The pilot knows in what
direction the plane and passengers are going, from whence they're
leaving and the path they're going to follow to arrive at their
destination safely.
A coach has a game plan and a sense of how the team is going to play the
game that day. The coach knows the things that he/she is going to
do to use the players effectively to thwart the competition and, in the
end, come out on top.
Your own marketing plan should be designed the same waywith the end
result in mind. Your marketing plan should fit your specific niche
markets and the people in them. It should be dynamic because the
needs and expectations of the people in your markets are constantly
changing. Plus, unexpected opportunities for visibility and access
will occur frequently. Thus, the ability to change and to be
entrepreneurial is vital for your long-term success.
Develop a marketing plan that will implement relationship marketing and
prospecting strategies, tactics, and ideas so that you're able to expand
your business. Remember, marketers focus on people; merchandisers
focus only on products. It's vital that you develop a marketing
plan that will enable you to reach more people.
Your marketing plan should include each of these categories:
1. My Specific Target Markets. Be sure that the
markets you list here are definable groups such as plumbers, welders,
auto dealers, restaurateurs, members of a specific PTA, orthodontists,
periodontists, neurosurgeons, etc. Be specific.
2. The Ways I Will Leverage Research and Centers of Influence.
Critical to a good plan are the opportunities you have to understand the
market and work with Centers of Influence. List the types of
publications such as trade magazines, or Internet access, that you will
use to find out more about the market in which you want to work.
Also list your top 3-5 Centers of Influence that you would like to take
out to lunch and talk to about how you can be more effective in the
market.
3. Lead Sources. A solid plan focuses on leads that
network and communicate with one another, not on purchasing mailing
lists. Be sure the lead sources are specific and include
membership lists of organizations that support the people that you're
targeting.
4. Networking Opportunities. This strategy is
critical for success in the market. Clearly, the more involved you
are in the organizations that your clients and prospects belong to, the
better. Be sure that you indicate several ways to get involved
exhibiting at trade shows, conducting seminars, submitting articles for
their newsletters, participating in monthly meetings, serving on
committees, etc.
5. Referral Approach. In this part of the marketing plan
you should address how you are going to consistently ask for and receive
referrals, whether this be developing a referral talk or requesting
referrals in your thank-you notes. In addition, you should also
list how you are going to reach out to referrals and be received on a
favorable basis. This might include having a letter of
introduction written by those who are referring you or a post card sent
by those individuals. Or it might be simply developing a telephone
presentation where you can reach these people effectively.
6. Mailing Activity. This is an area where you should
address ways to drive activity during slow periods. The most
important thing today is to realize that mail is not the easiest or best
way to reach prospects. That is not to suggest that it doesn't
work, but it takes enormous volume to get their attention. During
slow times of the year and after you've achieved positive visibility in
a target market, you can use wave mail techniques to drive activity so
that you are able to reduce the peaks and valleys in your business.
7. Telephone Technique. In this category you should
list things that you are going to do to be effective in getting clients
and prospects on the telephone. With voice mail everywhere, you
should list such things as developing 3-5 voice mail messages that are
benefit-driven, tips to interact with secretaries and assistants, how
much time you're going to set aside to develop your telephone skills as
well as the skills of your staff. People are pressed for time and
your ability to use the telephone effectively as a communication tool
will impact the results you receive.
8. Cultivation. This is another vital part of
relationship-building so you should list several pro-active approaches
to reach and stay in touch with prospects and clients. These
approaches could include sending a quarterly newsletter, sending
articles of interest, setting up a hotline so people can call you when
they have a question, sending anniversary notes to your business clients
in the month that their business was founded.
9. Ongoing Marketing Education. This is perhaps the
single biggest development factor for your future. The marketplace
is changing; the opportunities are enormous, yet it takes marketing and
prospecting acumen to be successful. Remember, sales keep you in
business, but in today's environment, marketing keeps you in sales.
Whether you're a sales professional or a leader, I encourage you to
create a plan for all the markets that you want to reach. This
will give you the opportunity to concentrate your efforts and get the
profitability that you deserve from your activities. New sales
professionals and experienced ones alike should invest in themselves by
creating a plan in order to enjoy increased satisfaction in the
business, a greater sense of purpose and higher productivity.
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