Marketing is the lifeblood of your business…every sales conversation that you have is not only supporting your cash flow and bottom line but it is also the step to make sure you are serving those you are put on this planet to support b…and it is your scorecard that shows the difference and impact you are making.

So if this is true (and it is…)

Then why do so many entrepreneurs and small business owners do everything in their power to avoid these sales and marketing…I believe it comes down to three things:

1) FEAR (of rejection, not being liked, success, failure, etc)

2) Lack of Discipline (you must put forth both tenacity and determination to do those things that will make a difference even when you don’t feel like it)

3) Accountability (someone like “A Coach” to call you on your shit and remind you what you said you were going to do. A great coach doesn’t buy into your story or excuses, if you don’t have a coach…get one!)

This post is not about why you are not consistent with your sales and marketing. I digress but I did want to highlight the reasons that stops most entrepreneurs before I get into the meat and potatoes of the Marketing and Sales Strategy.

Why? Because I can show you every proven strategy and tactic and if you do not get beyond your fear, become discipline and have someone to hold you accountable, your likelihood of reaching the goals that you set will diminish greatly…

(no B.S. and this may sound harsh but I care enough about you and your goals that I promised that in 2019 I would not hold back the truth and i will give you the insight that I am seeing within the marketplace…)

Ok…I’m off my tangent…let’s look at Marketing and Sales Strategy.

If you have read my earlier emails you may have recall me asking you to look at your numbers (aka Gap Analysis). And the question you were asked was to identify where your business is currently coming from …Remember?

Here’s the thing, there are so many things you can do to generate business.

Social Media Marketing – Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Blogging, Article writing, Youtube

Offline marketing – Networking groups, direct mail, sponsorships, referrals, word of mouth, cold calling, etc.

And of all the things that you could do to grow your business I believe without a shadow of a doubt that “Speaking is your #1 weapon for leveraging your time, qualifying your prospects and getting new clients in the door.

It does not matter if you are a coach, consultant, realtor, chiropractic, attorney, CPA or any other service professional…you will dramatically increase your business if you add speaking to the mix. (and this also means online speaking opportunities such as webinars, podcasts, etc.)

So for your marketing strategy plan I am going to invite you to pick 3-5 marketing tactics and I will encourage you to add speaking as one of them. Once you have the 3-5 marketing tactics selected, the next step is to schedule your marketing activity into your calendar daily.

WHAT GETS SCHEDULE GETS DONE…PERIOD!

Which leads to sales strategy….what is the number of sales conversations you will commit to having on a daily/weekly basis? For most people depending on your income production, you should have a minimum of 2-4 hours allocated per day to speak to your future clients and move them from conversation to cash. If you are just getting started I would say 4 hours is ideal (2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon)

I would also suggest practicing your sales conversation and role playing.

Practice makes permanent and the last thing you want to do is practice with a prospect in real time. So this is where a coach or accountability partner would come in handy. They will help you by throwing out objections and giving you invaluable feedback to help build your confidence so you are ready to CRUSH it in real time.

I know we covered alot and to recap here are your action steps:

Step 1: Identify your top 3-5 marketing tactics (based on results from 2018) you will incorporate within your marketing plan

Step 2: What is the marketing budget for each campaign? For example: Are you doing Facebook ads on a regular basis? How much does it cost to attend a networking event? How much is your direct mail campaigns cost?

Step 3: Calendar your marketing activities on your schedule

Step 4: Block out time in your calendar for sales conversation (2-4 hours per day)

This may sound basic and yet many people will overlook and discount the power of what I am sharing base on the simplicity of the plan. What I know is if it is complicated you will not stay consistent…and consistency is the name of the game!

We have one final step to wrap up your 2019 Business Strategy Plan. Until then….