Got a Marketing Plan?
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As a Buffini & Company Certified Business Coach, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “What makes the difference for your most successful clients?” Although each client is unique and has a personal measurement of what success means, one thing they always have in common is a Business Plan.
Upon hearing the words Business Plan, many of my clients initially feel intimidated. I promise, it’s not as complicated as it might sound. You don’t need an advanced degree or any specialized business training to create and follow a plan for your business. If you’re currently a One2One Coaching™ Member, chances are this is something you and your coach started working on together fairly early in the process. If you’re not working with a coach, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
The first thing you need to do is enter your Business Goals in Brian Buffini’s Referral Maker CRM™. This will give you an exact target for how many transactions you need to close and what activities you need to accomplish daily to meet your overall business goals. Because Referral Maker CRM does this so easily, I won’t spend too much time on this aspect of your business plan, except to say, that if you’re not using it, you’re really missing out! Check out a free trial here. (If you’re a Buffini and Company Member, you already have access to Referral Maker CRM as part of your membership).
My truly successful clients, that have their best year ever, year after year, take their Business Plan to the next level by completing and following a Marketing Plan. Your Marketing Plan is a critical component of your overall Business Plan. After all, sales is a contact sport, right? Why wouldn’t you want to have a solid plan for making that contact and filling your pipeline?
The most important actions you make in regard to your success are your lead generation activities. Your Marketing Plan schedules and prioritizes these into your year so you’re never without a blueprint for how you’re going to stay connected to your database. Bottom line is, if you don’t have a Business Plan or your Business Plan doesn’t include a Marketing Plan, your business will never grow to its full potential. So, let’s get your Marketing Plan started today!
Plan now to manage your energy later
Every successful company operates with a Marketing Plan. Can you imagine the executives at Coca-Cola® saying “Marketing Plan? No way. We just wing it every month.” Without a plan, you risk wasting time and energy trying to come up with ideas as you need them.
I have clients who get stuck on trying to plan a client party last minute, get behind on the amount of personal notes they need to write, or feel overwhelmed coming up with a pop-by gift idea when they need to get out and see their clients. They’re spinning their wheels and spending energy on lead generation ideas rather than on lead generation itself. What separates a Peak Producer from a low producer more than anything, is energy management, which is why I encourage all of my coaching clients to carve out the time to plan their marketing strategy in advance, so all they have to do throughout the year is follow the plan.
Get specific then grow as you go
The Marketing Plan we use at Buffini & Company requires our clients to get specific. As I mentioned above, this is so you can concentrate on making a detailed plan in advance and then execute on that plan as you go.
Getting into the details also helps eliminate excuses later. For example, don’t just plan to make a certain number of calls each month. As much as you can, plan your reason for calling so you don’t find yourself not picking-up the phone because you draw a blank in the moment. Plan the specifics of the pop-bys you’ll do throughout the year and what businesses you might endorse in your Marketing Flyers each month.
The Marketing Plan is also a great way to keep yourself on track when it comes to organizing bigger events like a business mixer or client parties. Reserve your location and choose a theme in advance to make the task less daunting in the future. However, if you get a wonderful idea later on about any of the activities you have planned, don’t get stuck feeling like your plan is set in stone. This is your business and your Marketing Plan so you can improve on it as you go. The idea is to get specific early and then leave room for your ideas to grow as your business grows.
So many times, we get caught not working on our business enough because we’re so consumed working in our business. My most successful clients take the time to plan, or work on their business, and having a Marketing Plan is essential to their success. It helps keep them focused on their lead generation activities and makes it easier to prioritize them as they get busy with working in their business.
I can tell you from experience that like so many things, planning and coming up with fun ideas for your marketing gets easier with time. It all boils down to taking the time to plan and then executing that plan. I encourage you all to check out the Marketing Plan located in the Buffini & Company Resource Hub and start planning your way to a better business today!
