Planning Ahead: It Is Essential
Many successful business leaders state categorically that planning is essential. All of them have proven this with their businesses. Sales and Marketing rely heavily on planning ahead. As mentioned previously, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” This seems obvious and easy to comprehend, and yet, we constantly hear of how we forgot to plan or did not plan for this or don’t know why we did not plan for that or should have planned for it.
For example, a major segment in Marketing is Advertising. How could you leverage advertising to yield sales or invest in advertising without planning the advertising? In planning, we identify and establish several parameters for why and how we advertise. Here are some for consideration.
1. Who are we trying to reach with our advertising? Why this audience?
2. What are we trying to tell them about our product in the advertising?
3. What is the message?
4. Where do we advertise to get the most exposure and the highest return on investment? Where is this audience?
5. How much (budget) should / can we spend?
6. What results can we expect?
7. What criteria can we establish to measure the effectiveness?
8. What type of advertising would yield the best results?
9. What is the time frame of the campaign?
How will this support the sales effort?
In sales, we follow a similar format in planning ahead.
1. Who are we selling to?
2. Do they need our product, and if not, can we create a need for them?
3. How do we reach them? Personal calls, direct mail, phone calls, advertising, publicity?
4. Which is most effective?
5. What is the sales pitch or the message we want to convey? How best to pitch to this audience?
6. What are the benefits derived from features and advantages?
7. When does selling begin? What is the best timing to sell?
8. How to reinforce and support the selling?
9. What objections can be anticipated? How to answer these objections?
How can this product be the solution for this audience?
Planning ahead is everything. You cannot imagine trying to do business without a solid plan, strategically and technically. Do your planning with vigilance and diligence, question every action and anticipate every reaction. Know exactly why you act and what can be expected from your actions. Planning guides execution, and execution bears results. Invest time in planning; it will pay off.
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