1. Know where you are going

All companies want more business and all plans forecast revenue growth. It’s unlikely that this will all happen naturally. Success requires prioritisation and a focus of your resources. Look at where the business is now and where you want it to be in 3 years time. Take time to ask yourself some simple questions. What am I selling and who will buy it? Why will they buy it from me? When everyone in your organisation is able to answers these questions and all the answers are the same your ready to set off on the journey of business growth.

2. Do the sales and marketing maths

So now you have a direction it time to move forward and start those marketing and sales activities? Not just yet. Estimate the sales funnel. Calculating the average deal size and dividing it by your annual revenue target generates the number of new customers you will require for the year. For every new customer acquired you may have to meet with three prospects. These prospects are generated from marketing activities. Successful marketing activities generate leads at a rate of between 2%-10%. Pretty quickly you are up to some very scary numbers. Factor in lag, the time it takes for a lead to become a sale, and leakage, names continually fall out of the system, and you now know exactly what you sales marketing engine needs to do.

3. Plan around the buyer’s journey

Contacting prospects when you are ready to sell your services or products may make perfect sense to you. Right now your sales prospects are unaware they have a problem and therefore, untroubled by the problem and whatever services you offer to solve it. Customers will not even take action when they first become aware of the problem. The problem needs to be so acute that it leaps to the top of list of problems that need solving. Be clear on the stages prospect move through before they are ‘ready to buy’. Embed this journey into your plan.

4. Progress buyers along their journey

It does not matter how many times you contact a customer by phone, letter or email. The only thing that matters is the actions that the customer takes. Successful business development initiatives focus on progressing the customer through the buyer’s journey. An ‘awareness- raising’ direct mail campaign or meetings with prospect where you present your credentials have no value. Talk about the customer problem, enable customers to acknowledge their problem and state clearly how your products and services solve the problem. If your marketing is talking about your company it probably isn’t working.

5. Work 100% on activities that move buyers along the journey

Ensure that you marketing activities are linked to business revenue. Big consumer companies like McDonalds and Nike spend millions on advertising. They spend so much so that they can be heard through all the noise of other advertising. This means your meagre advertising budget will not have cut-through unless you repeat it often and clearly. Leave brand-building to the consumer giants. Focus your attention on what you need; leads and sales opportunities. This means all your marketing efforts focus on lead-generation and progressing buyers along the journey. Make sure the agencies and suppliers you work with understand that. You don’t need an award-winning campaign you want money in the bank.

6. Write it all down

If you are following these sales and marketing steps carefully you are in a good position to start. Write down the plan. Share the plan with the relevant colleagues in your company and make sure they have bought in. Sales and Marketing need to be clear that there is a single plan. It must state clearly how each progression is going to be made and who is going to make it. You can even give marketing a sales quota. There is no requirement to go into great detail and all the information should be fit onto one or two pages.

7. Get the database ready

Many small businesses operate without a proper database. This sales and marketing plan will only work with a proper database. It does not matter if your database is a simple spreadsheet or a sophisticated CRM system. The systematic gathering, storing and processing of leads and prospect is the only way to keep the funnel moving. Though it may require resources to start it will reduce the amount of time spent managing data in the long-term. There are plenty to choices but MS Access is a good place to start if this is all new to you.

8. Record everything

Make a note on your database the exact source and type of activity for each lead. This requires a bit of discipline but is essential for monitoring which of your new business activities is producing results. Overtime you should aim to build up a picture of how long it takes for buyers to move from one stage to the next. Knowing how long it takes an average buyer to move through the stages helps you to identify where blockages to the sales process are occurring. For example, if sufficient names are acknowledging that your solution can fix their problems it might be time to review the marketing message.

9. Measure and modify

The sales and marketing plan and the efforts you make to record what happens will save you time and money. Look at the results in each quarter. Is the business generating enough opportunities and are those opportunities being progressed? Identify the best and worst activities and replace the ineffective ones with the more effective measures.

10. Give your business rhythm

The key purpose of the sales & marketing plan is to give the business rhythm. Generating new business takes time and a set of repeatable activities that can move buyers closer to doing business with you. Look to invest in low-cost activities that can be repeated weekly, monthly or quarterly. External suppliers will offer a range of options. Avoid those that are ‘one off’ activities and look to establish regular and relevant contact with prospects and customers. Rhythm must replace random.

• Discussion Forum by Online Sales & Marketing Forum in UK