Sales Strategies

If marketing is determining who your customers will be, making your name known and making people aware of what you sell, then sales is the exchange of money for your product or service. How will you directly sell your product or service? Will you have customer service personnel at your retail store, will you send sales reps to national clients, will you have a billing notice that goes out with your direct mail, or will telemarketers take credit card numbers by phone? Also important, will you require full payment or a deposit before purchase (such as on custom-made items), will you require payment at time of purchase (most retail establishments like a bookstore or restaurant), or will you bill after completion (phone services, many professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants)?

Getting a customer to buy for the first time is a big step for a new company, but the secret to longevity is to have customers who return again and again for the same or maybe for new products. How can you remind customers that they enjoyed your services and persuade them to buy again? The airlines started frequent flyer programs and many other businesses have similar programs that give a discount after a certain number of purchases. Frequent communication is another way to stay in the minds of customers, with newsletters and e-mails, perhaps containing coupons and notices of new products or services.

Sales and customer service activities are just as important as advertising and promotion to get buyers. Anyone responsible for sales should be trained in how to sell, and how to find prospective buyers. Some of the things on a salesperson’s to-do list include:

Networking to find potential new clients and customers
Personal Letters/e-mails to prospective clients and important customers
Personal Phone Calls to prospective clients and important customers
Visits to clients and customers

Whatever marketing and sales activities you choose, the most important thing is to test them and continue to use the ones that work consistently. Don’t fool yourself that you can do occasional marketing and build a business. You need to do monthly quarterly, if not monthly, for the life of your business.

Marketing Activities

How are you going to implement your strategy? This is the action-oriented part of this section of the business plan. You will need to consider advertising and promotion, and sales and customer service activities. And don’t forget to include a reasonable budget for each item.

How will you get your name out and recognized so your sales efforts will work? Some common marketing methods include:
Flyers
Classified Ads
Seminars
Demonstrations
Contests
Newsletters (e-mail or print)
Public Relations (resulting in newspaper or magazine articles, or television or radio coverage)
Public Speaking
Brochures
Yellow Pages
Signs
Newspaper Display Ads
Magazine Ads
Telemarketing
Radio Ads
Cable TV Ads
Network TV Ads
Internet
Billboards
Direct Mail
Promotional Items
Trade Shows

Create a marketing activities calendar to help you stay on track and to show the reader of your plan that you know that marketing will always be an important part of your business, and that you intend to be consistent in your efforts. Pick two marketing activities to do each month and know that you will need to market continuously for the life of your business.