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Guest post by: Christian Mickelsen Become an Author

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7 Steps to creating a simple powerful marketing plan.

1.

Choose 5 or so different marketing strategies that you feel most comfortable or excited to run. Here's a list of marketing tactics.
2.

Factors to consider are dollar cost, time cost, and ease of implementation/expertise with implementing. Networking is less expensive than radio commercials, but costs more in terms of time. Having a great ad may require some expertise in writing in a way that appeals to your target market (the people that have the great need or desire for your product/service).
3.

Decide how often you will implement each strategy. EX: 1 workshop/month, 5 networking events/month, 2 e-mail newsletters/month, etc.
4.

Estimate your costs per strategy.
5.

Estimate how many prospects your company will be exposed to/interact with. EX: 1 workshop usually draws 20 people. Of the 20, 8 usually have a need or strong desire for what we offer. Of those 8, we will make 5 sales. If you have not been tracking your results yet, then ballpark it using your gut. If it's a brand new strategy, then take a wild guess. You'll be able to change your estimates later to be more in line with reality later.
6.

Calculate your dollars spent on each strategy and compare that with your projected income. This can give you your ROI/ return on investment. We spent $240 on BNI to network 1/week. We received leads that lead to $6000K in sales the return on investment is 2500%!
7.

Track the results of all of your marketing efforts so that you can see what works best. Which strategies can you change or improve? Which should you stop doing all together? What should you double up your efforts on?

Real World Example:



Small Biz U:

Email newsletters: 3/month nets us 40 new subscribers each month.

40 subscribers = 10 new SBU members

10 new members = 3 new coaching clients

Workshops: 1/month nets 15 new members of Small Biz U and 5 new clients.

Tele-Classes: 2/month = 8 new clients.

Networking: 5 events/month = 2 new clients

Telephone marketing: 50 calls per week = 2 appointments and 4 new clients.

Referrals: 5 referrals from existing or past clients = 2 new clients.

Totals: 20 new clients each month.

Marketing Expenses: about $50/month. (We keep our marketing costs low so we can offer so much value at incredible prices and spend massive amounts of time creating these powerful resources).

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