Whether you’re just starting a small business or launching a tech startup, one of the biggest challenges is the lack of sales, marketing or commercialization planning.
Without a plan, people get busy completing sales and marketing tasks they hope will work.
Depending on their business, people might engage in a little networking, setting up a profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google My Business. Next they may experiment with social media and boost a few posts to drive awareness. Then inevitably, they build a website all about themselves and what they sell.
Unfortunately, the online presence of these startups makes little difference. The marketing busy work rarely produces more than a frustrated entrepreneur with a thinner wallet. These random acts of marketing distract people from doing the work that would have made a difference.
The solution is to have a plan that amounts to more than ticking items off a sales and marketing to-do list.
We invite you to consider sales and marketing as a system to build. The purpose of this system is to reach, engage, enroll and retain customers at a profit.
As a startup or early-stage company, consider starting at Step One – Strategic Direction. Then browse through the entire 8-step sequence to see what’s involved in building a sales and marketing system.
