You’re responsible for increasing sales; the summer is slow, the recession lags and you’re under pressure. The sales team says ‘maybe if we had a new marketing tool….’ The marketing team says ‘you have lots of tools, start using them properly…’
Or you’re the company owner, an entrepreneur who likes trying shiny new 
things…. Is it working, should I be doing more, should I try another list? Do I really need to sleep this week?
Sales and Marketing: Separated at Birth
Sales and marketing are often separated, but they really go hand-in-hand, more naturally in smaller companies. We’ve gone though all of the above ourselves.
To break through a plateau, achieve growth goals and kick some recession butt, we’ve been working hard for months on marketing and sales, including monthly sales tactics meetings with our long-time consultants Your Planning Partners. When the July meeting rolled around I whined ‘didn’t we just have one? Let’s take a break… We’re doing everything that we can…’
How I Know We’re Doing Enough Marketing
I was confident we were doing everything we can for three reasons:
- We have a robust marketing plan and are sticking to it;
- Our plan includes timing, goals and metrics; and
- Our sales team is heavily involved with marketing, and are using the tools provided.
With that knowledge and confidence, we can relax a bit for the remainder of the summer. Not slack off, but keep doing what we’re doing – focus on the goals and executing the plan.
Benefits of a Marketing Plan
Having a plan allows you to not only reassure yourself you are doing enough, but also support the sales team by making sure they have what they need and they are using their tools effectively.
When someone (you know who you are) throws a new idea into the mix, you can make good decisions by holding it against your plan: does it fit in and further our goals, could they accomplish the same thing with something existing, is it covered down the road?
With a schedule figured out you cover two aspects:
- Strategically – you’ve decided in advance the best times to reach your audience; and
- Practically – you have a schedule to follow that makes it easier to manage time, budget, and ensures much needed regular activity.
Plan marketing in advance to be confident you’re doing enough activities, that you are doing the right activities and concentrating on doing and using them well!
