Business plans can be easily understood or use more paper than a Grisham Novel. But they can’t be done on a cocktail napkin, either.
Business Plan Goals and Selling Strategies
That’s why we’re spending some time outlining what I like to see in a business plan. So far, we’ve covered Why You Should Write A Business Plan and Business Plan Mission And Vision, and now we’re on to Goals and Selling Strategies.
GOALS
In the post Goals? In June? Crazy Talk! I discussed in-depth how to set goals. For a refresher, let me explain goal setting. Most people write down a list of items they want to accomplish in a specific year and call them goals.
To me, those aren’t goals; those are dreams. Dreams without vision and goals don’t work. Vision is what the dream looks like when it’s complete. Goals are every step needed to accomplish the vision. In other words, you must list EVERY step needed to make the journey successful.
I don’t need every step for a business plan, but I sure want to see a 30,000-foot view of goals that I know I can drill down on—enough so I can see we’ve thought through the process enough that there shouldn’t be any surprises.
SELLING STRATEGIES
Along with goals, we have to have a plan to sell our product.
- What are we selling? The most important part of selling strategies is clearly defining what you’re selling. If it can’t be explained quickly and without difficulty, you might rethink your desire to enter this business.
- Who is the RIGHT customer? It is absolutely unrealistic to think that every person is your customer—unless you sell toilet paper, in which case you’ve got a pretty good chance. Spend time doing “market research” to determine who buys the product you want to sell. Some examples of Market research are Interviews, Surveys, Questionnaires, and Focus Groups.
- Build a platform—If you’ve been in business for a while, you may already have a great platform. If not, the best way is to get as much momentum as possible with as little investment as possible. Focus on building a tribe through social media, where people who are sold out of your product share it with their circles. This is assuming you have a great product. A fantastic resource is Michael Hyatt’s book Platform.
- What is our marketing? Focusing on low-cost marketing might be a great idea if you have money. Perhaps Google Adwords and paid advertising, Facebook for Business, Twitter for Business, Pinterest for Business, etc. Use Google Analytics to see where your traffic is coming from. A fantastic resource that I HIGHLY recommend for SEO is Smarter Searches.
With goals and selling strategies, you are on your way to a successful business plan. Yes, it takes time and research, but it’s considerably less time than running in circles without a plan.
We’ve been in a series on business plans and have covered:
- Business Plans (Podcast)
- Business Plan Goals and Selling Strategies
- Business Plan: Open Door Phase
- Question: What selling strategies do you use for your products?
We’ve had some slots open for those ready for coaching. Click here to take advantage!
I would also add; is the product of excellent quality so that others will share about how great it is? With all the work we put into product launches and sales, we need to make sure its an excellent product. This is a great list Chris, thank you for sharing.
Great point Paul! If it’s not excellent, why do it?
“Who is the RIGHT customer” I understand the idea of defining your target market and figuring out who it is or should be. But I have a hard time wrapping my brain around how to do that. I run a carpet cleaning business and have a wide variety of customers. Any resources on how to figure this out?