Step Six - How are you getting there?

If you’ve gone through the exercise you have all the pieces to the puzzle.

1. Your business statement defines what you do. Constantly test your marketing efforts against that statement and make sure they’re compatible.
2. You’ve identified your ideal customer. Use this information to create a pool of prospects with a higher likelihood of success.
3. You’ve looked at your competition. You know how your strengths and weaknesses compare.
4. You created a bullet point list of your key marketing messages.
5. You’ve benchmarked where you are now, made some projections and written down some attainable marketing goals.

Take a look at the goals you created for yourself and break them down into action steps.
Here are some example goals so you can see what I’m talking about.

The example goals below are for a salesperson currently selling $350K per year. Their average commission rate is 19% and their average customer value rating, for their top 50 customers was 6.5. The currently have one customer that consistently produces $50K in annual volume.

Example Goals

1. Increase overall sales volume by $100K, $50K from existing customers, $50K from new accounts.
2. Increase average commission rate to 19.5%
3. Increase the number of $50K per year accounts from 1 to 2

FYI, meeting these goals would increase this salesperson’s gross income from $66,500 to $87,750, a 32% increase!

Create an Action Plan
A simple action plan might look like this

1. Increase overall sales volume by $100K, $50K from existing customers, $50K from new accounts.

• 1st qtr and 3rd qtr - account penetration campaign
• May - Use LinkedIn to search for other contacts with existing clients, add to seasonal catalog mail list, add email addresses to AccountPro if/when I find them.
• 2nd qtr and 4th qtr - new account development campaigns
• April - Use infoUSA to create new account pool (you can even upload your existing client list through their site, they will analyze your current customers and find more like them). Lead prices vary, estimate $.50 per record.

2. Increase average commission rate to 19.5%

• Bundle quotes as often as possible not showing individual items cost
• When possible increase quotes from book price to allow for discounting later
• Add research time, art, project management and other service fees when possible

3. Increase average customer value rating for top 50 to 7

• Review worst performing customers. Is there something I can do to improve rating? If not, drop worst customers as business increases.

4. Increase the number of $50K per year accounts from 1 to 2

• April - Evaluate existing customers to see who’s capable of those numbers.
• April - Look at leads from infoUSA, segment largest volume companies.
• April - Create pool of potential large volume accounts.

That’s a marketing plan! My example could use some additional action steps and some more detail but you get the idea.

I was going to say, you've done the hard part but that's not true. The hardest part is following through making it happen. That requires discipline and commitment. This process will improve the performance of your business and bring you more business, if you do it. The best way to ensure you do, find a partner! Sharing your desire to create a plan and follow it through with your spouse, a business associate or another Vernon sales rep is the single most powerful thing you can do to reach your goals. Whether you create the plan and you want someone to help you adhere to it, or you want someone to go through the entire process with you and exchange ideas, find someone to hold you accountable and you’re 75% of the way to making your goals reality.

Possible Marketing Tools, a partial list

• Social media – blogging, Facebook, Linked In, Flickr, You Tube.
• Email – adding email addresses to your AccountPro account automatically sends personalized special offers and a newsletter.
• Direct mail, we’re working on three turnkey mailings for you in 2009 but you need to create the mailing list.
• PSA’s, we will provide a stream of creative PSA ideas in 2009.
• Sales calls, meetings, presentations, use one of the PowerPoint presentations in AccountPro as your starting point.
• Email banners – match the banners to a special offer or message from you
• Flyers – create your own in ESP or AccountPro, find the latest supplier flyers in AccountPro.
• Corporate folder – insert a current catalog, a letter and a PSA for an impressive first contact mailing.
• Vernon line catalogs – drop off or mail, consider a special offer to go with the catalog and encourage new or old clients to place an order.
• Vernon seasonal sale catalog – send to existing customers, new contacts and new prospects. Poly-bag with a letter and/or promotional item to really make it stand out.
• Digital specials catalog – a new way to deliver an old stand-by
• Vernon website – educate your customers on how our website can support your sales relationship

What other tools have you had success with?