Do you have more sales than you can handle now? Do you have an active marketing plan in place that executes even when your business hits the slow seasons?
Like a chef who is creating a new soup, you need to consider all of the ingredients that you have combined together successfully in the past, as well as all new potential combinations that you could try as you seek to create something delightful. If you want to see your company’s sales and marketing effectiveness for the upcoming year be all that it can be, then join me in the kitchen so we can talk about the potential of creating an even more tasty soup.
Starting with Best Ingredient Combinations of Old
Much is the same with sales and marketing as you look at the company’s marketing mix. The marketing mix by definition is all of the sales and marketing behaviors your staff performs, as well as all advertising investments you make annually. It is a good idea to make a comprehensive list of these items, including, how much it costs you and what results you are achieving from each behavior or investment in your mix.
It is a lot about how much and when. For example, if you put too much salt for example in a soup by dropping the salt shaker in the soup, it will taste horrible. If your company keeps cooking and eating the same soup each year, one of two things will happen (no matter how much you have grown to love the taste):
- (When sales are strong) – First of all, when sales are strong I am not telling you that you definitely have to change anything. However, if you do not assess what could be done differently (or better), your company will continue to achieve the results it does. You’ll never know how much further it could go with an adjustment to the mix of ingredients and behaviors that your company engages in annually. In a sense, strong sales can become a false sense of security that eventually evolves into complacency. Many times, major competitive or economic changes have to occur to open the eyes of companies like this, and then they are playing in a reactive vs. proactive mode.
- (When sales are slow) – Your business will continue to backslide, and emotions and anxieties will soar for your sales and management team. A good definition of insanity is doing the very same thing over and over again, while expecting a different outcome. If you look at the parts of your marketing mix that are working, and discard everything else to incorporate in new ingredients, you might be amazed by the flavor of your new soup.
No matter how well you are doing, I think it is wise to assess what you should do differently to do better. The worst case is that it may affirm that your current strategy truly is the best plan of action. Going through a process of assessment each year to make sure your soup is ready for the taste testing blue ribbon is a great idea. Below is one way to attempt to do just that. It is a process I take my coaching clients through, as well as consider for my businesses.
Designing Your New Sales/Marketing Soup for the Blue Ribbon
Like many things, I don’t believe there is one clear cut way to be successful. If you are trying to get on the other side of a mountain that lies before you, you could climb over it, fly over it, drive around it, etc. You get the point. Below is one example for all the business people out there who want to be part of a company that creates the best sales and marketing soup they can. They want to win the blue ribbon at the competitive taste test that each prospect experiences when considering who they would like to buy from.
Please download my Sales and Marketing Cookbook and start by answering the first three questions on page one, and then you can determine what sales/marketing behaviors you would like to consider in Phase 1 and 2 on the 2nd page. From there, if you want to discuss the rest of the tool, and would like me to give you my recommendations for your new sales/marketing mix, I would be glad to do so during an initial free consultation.
I know this process might not work for everyone, but it is a conceptual process to consider working through. Feel free expand or remove aspects as you see fit. If you do go through the process, I would recommend doing so annually. It is also helpful to process through this conversation with someone from your sales, marketing or management team. If you don’t have another person in that capacity, then speak to a trusted client or advisor, or consider working with a coach like myself. Clearly the region you do business in, the markets you serve, the products/services offered and other factors including cultural differences can impact your individual case. These factors should certainly be considered when analyzing your sales/marketing mix, and cooking that new soup in your kitchen. Have fun creating your next culinary masterpiece that transforms your business!
God bless,
Joe
* feel free to contact me personally with any questions or comments.