Soar to Success December 15, 2019

SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies That’s a problem, and it often shows itself in some - or all - of the following ways: • Unpredictable cash flow. • No way to project - or even control - future growth. • No control over the types of customers they do business with. • Stress and anxiety because they never know where the next client is going to come from. If you own a business, you need a marketing plan. Full stop. Today, I’m going to highlight five key questions that your marketing plan should answer. 1) What are your financial & personal goals for your business? It’s important to begin with the end in mind. What do you want your business to look like? How will it integrate and support the rest of your life? How much profit do you need to generate in order to live the life that you want to live, and how much revenue does it take to provide your desired profit? 2) Who is your ideal client? In order to createeffectivemessaging that attracts your ideal clients and customers, you first need to understand them at a high level. What are their goals and aspirations? What are the pain points that they experience day-in and day- out? What keeps them up at night in fear? It’s important that you paint a crystal-clear picture of exactly who your target customers are - and if you’d like some help, I’ve created a simple checklist to help you do that. Click here for free access. 3) What are the key benefits of your products/services and how do you communicate those benefits in a compellingway? Howdo your products and services make life better for your clients? Craft messaging that positions your offering in a clear, compelling, and easy-to-understand manner. 4) How do you stand-out from your competition? How much competition are you facing - and what makes your business different? Make a list of the key attributes that differentiate you from the competition. And, if you’re operating in a highly competitive space, make differentiation a key component of the messaging that you’re creating. 5) What are the tactical steps you’re going to take to achieve your growth goals? Once you’ve defined your goals and crystallized your message, it’s time to think through which channels you’ll use to reach your customers. There are endlesspossibilities -networking, social media advertising, email marketing, direct-mail marketing, events & trade shows, and more. Choose two or three channels that make sense for your business and commit todoing themwell - and tracking your results so that you can be sure you’re earning a positive return on your investment. Answer these five questions and you’ll notice a difference in 2020.