BUSINESS PLAN SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Access funding by showing your plan for turning a profit

Detail how you intend to reach prospects and then turn them into customers.

Crafting your business plan’s sales and marketing strategy

Your business plan’s sales and marketing strategy section begins with a description of who your target customers are and how you intend to attract them. This is an extension of your market analysis section. Start by summarizing the characteristics of your target market. Then begin to detail your marketing plans, including your strategies for advertising, generating referrals, public relations campaigns and partnerships that enhance your brand. Be sure to include a budget along with justification of why you see this spending as necessary.

By showing lenders and investors that you have a plan for reaching prospective customers, you’re more likely to secure financing.

Include sales tactics in business plan

If your marketing plan is effective at generating prospects, your sales team will have opportunities to produce transactions. Lay out your pricing strategy. Show lenders and investors that you understand the market and have studied the pricing models of competitors. Explain how you see your product or service as positioned in the market and how you arrived at your proposed pricing. Next, share information about where you’ll be selling your product or service, whether it be online, at a retail store or through in-person sales calls. Finally, explain how you’ll train your sales staff. How will you arm your people with differentiators that will allow them to turn prospects into customers? Look critically at your market to figure out the sales tactics that could be successful for your business.

A strong business plan can help prepare you for funding conversations with M&T.

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Writing a Business Plan

You can’t create a business plan without first understanding what goes into it. Check out our resources to jump-start your draft. Learn more about Writing a Business Plan.

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