Summary: Learn a few quick tips on how to write the ‘Marketing & Sales’ section in your business plan from this article.

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 In our previous article ‘Business Plan – Market Analysis’, you learned about your industry, market and competitors. For this section, you can use all that research and explain the specifics and strategies you will use to target your audience and how will generate sales. Sales and marketing are the main keys that will drive your business and help you achieve success. 

These are what you should consider to include in this section:

Marketing

Marketing plan

You will need customers to buy your product. So, how will you reach to them?

You should explain the theories and tools you use to determine your marketing strategies and planning. For example, how do you plan to position yourself in the marketplace?

Branding

Branding plays a huge factor in marketing strategy. Once you decide on your company’s image, you should explain to your readers how the image will attract your target market.

Communication strategy

This part, you should explain how you will reach out to your audience on a broad scale. It is usually a combination of a few techniques such as promotions, advertising, public relations, press and media publicity.

Sales

Tactics

In this part, you should describe the strategies you will be using to reach out to customers such as negotiation skills and techniques that are relevant to selling. For instance, you should explain your strong unique selling proposition that distinguishes you from your competitors.

Describe your sales force and the sales effort as well. How will you make the sale, and who will do it?  

Sales activities

When you are defining your sales strategy, it is also important to break it down into activities. For example, you need to identify your prospects and list them down. Then, among your prospects, you need to prioritize the contacts with the highest potential to buy your product or service first.

You can also lay out the number of sales calls you will make over a certain period of time. From here, you need to determine the average number of sales calls you will need to make.

Distribution Channels

Talk about the distribution channels you will be going for to sell your product or service Consider how you will actually get the product or service into the hands of your customer. Will you be going to door-to-door, retail outlet or online? Ultimately, you will want to sell your product or service in as many ways that fit your company’s operating plan.