Being in direct sales can often give the feeling "I don't have to do much, just sell". It's true, you don't have to ship orders or create websites, or even design catalogs (even though we recommend it sometimes). Your job as the rep is to direct customers to products, that's it. The fact is, to 'sell' the product is the hardest part.
Because "just selling" is more complicated than it seems, it's important to you to have a marketing plan. First of course you will need to set goals, so you know where you want to be by a set time. The next part is deciding on how to get there.
A marketing plan should include the following:
- What types of marketing ideas you plan to use
This would be ideas such as purchasing ads, hosting parties online and offline, networking, having your own newsletter, etc.
- Why you want to use these forms of marketing
Of course our main objective is to gain more sales, right? Dig a little deeper on these different forms of marketing to really see WHY you are going to use these forms. You may want to host an offline party to not only make sales, but to book more shows. You want a newsletter to keep customers informed of new products and specials, to convince them to buy.
- How you are going to follow through on the ideas
Just having them down on paper doesn't do you much good. If you want to have several online parties, write down how you plan to pull in visitors. If you want to use a newsletter (highly recommended), write down how you plan to gain subscribers and what will go into your newsletter.
- Schedules
Don't overwhelm yourself - make a schedule of what type of promotion you'll be using first. If you want to have an online party, start your newsletter first. While I know you want to have that party, it's important to do other things first so you are ready and have the best attendance possible.
Don't skip this important step to succeeding with your company! Even though you are "just selling", having a marketing plan can make it much easier to do your job.
Make A Marketing Plan
"Let me give you some tips to create a quick and effective Internet Marketing plan:
1. Set an Objective:
You need to ask yourself, ‘What do I want to achieve by using Internet marketing as part of my business.' This is one of the main questions that you need to ask, because if you know where you are going you will know exactly how to use your time and money in an effective and efficient way.
2. Competitors:
It's very important to know where you stand in regards to your competitors this will allow you to create a plan of action. Remember you can always measure your success and performance by comparing it to that of your main competitors.
3. Use a Marketing Funnel:
Start from the top of the funnel, representing low-cost products or freebies, and moving your clients down through the funnel to the narrower area which represents more investments from your clients on your products and services.
4. Target Market:
There is no product for everyone, everybody is different but we can market our products or services to groups with similar interests, finding a niche will give you more profit than trying to sell a product with different characteristics for everyone. Know your market, learn from it.
5. Offer a Solution to a Problem:
Become the one who provides a solution for a certain problem, position yourself as a specialist. People look for solutions, be the one who provide them.
6. The Right Domain Name:
Be creative; use a combination of words that people will type when they are looking for solutions on the internet. Forget about one word domains; now you can get domains based on people's searches but remember create your brand so people can easily remember you.
7. Your website.
Your website is your selling tool; it's the image you are showing to the world. Use the right colors based on your clients tastes (don't overload your website with graphics or flash) and provide the right information, keep your website updated all the time.
8. Latest Technology:
Use the right payment system, make it easier for your clients, manage the logistics properly, there are a lot of scripts available providing amazing solutions for regular problems; it will make your life easier.
9. Internet Marketing Strategies:
Think in terms of traffic and conversion, search engine optimization will bring a lot of benefits if you do the right keyword research, in terms of bringing immediate traffic to your website an Adwords campaign will do it, but remember that you need to bid for the right keywords and always measure the conversion of your site.
10. Feedback:
You need to find ways to measure your success, always measure everything; there are some amazing tools available, even for free, like Google analytics. Use it!
If you want to be successful you need to have your objectives clear, those objectives will support your Internet Marketing strategy."
Both Kara Kelso & James G. Evans are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kara Kelso has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Birthday Party and Cooking Tips. . Kara Kelso's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
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