Dreyelands Business Blog: Sales

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Increasing Sales in Existing Markets

The captain of the Peerless II knows a lot about fishing – but she also knows a lot about sales growth strategies. Each time her boat comes to port in season with a load of fresh halibut, cod, or salmon, she uses her automated messaging system to call all of her regular customers, letting them know that it’s time to go down to the dock again and buy fresh fish (note that the captain is old school - if she were younger she would probably be using a Social Media platform such as Facebook or Twitter to notify her customers).

How to Write a Simple Business Plan in 8 Easy Steps

1. 1. Vision Outline the vision you have for your business by answering these questions: What are you creating? What will your business look like in one year, three years, and five years?
2. MissionWhat is your mission? Why are you starting this business, and what is the purpose?
3. ObjectivesList your overall objectives by outlining your most important business goals, and answering: Are your business goals considered SMART goals? How will you measure success in achieving your goals?
4. StrategiesWrite down your business strategies by answering these questions: How are you going to build your business? What will you sell? What is your unique selling proposition (i.e., what makes your business different from the competition)?
5. Start-up CapitalWhat is the total amount of start-up capital you will need to launch your business?
6. Anticipated ExpensesWhat do you estimate your business's ongoing monthly expenses will be immediately after launch, in three months, in six months, and in one year?
7. Desired IncomeWhat do you anticipate your business's ongoing monthly income will be immediately after launch, in three months, in six months, and in one year?
8. Action PlanCreate an action plan by answering: What are the specific action items and tasks you need to complete now? What are your future milestones? What will need to be accomplished by those milestones in order to meet your objectives? Once you have completed each of these steps, you will have a working business plan that you can use immediately to start taking action in your business. If you decide to build upon this document to create a more traditional business plan, this business plan tutorial will help. You can also browse this list of 14 business planning tools to refine your plan even further.