Temptation is costly
Most organizations understand the value of marketing and sales. Yet, the challenge is to not be tempted by a “great deal.”
Last weekend, I was speaking at the Women Mean Business Conference in Chilliwack. After the event was over I headed to my cabin in Yale, BC. When I arrived, despite it being very hot outside, inside it was cold and damp. As the sun dropped behind the mountain, I started to build a fire. Although I was eager to take off the chill as quickly as possible with a roaring blaze, I diligently took steps to get the twigs burning into red hot flames before adding small logs. At the time, I knew the ultimate benefit would be an awesome fire within 15 minutes. After that my efforts would be minimal – just adding a medium to large log every 30 – 60 minutes.
During the past decade as a strategic marketing expert, I have noticed business owners and their teams struggle, looking for a quick marketing fix guaranteed to provide a big payoff. Invariably, sales reps will call them and offer “an amazing, not to be missed deal.” In that moment, it is so easy to be tempted by such a great promise.
The best way to avoid falling into this trap is to develop and implement an annual marketing action plan. When we do this, we can determine whether each opportunity supports our overall annual objectives and not be clouded by “the deal of a lifetime.”