Most marketing professionals love to talk about how things need to be spontaneous and organic. And that's great, except that sometimes it conflicts with the fact that marketing also needs to be intentional and consistent.
Fortunately, we can take a similar approach to marketing that Sandler recommends you take for sales: Systemize it.
Here are three steps to start systemizing your marketing to be more consistent and intentional with it.
Set goals
We're actually not talking about marketing goals here, but business goals. What business goal do you want your marketing to accomplish? Do you want more leads? Do you want fewer phone calls asking for information? Do you just want to look better than your competition?
And remember, the more focused your goals are, the more likely you are to accomplish them. You ideally need just to have one goal, not multiple goals.
Establish milestones
Whether you call them milestones or KPIs—Key Performance Indicators—the important thing is to track your progress toward your goals.
You may have heard of SMART goals. Well, in this case, you want to have SMART milestones:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
One million followers on LinkedIn within six months may be Specific, Measurable, and Time-Bound. It may even be Relevant to your goal, but it's probably not Attainable. Your milestones should have all five of those attributes.
Block out time
Your full-time job may be marketing, but most people have other job duties as well. So if you want to make sure you market consistently, you actually need to regularly block out time on your calendar. Maybe that's a recurring event where you look at your calendar each week and block some time, or perhaps you block the time out for an entire month or year in advance.
If you wear more hats than just marketing, this will likely be what we in Sandler call No-Pay Time. In other words, you can do most of it outside regular business hours. Whether you schedule it that way or not, be sure to keep your commitment to yourself.
With those three steps, you're on your way to systemizing your marketing so it can be more consistent and intentional.
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About the Authors
Mike Crandall, Sandler of Oklahoma
Mike Crandall is a Speaker, Consultant, Coach and Trainer focused on Sales, Management, and Leadership Development. He's also the owner of Sandler Oklahoma, a world leader in innovative sales, management, and leadership training. They offer consulting, coaching, and training for individuals and organizations serious about professional development and growth. Mike is the author of "Motivational Management The Sandler Way" and has written a sales column for several years.
Tim Priebe, T&S Online Marketing
Tim Priebe is a public speaker, author, columnist, and the owner of T&S Online Marketing. He helps businesses that are worried they don't have the expertise or time required to incest in doing their own digital marketing. He helps them plan where and how much to invest and often helps execute the plan. Tim's company helps with websites, social media, blogging, email newsletters, Google rankings, and online video. Time is the author of several online marketing books, including "102 Tweets," "Blog a Week," and "Online Marketing Mindshift."
