Brilliance in sales and marketing is the lifeblood of small business, yet many business owners lose sight of their vision for growth in the day-to-day multi-tasking that managing a business demands.
Inspiration and fresh energy can absolutely revitalise your sales and marketing program and this is an area where some outside assistance can really add value.
The starting point for a new marketing drive is to develop a vision for where you’d like to see your company go. The word “vision” implies an image, a picture, a vivid and tangible embodiment of your destination. Yet so often vision and mission statements and especially marketing objectives sound rather ho hum and lack this visionary vitality. Certainly they are usually described in words rather than images and the language can often be quite dry and un-inspiring : “Increase sales by..” “Achieve x% profit margin.”… Mmm doesn’t light my fire!
Many life coaches encourage clients to develop a vision board, a graphic embodiment of what the desired destination is and this practice is ideally suited to businesses too.
The concept as a vision board works equally well for businesses as a vibrant way of articulating your vision for growth for your company. A picture is worth a thousand words. You and your team can add words and images that illustrate and articulate where you want your company to go. A great motivator is to pin up the logos of new clients you want to win. Simple words that describe your destination can be printed big and bold and included on the board: “Innovative” “World Class”. A picture of celebratory champagne that the team will share when you achieve your goals would also be well-placed. Your visionary board can become an organic, growing representation of your growth path.
Using visual imagery has broader applications as well and is also invaluable in profiling your clients and target audience more accurately. Sometimes we are too rational and logical in understanding our clients’ wants and needs. Yet every purchase decision is made at both rational and emotive levels. Using imagery to profile your target audience is a handy technique to unlock your lateral thinking and tap into an emotional understanding of your target audience.
One thing is for sure, the businesses that embrace innovative techniques such as these, are sure to gain greater engagement from both clients and team members.
If you’d like to invigorate your vision for growth, Innovation Station is running a sales and marketing workshop on October 24. The workshop uses creative exercises to help multi-tasking managers step out of the rational side of the brain and into the lateral thinking side, the perfect way to inspire sales and marketing success. Seats are limited so click here to register, or call 0402 543 004.
This small investment may just transform your vision for your business.