Years ago a friend introduced me to a quote by George S. Patton: "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect
plan executed next week." Over the years I've learned that every business has a business plan. How the plan is executed on
the battlefield of business makes all of the difference. I've also learned that technology can help you turn that plan into
reality.
Sales and marketing are the front lines in most businesses. Nothing slows down the sales process more than having your reps
busy working on mailers, sending and receiving faxes, or cold calling.
Outsource your mailings
You can speed up sales by outsourcing your outbound mass mailing. I've grown fond of FedEx Kinko's ( http://www.kinkos.com/). I used to spend hours printing out mailers, folding, stapling and collating. Not anymore. FedEx can do it all. They even
have software that allows me to print from my computer straight to their nearest store. I can select all of the options right
from my desktop. Another option is to work through the U.S. Postal Service's NetPost services ( http://www.usps.com/ then search for NetPost). They can design, produce and send professional mailers with little time and effort required on
your part. Mailers can be very effective, especially when you spend the least possible amount of time producing them.
Stop the faxing nightmare
Let's face it, faxing is a time-consuming activity. Consider using a "fax through e-mail" service ( http://www.premierewebpages.com/). Faxing information and receiving orders can be as easy and quick as sending or receiving e-mail. With 800 and local numbers
available, your days of changing toner cartridges and stocking paper will quickly become a thing of the past.
Advertise wisely
Cold calling is the crutch a sales rep leans on when he doesn't have good marketing. Great marketing provides the air cover
required to soften up your target market. Hopefully you already have a good Web site, a proven ad in the Yellow Pages, and
your logo and phone number plastered on every truck and employee you have.
Next, consider advertising on the Internet. You might be saying to yourself, "I need local customers, not people 500 to 5,000
miles away." There is a big push in the Internet right now to move advertising from worldwide to a carefully targeted local
and regional approach. Large companies like Google and Yahoo are providing locally targeted advertising so your marketing
dollar is spent on the people you want to attract most. The goal is to stop cold calling and start a flood of inbound calls.
A CEO friend once told me, "business is war." Take some time to look at your business plan. Arming yourself with technology
will help win the war.
— The author is a freelance technologist focusing in business automation. Contact him at 801/592-2810 or visit his blog at
http://www.tylerwhitaker.com/.
