Businesses without a sales and marketing plan are leaving everything to chance – and that could be as many as 45% of small & medium size businesses, according to JCH Communications

“Having no marketing or sales plan in place is a dangerous game to play,” suggests John Hayes of JCH Communications, which carried out the survey among small/medium businesses at the end of 2009.

JCH asked *small/medium businesses about their sales and marketing skills, abilities and budgets as part of research to see how best to support them. The results were quite staggering:

86% said they needed more marketing skills to grow their business.

83% said they needed more telephone sales skills to grow their business.

73% said they needed more face to face selling skills.

61% had a sales budget under £1000. 

Marketing budgets faired better, where 48% had a marketing budget of £1500 or more.

48% said they had no sales plan.

45% had a marketing plan that covered less than a few weeks ahead (in fact 31% had no marketing plan at all).

By talking to individual small/medium businesses JCH found that whilst there was a whole host of information on sales and marketing on the Internet and available at free seminars, etc. this information tended to focus on the why and what of sales and marketing activity rather than showing them how to do it.

So are businesses really getting what they need?
Small/medium businesses need practical, down to earth knowledge on how to use sales and marketing skills, tools and techniques at a price they can afford. At JCH we’ve created a free, practical guide showing how to create a marketing plan. Once businesses know how to do it they have the opportunity to put it in to practice themselves or will at least have the confidence to engage someone to help them.

By knowing how it’s done, people are far more in control of their budgets, outcomes and expectations. So it helps both small businesses that need sales and marketing help as well as those companies supplying that help. In the future JCH also plans to hold regional workshops & events and can already host details of training courses relevant to sales and marketing for small businesses.

John Hayes says “The year ahead is going to be all about sales and marketing as we come out of recession and those businesses that know more about how to do it will stand a much better chance of being the winners as well as keeping a firm control over their costs.”

If you want a FREE guide to marketing YOU business contact us and we will be happy to help.

*SOURCE: 700 small/medium business across UK: Corpdata UK