What to Actually Do to Have an Effective End of Year Marketing Planning Meeting (Part 2)

There are 5 steps to effective end of the year marketing planning. And in the last email, I touched on steps 1 through 3. Now, I’m going to get into step 4 and 5. Step 4 is probably the most important step you’ve probably never thought of…so pencils ready to take notes?



Let’s get to it. 

Step 4: Jot down your goals and evaluate them based on the marketing project management triangle.

Let me explain what I’m talking about by telling you a quick story. 

The other day I was talking to a family member (I won’t name names to protect their privacy) who plans on starting a new business. They asked me how much my services were because they wanted me to generate leads for them. 

I broke down the numbers to generate leads and also explained how my services aren’t cheap. They’re expensive. But they get people results fast. 

And they told me how they were starting two businesses at the same time (bad idea - but I digress) and they didn’t have the money to invest into ads. 

I kindly said, if you feel as if you don’t have the money to invest into ads that’s fine. But, what is your strategy to get leads?

The family member then said to me how they will contact people using cold outreach methods, but they don’t have a lot of time to invest AND they want to make money now. Plus, they also want their outreach methods to look high-quality. 

From whence I felt like wagging my finger and saying, “nope, it doesn’t work that way.

This type of thinking is one of the biggest ways that small business owners keep their business stuck in the mud.

I thought this way once too - until I uncovered the project management triangle and applied it to marketing. 

It is simple.

There are 3 sides to a triangle. 

Investment - Scope/Quality - Time

The trick is this - when you are starting a new project (i.e. lead generation) you can select 2 sides but never 3.

For example:

  • Here’s exactly what I told her - If you want to generate leads, but you don’t want to invest a lot of money and you still want your marketing to be high-quality, then it’s going to require a lot of time. 

  • If you want to generate leads fast, but you don’t want to invest a lot into great marketing, then the quality won’t be great. 

  • At the same token, if you want to generate leads fast and you are willing to make a fruitful investment, then the quality of your marketing will be high.

I hope you get what I’m saying.

You can have 2 sides, but never three.

The problem is when you try to have all three. You end up landlocked because you’re trying to upend a powerful law - it’s like the law of gravity.

So after you’ve determined your goals against the marketing project management triangle, it’s time to move on to step 5.

Step 5: Re-evaluate your goals 

Now that you’ve jotted your goals, it’s time to re-evaluate them. Take a look at your lead generation goals based on the marketing project management triangle and determine if you’re trying to break the law or not. 

Then, really think through what type of marketing you will do to generate leads. 

Many things work. Of course I’m an ads girl and I love them dearly because you can get high-quality leads coming in fast. And much faster than other folks will.

But if it makes more sense for you to try slower methods, then do it.

By the way, if you want some help to figure out exactly what you can do to generate leads, then reply back to this email. I’m here to help!

Okay, like I said this was going to be a short email.

With the new year here, I wish you a happy New Year. Have fun, be safe, take a break and enjoy!

Work can wait for 2024.

Everything that’s Special

These are just resources I love and recommend. I am in no way affiliated with these companies. 

📘 My Favorite Business Planning Journal: I’ve been using the 90 day intention journal from BiggerPockets for a little over 2 years now. I absolutely love this journal for planning out 90 days of intentionality. This journal is actually a planner that was originally created for real estate investors. But I’ve found that it can work for any type of business. Check it out here >

💳 If your accounting is a little ‘meh’ check out Freshbooks Accounting Software - If you’re a service-based business that’s looking for easy to navigate accounting software, I highly recommend checking out Freshbooks. Right now they are having an end of the year sale for new customers. So if you’re looking for new accounting software (or to change your accounting software) give it a look. Check it out here >

🎧 Business podcasts I’m loving right now - It’s time to start thinking about taxes. Are you a nomadic entrepreneur? Check out this valuable podcast all about tax benefits for entrepreneurs who live and work on the road.

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What Happened in Marketing This Week - January 4, 2024

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What to Actually Do to Have an Effective End of Year Marketing Planning Meeting (Part 1)