#1 mission statement 4stressmaster.com/pdf/the marketing plan template.pdfeffective marketing plan...

#1 Mission Statement 4

#2 Goals & Objectives 6

#3 Services & Products 10

#4 Target Market 14

#5 Unique Selling Proposition” (USP) 18

#6 SWOT 22

#7Sales & Distribution Plan 26

#8 Pricing Strategy 29

#9 Communication Plan 32

#10 Marketing Materials 38

#11 Collaborations & Partnerships 41

#12 Referral Strategy 44

#13 Executive Summary 46

#14 Final Recommendations 48

INTRODUCTION

This Workbook is a companion to the Module: How to Create an

Effective Marketing Plan and is designed to be completed after watching

the video of the module.

The goal of this workbook and video is to provide health and wellness

professionals with a process to create a solid and effective marketing plan

for their businesses. Even if you have only one or two services or products

that you offer or sell, it is important to complete each of the 14 steps of the

plan. Some steps will be completed quickly, while others will require

considerable thought and reflection.

After completing your marketing plan, you will have in place a detailed

guide that will help you build and expand your business. Keep in mind that

the marketing plan is not a static document; you will want to change, add

to it or delete sections as needed.

If you have questions or want personal business coaching, please feel

free to email or call me at your convenience. Good luck and happy

marketing!

Jim Petersen, Ph.D.

Stressmaster International

[email protected]

480-788-7178

mailto:[email protected]

What is your Mission?

Do you have a Mission Statement?

Are you passionate about it?

Does it drive or motivate you to go in the direction you want?

Do you refer to it often?

Because you’re in a service health and wellness business you want to do something

important. What is it that drives you? What dream do you have for you and your clients?

What do you want to accomplish?

To be on a mission requires a passion to do something good and that translates into

goals and objectives that results in clear benefits for the people with whom you work.

Nancy Lublin, the CEO of Do Something, recommends that you...

“Write a mission statement with a goal that’s an action, not a sentiment;

that is quantifiable, not nebulous. If you’re trying to sell a product, how

many do you want to sell? If you’re trying to change lives, how and

whose? Take your wonky mission statement and rip it to shreds. Then

ponder your ambitions, and write and rewrite the thing until it reflects — in

real, printable words and figures — the difference that you want to make.”

EXAMPLE

THE STRESSMASTER INTERNATIONAL MISSION

Our mission is to be the global leader in reducing workplace stress and improving

the health and wellbeing of people through evidence-based stress mastery

assessments, training and coaching…locally, nationally and globally.

A HEALTH COMPANY

The HEALTH & WELLNESS GROUP’s mission is to advance holistic wellness

coaching, education and training for companies and organizations throughout our

community in order to improve employee health and wellbeing.

Tips

Make it about you, not another company

Believe in it

Keep it short – 3-4 sentences

Focus on what you want to accomplish like health, client satisfaction service,

performance.

Ask for input from all stakeholders and friends.

When complete. Post it on your wall and make it available in your marketing

materials.

If you have a Mission statement, write it here. If not, create your new mission statement

in the space below.

My Mission is…

All Marketing Plans should have well developed goals and objectives. In this step,

review your current goals or create new goals and objectives for your company. To

begin, study the difference between Goals and Objectives and review and revise your

Goals and Objectives accordingly. View this video to get some insight and suggestions

as to how to proceed.

https://youtu.be/mLEfPOMHHOM

GOALS VERSUS OBJECTIVES: COMPARISON CHART

Goal Objective

Meaning The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed.

Something that one's efforts are intended

to attain or accomplish; e.g. a purpose or

target.

Example I want to become known as the expert in health, stress mastery and wellness in my community

I will write one article on stress each

month on health, stress and/or wellness

and post it on LInkedin

Action A generic action or an outcome towards which one strives.

A specific action; i.e., the objective that

supports attainment of the goal.

Measure Not strictly measurable or tangible. Clearly measurable and tangible.

Time frame

Longer term Mid to short term

EXAMPLE

https://youtu.be/mLEfPOMHHOM

The Stressmaster International Goal (General)

“Our goal is to reduce workplace stress, build resilience and teach how to master

stress by providing stress mastery assessments, training, coaching and consulting

services and products to companies, employees and individuals locally, nationally

and globally.

The Stressmaster International Objectives (Specific)

Objective #1 – To add 30 new Individual Stressmaster Associates and 5 Corporate

Associates to the Stressmaster Association program by June 30, 2018.

Objective #2 - To add at least 5 new stress mastery services and/or products that

will be sold to companies, organizations, individuals and Associates by June 30,

2018.

Objective #3 – To offer at least one stress mastery, marketing or sales webinar

and/or coaching of the same to all Stressmaster Associates per month beginning in

January 2018.

Objective #4 - To design and create a 2-3 day Associate Certification Training Program

at a cost TBD by August 31, 2018.

Objective #5 – To sell Stress Mastery Programs directly to companies and

organizations by adding 5 new Stressmaster International corporate accounts who

purchase the SMP for internal use within the company or organization by August 31,

2018.

Objective #6 – To create a Mastering Stress “App” that will provide assistance to people

under stress and to make this available for free but also with a fee-based subscription

plan option for more advanced videos and audios on stress mastery.

Objective #7 – To create a How to Master Stress After a Heart Attack webinar and

audio program and to begin to sell that program to individuals who have had heart

attacks and other related heart issues by June 30, 2018

Objective #8 – To design, create, and produce a two day Annual Stress Mastery

Conference for trainers, coaches and counselors in Phoenix, Arizona (initially) by June

30, 2018

For each of your Goals, create as many objectives as appropriate according to the

guidelines above. If you have more than one goal, then Expand the process for each

goal.

My/Our Goal is…

Objective # 1:

Objective # 2:

Objective # 3:

Objective # 4:

Expand for each Goal and use more pages if necessary.

What are you selling?

As a health and wellness business you have programs and services like providing stress

mastery, diet, nutrition, wellness and health programs. How well they are described is

important when building your plan. Each service can have its own marketing plan or if

the services are similar, then one plan will do. The purpose of a well written description

of your services will make creating marketing materials such as brochures, sell sheets,

proposals and your website much easier.

EXAMPLE

Here are Stressmaster International’s Services and Products

SERVICES

The Stress Mastery Program

Coaching

Training

Presentations

Assessments

Consulting

Program Evaluations

Graphic & Web Design

Associate Program

Webinars

PRODUCTS

SMQ

Stress Mastery Guide

Stress Mastery Workbook

Stress Mastery Program (SMP)

Facilitators Manual

PowerPoints

Motivational Items

Posters

Pocket Guides

Desk Guides

Webinar Videos

Stress Mastery App

WRITE A SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF YOUR SERVICES & PRODUCTS

FOCUS ON BENEFITS NOT FEATURES – When talking about your services or

products, the tendency is to focus on features, rather than benefits. This is mainly

because it is a lot easier to tell someone what you do, rather than explain the benefit that

your program provides. So, when describing your services, focus on what will be the

benefit to that person or company.

EXAMPLE

STRESS MASTERY WORKPLACE TRAINING

“Our evidence-based, employee-focused Stress Mastery Program reduces

work stress, improves job performance, decreases healthcare costs and

increases job satisfaction. We help employees to recognize when they are

under stress using a valid stress assessment tool created by Dr. James

Petersen and, then, using our proven effective techniques, we help each

person to reduce, manage, and, ultimately, master how they handle life and

work stressors. The end result is a less stressed, happier, healthier and more

productive employee.”

USE SIMPLE LANGUAGE

Avoid acronyms or jargon as they are meaningless to most of your prospects. It took

many years for the SMQ to become a fairly well known brand and we’re still working at it,

but, in general, creating catchy phrases or acronyms to label your services will do little to

clarify what you do and may actually confuse people.

When describing your services and products, imagine that you are writing to an 8 year

old child. You will soon stop using big words like “utilize” and start using simpler ones

like the word “use”. Clear and short sentences will communicate the core or your

programs more effectively than long drawn and complicated paragraphs.

KEEP IT SHORT

Write it once. Reduce it. Write it again. Be concise as fewer words will read better. Read

it out loud. Ask others to read it. Make your final changes and let it go. No one likes long

and verbose paragraphs. When appropriate, use bullet lists.

PICTURE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT

Another approach is to imagine that you’re speaking to a prospect and you want to

convince him to purchase your services. Maybe it’s a woman with a weight problem or a

man under enormous stress. What would you say to her or him to make them want to

hire you to help them solve their problem? Put yourself in their shoes and ask if you’ve

made a strong case for trusting you to do the job. People buy because you have made

them feel confident that you have the programs and skills to help them with their

challenge or problem.

USE HOT LINKS

When people want to know more about your services and you, provide hotlinks in the

text as well in the footer. You can hotlink words within your website and any Word Docs

and PDFs for them to receive more information about you and your services as well as

links to testimonials, press release, Linkedin posts, blogs, your Facebook and more.

In the space below, write a description of each of your services, programs and /or

products using the guidelines provided above. It is helpful to write out your current

descriptions and then modify and change as needed. You can also add new services

and products that you plan to provide in the future. The services/products you describe

will be an integral part of your Marketing Materials later on in this Workbook. Start with

service descriptions and then add any products you sell. FYI: You can think of the Stress

Mastery Program as a Service and/or a Product.

Service/Program #1:

Services/Program #2:

Expand as needed.

One of the most important sections of a Marketing Plan is to clearly define your target

market; i.e., the types of people or organizations to whom you want to sell your services

or products.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. First, decide if you want to sell to Businesses, Individuals or both?

2. Analyze your current list of clients.

What differentiates them from other people or companies to whom you market?

Look for common characteristics and interests; for example, are they mostly

women, small companies, church members, people with disabilities, home owners,

etc. If most of your clients tend to have similar characteristic that’s great; but, do you

also want consider diversifying to reach a somewhat different target market.

3. Who do your competitors sell to?

Find out who your competitors are and how dominant a role they play in the

marketplace. Look to see how strong they are in that market and, if they are

dominant, you might want to look at a slightly different target market or go head-to-

head.

4. Who could benefit from your Services?

Next, for each service, make a list of people or companies that could benefit from

your services. Start with those whom you know and then expand to other

companies or individuals who might benefit. If you have the time and money, do

more market research to expand you list.

5. Define your best or most desired target(s) market in terms of the following:

Age

Gender

Income Level

Position in the company

Marital Status

Geography

Ethnicity

Occupation

Look at personal characteristics which are often called psychographics

Health conditions (for wellness businesses list types of illnesses or problems)

Personality (extroverted, introverted, over controlling, dominant, submissive, etc)

Interests or hobbies (anything health related)

Lifestyle (smoking, overeating, under eating, poor eating habits, etc.)

Work behaviors (aggressive, non-compliant, absenteeism, etc.)

Stress related behaviors (expressions of anger, burnout, tension, etc)

6. Clarify how your service(s) meet the needs of your target market(s).

Once you have good idea of who are your target markets. But ask if your services

would really meet their needs and what features of your program would appeal to

that market.

7. Evaluate Your Decision

Ask yourself and others....

Does this market exist?

How big is the market?

Are there enough people or companies who would benefit?

Will my target market really benefit by what I provide?

Is my product affordable (see later section)?

Do I think I can communicate the features and benefits effectively, if I get

the chance?

8. Considerations

Go deep but not too deep. Don’t overwork it.

Create more than one target or niche market, if you have multiple services/products.

Consider different marketing messages for each niche.

9. Summary

After you write your service descriptions, have your spouse, partner, friend of valued

professional review it. Ask questions and challenge assumptions. Remember, an

assumption is the lowest form of knowledge. Getting this right will make the next step all

the easier.

Using the recommendations from above for each target market, write out the

characteristics of each market in detail:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Expand as needed.

Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) describes how your product, service or

company is different (and hopefully better) than the competition. The best USPs takes a

unique quality and explains how that quality will benefit your clients, all in a few

memorable words. The USP will tell the world what you do and why you do it.

Having a strong unique selling proposition (USP) has importance as it distinguishes your

company from competitors. Knowing your USP is especially important when your

product or service is similar to those around you. Very few businesses are one-of-a-kind

and chances are yours may not be either. Look around. There are many health,

wellness, and stress management companies, but what makes them so unique and,

more importantly, what makes you truly unique?

EXAMPLES

Stressmaster International “We help people learn to Thrive, not just Survive, in a World of Stress”

“We teach people not to just manage stress, but to Master it

Avis

“We’re number two. We try harder.”

FedEx Corporation “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”

. M&Ms

“The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”

Domino's Pizza “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it's free.”

Schlotzsky’s

“We’re cooking our bunz off before you put your pants on.”

How and when to use your USP?

While it takes time, your USP will become part of your “brand.” Having a strong brand

will not happen overnight, but when used consistently in all your marketing, you will

begin to see results. Use your USP on or in…

Website landing or index page

As part of your header on your website

All emails

All marketing brochures

Business Cards

Advertising

Your car door or trunk (cheap magnet posters are great)

Your office door

On your desk

T-Shirts & Caps

Name tags

Others (Define)

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO CREATE YOUR USP

Think of your main Target Client

When you write your USP, keep your target client in mind. Think how he/she would

respond to your USP? Would it resonate?

Explain the Problem You Solve.

You are in business to solve some problem. What is it? What challenge or problem does

your target client have?

List the Key Distinctive Benefits You Provide

What benefit do you really provide that is better, faster, smarter, healthier, etc than your

competition? The benefit(s) you provide should explain or show why your client should

select you versus anyone else.

Identify Your Promise or Commitment

Your USP should either state or imply a promise or commitment. For Stressmaster, we

believe our program will make a difference in someone’s stress, psychological hardiness

and resilience, as well as the overall stress of a company.

Write and Rewrite

Before you can make your USP short, write out your USP as a paragraph. Don’t try to

reduce your USP until you’ve gone through the first three steps. Look at what you wrote.

Then, rewrite and combine sentences and words.

Finalize: Make it short and simple

Throw out non-essential words, reduce to a few statements. Make it as simple as

possible.

Using the recommendations from above, write your USP.

My USP is…

Doing a SWOT analysis has been used for years by marketing experts as a way to

identify one’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Basically, a SWOT

has four components; two are Internal Factors and two are External.

S = Strengths (Internal Factors)

W = Weaknesses (Internal Factors)

O = Opportunities (External Factors}

T = Threats (External Factors)

S & O’s are Positive Factors

W & T’s are Negative Factors

What’s A SWOT Analysis?

A SWOT Analysis will add value to your services or products and can enable you to

turn weaknesses into strengths, and treats into opportunities. Ideally, you will want to

turn any negative into a positive, or find ways to augment or compliment your

weaknesses. Upon completing a SWOT Analysis for your business you will have a

much clearer idea of how to market and sell your product and service.

RECOMMENDATION FOR A SWOT ANALYSIS

1. Keep it simple & short

2. Be Realistic

3. Don’t over analyze

4. It’s ok to be subjective

5. Apply the analysis in comparison to your competition

EXAMPLES

STRENGTHS

A new service

A new product

Exclusivity

Superior quality

Specialized training

Uniqueness

Location

Anything that sets you apart from the competition.

WEAKNESSES

Poor quality

Lack of experience

Damaged reputation

Offering the same product or service as others

Lack of marketing

Lack of funds

Location

Health issues

OPPORTUNITIES

Few competitors

Competitors with damaged reputations

New public awareness of the importance for your product or service

Companies who are laying off employees (lots of stress)

Individuals who have health and stress problems that you know or hear about

Companies with high turnover

Companies that are merging (change is stressful)

THREATS

Too many people or companies like you

Companies/individual with limited resources

Price wars with competition

Competitor has a new or more innovative product/service

Aggressive competitors

Lack of awareness to the problem you address

Using the recommendations above, do a SWOT Analysis for each of the areas below.

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

The purpose of business is to sell your services and/or products. The Sales and

Distribution Plan identifies how sales will be made as well as how your product or

service will be delivered to the client. Many health and wellness businesses sell

products to clients, so you will want to keep the sales and distribution plan separate.

Every business needs deliver their product or service to the client or client. Depending

on the type of services and/or products you sell, the length of this section could be either

very short or quite long. In order for this step to be effective, match your distribution

channels with each of your objectives as previously created in Step # 2.

SALES

Direct Sales

Who will do the selling; e.g., you and/or a sales person?

If sales people are involved, determine if they will be salaried, salary +

commission or commissioned only?

How will you recruit them?

What will you expect from them?

How will you set Sales goals?

When will you meet with them – daily, weekly or not at all

How will you train them?

Will you provide bonus or incentives beyond the salary and/or commission?

Wholesale/Resale

As an example, the Stressmaster Associate program is essentially a

professional reseller program whereby each Associate may purchase Stress

Mastery Programs at a discount and then resell to other companies or

individuals or, if they choose, use them in their own coaching and/or training

programs. This type of sale may not useful for many health and wellness

companies.

Online

Via Website or Shopping Cart

Others

Catalogs, Flyers etc.

DISTRIBUTION

How will you deliver your service/product?

For services and/or products, the distribution channel is most likely direct from you to

the client. It could be more complicated but for health and wellness businesses this is

most common. Specify the different ways you plan to distribute your products and/or

services.

Direct delivery

Coaching 1:1

Webinars

eLearning

Training – classroom style

Email (e.g., send SMQ Access Codes to a client such as another trainer)

Others (Detail)

Online

Audio

Video

Webinars

Product purchases from web

Others (Detail)

Other Sales and Distribution areas to focus on are:

In the space below, write or list how you will be selling your services/products and what

ways you will be delivering them to your clients.

SALES PLAN

DISTRIBUTION/DELIVERY PLAN

Every business has the challenge of setting the price to charge for its services and

products. If there is competition and, if price is a determining factor, then you should be

close to the competition. If you have a unique service or product, such as the Stress

Mastery Program, you may be able to charge more

It is important to be reasonable when setting your price. For Health and Wellness

professionals, the services fall into Training, Coaching, Consulting and Key Note

Speaking engagements. Pricing for each should be carefully thought out; key

considerations are:

What is the competition charging?

What is the demand for your services?

What costs are related to your services; such as:

o Materials

o Prep time

o Travel

o Room rental

o Staff support

o Selling Costs (commissions)

What costs are related to your products; such as:

o Your cost to buy (assuming reselling a product)

o Marketing Costs

o Shipping

o Returns

Do a Breakeven Analysis where you look at all the costs and compare the costs

to your pricing.

Ask questions about your pricing strategy. If you are charging “less” than others

in the area, why are you doing this? Or, if you’re charging “higher” than the

competition, what do you think the results will be?

Determine your ROI, such as how much do you plan to make, and in what time

frame?

Finally, if you are a well known author or have a strong reputation in your area, you may

be able to charge more than your competitors? A good reason to get published!

In the space below, write out your current pricing structure and determine if it is realistic

and appropriate. Consider whether or not to raise or lower your prices. Change your

pricing as needed. Get external feedback from others in your field, colleagues and

partners.

You can’t get business without communicating with your ideal target market. Reaching

your potential client with your message is like a game of football or a battle; you want to

win the game (goal) but you need to define the strategy and tactics that will help you

reach that goal. In business, there needs to be a Strategy in mind, as well as specific

tactics, that you will move you one step forward toward achieving your objectives and

goals.

A STRATEGY is the WHAT of your business; it is Global and not specific. A TACTIC is

the HOW of your business. Strategies focus on what you want to accomplish, as spelled

out by your Mission and Goal Statement; Tactics focuses on the methods and ways to

achieve your goal.

The importance of completing this section of your Marketing Plan is essential to the

success of every business. While time consuming, a good Strategy and Tactics section

with actions, timelines and costs, will guide you every step of the way. See Excel

Spreadsheet Example below for a detailed Communication Plan.

EXAMPLE #1

OBJECTIVE

To become recognized as the leader and expert in providing companies and their

employees with a high quality and effective employee Stress Mastery Program (SMP)

TACTIC

Post weekly on Linkedin about stress mastery

Write a column for a local magazine on stress

Get interviewed by local TV station about your Stress Mastery Program

Etc.

EXAMPLE #2

TYPICAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

Networking

Email Blasts

Posts on Linkedin

Post on Facebook

Direct Contact with Decision Maker

Personal letters

Flyers

Attend conferences in your area

Press Releases

ADD OR REMOVE

AS NEEDED

TACTIC TO CONSIDER

Identify the best Networking

Groups and attend weekly.

Send out weekly email blasts on

stress and wellness

Post on Facebook at least once a

week.

Do one Press Release per week.

ADD OR REMOVE

AS NEEDED.

EXAMPLE #3 – SPECIFIC

OBJECTIVE #1

Conduct a full day Workplace

Stress Mastery Workshop for at

least 25 employees from

companies in my city/state by

6/30/18

TACTICS TO MARKET THE WORKSHOP

Contact and obtain at least two organizations or

individuals to sponsor your workshop; e.g.,

hospitals, wellness centers, chiropractors,

naturopaths, insurance companies, etc

Send out at least 3 Press/News Releases to all local

papers and local health oriented magazines for the

3 months prior to the workshop

Obtain a phone, address and email list of all HR

Directors, Presidents and CEO’s of companies in

the area and reach out to them with the message to

send their employees to the workshop.

List the workshop in the Events section of the

Business Journal and other newspapers at least two

months prior to the workshop.

Get interviewed on local radio and TV stations about

the workshop at least 30 days from the date of the

workshop.

Create a full color printed flyer that communicates

the title of the Workshop, purpose, benefits and

features, date and location.

Create an attractive email graphic (jpeg) showing

the title and key selling points for the workshop and

send out three, two and one month before the

workshop.

Post the graphic and sales points on Linkedin,

Facebook and other social media and do often.

CONTINUE TO DEVELOP w/ TIMELINES

COMMUNICATION PLAN SPREADSHEET

EXAMPLE

TASK #1

Write out in detail all the tactics or strategies in which you will implement to reach your

objectives. Each objective should have as many tactics as you feel appropriate. If there

are costs involved, be sure to detail them. List the activities (tactics) you are currently

doing, and would like to do more of in the future; e.g., email blasts, personal emails,

flyers, post cards, networking, direct sales, public seminars, workshops, etc. Then

indicated if this is a tactic you’d like to continue, stop doing, get help on or increase in

the future?

GOAL #1

1. OBJECIVE #1

a. TACTIC #1

b. TACTIC #2

c. TACTIC #3

2. OBJECIVE #2

a. TACTIC #1

b. TACTIC #2

c. TACTIC #3

Expand as needed.

TASK #2 CREATE A COMMUNICATION PLAN TIMELINE

Using the Communication Plan Spreadsheet that was sent to you by email, create at

least a 6 month and preferable a 12 month plan for each objective. This could be just a

simple or complex spreadsheet based on the number of goals and objectives you have.

Feel free to modify the spreadsheet to meet your needs as needed.

What types of marketing materials do you need and/or currently using?

Marketing materials are essential to communicate who you are, what you offer and why

they should “buy” your products or services. Often called collateral materials, these

elements enable you to promote your business to current and prospective clients.

Common collateral materials may include your website, print brochures, business cards,

pdfs, and catalogs. Collateral Materials are anything that promotes your business as part

of Marketing or Sales effort; such as:

Brochures

Business Cards

Email Layout

Stationary

Stationary

Flyers

Posters

Ad Sales Sheets

Videos

Press Kits

Fact Sheets

Websites

Webinars

Blogs

List ALL the materials you have developed to date and ask:

o How effective are they at communicating your message?

o Are the benefits of your services or products clearly indicated?

o Are the services or products clear and simple?

o Do I need to remove some of the words or change content?

o Should they be redone or modified?

o Is the creative design appealing and professional?

o Should testimonials be included?

o Do you need a call to action, or not? If so, build a strong call to action.

o Do you need a special offer or promotion? If so, build one in.

o Should you hire a professional to improve the content of the materials?

o Is your logo strong and clear and used in every marketing item?

o Is your contact information complete and easy to see?

o Do you have “hotlinks” to your website or specific website pages where

appropriate?

Use the space below to list all collateral material you currently have and make

comments on each based on your answers to the above questions.

o Collateral Material #1 –



Expand As Needed

In the space below, list any new marketing materials you want to create and develop a

plan along with timelines to complete them.

#1

#2

#3

Expand As Needed

One way to expand your marketing and business success is by joining forces and

collaborate with other professionals in your area or by attracting sponsors.

Collaborations & Partnerships

Let’s start with joint ventures, collaborations and partnerships. These are agreements

you forge with other people or organizations to deliver a program or help you to reach

new clients. When, doing a Stress Mastery Program, it is very helpful to bring in

specialists in areas that you may not be proficient in. For example, in a half or full day

Stress Mastery Workshop, you may want to bring in a specialist in the areas of

mindfulness, meditation, yoga, Tai Chi or progressive relaxation to provide a hands-on

experience in these areas. This would compliment your broader program and provide

some hands on experience in key stress management areas.

Sponsorships

Another way to increase the sale of your health and wellness program is to find sponsors

to help fund your marketing, program delivery and to collaborate with you to achieve

your objectives. For example, if you are planning a wellness workshop, contact a

nutrition supplement store, naturopath, chiropractor or health care company to become a

sponsor of your program and charge them a fee to be included in your marketing

materials. For a large hospital or health care group, you can negotiate providing some

free spots for a few of their employees in exchange for helping to promote your

workshop to their employees. Some hospitals will even provide a conference room or

training space in which to conduct your training. Having a sponsor adds even more

credibility to you and your program.

EXAMPLE

In 2016, we conducted a half-day Workplace Stress Mastery Program for over 25

employees from various companies in the Phoenix area. To accomplish this Objective,

we linked with HonorHealth, a large hospital network, and the Wellness Council of

Arizona to be our co-sponsors for the workshop. In the case of the Wellness Council of

Arizona, we invited their executive director, who is an expert on mindfulness, to deliver a

30 minute mindfulness experience at the workshop. HonorHealth gave us a well

equipped room and promoted us to their many employees. In exchange, we provided

them with a few free spots for their employees to attend the workshop. In all, this was a

great success and having them as a sponsor helped us in marketing the program

throughout the area.

List below as many people, organizations and companies who you might consider

approaching to partner or collaborate with you.

#1

#2

#3

Add as many as appropriate and categorize as to individuals, health organizations

and/or sponsors

REFFERAL STATEGY

Most people forget to ask for a referral after a coaching or training session. Having a

Referral Mentality can improve your success at getting new business; e.g., if every one

of your clients referred one new client to you, your client base would grow exponentially.

The key is to have a formalized referral strategy; i.e., a clear plan to ask your clients for

a referral. For example, if you have a successful health and wellness program with a

company or individual, ask them if they would refer you to another company or individual

who might be interested in and benefit from your services.

Finder’s Fees are a special form of referral strategy that relies on financial incentives to

get new business. This may be appropriate for some individuals who have deep contacts

and would like to participate financially. The biggest challenge is to actually build this into

your Communication Plan and to review your referral strategy at least once a week.

RECOMMENDATIONS

While not a referral, client recommendations are essential to communicating the value of

you and your company. Recommendations and testimonials build credibility and assures

the prospect that you can and will do a superior job if retained.

Make a list of clients or clients to whom you can go for a Referral and/or a

Recommendation and then make a commitment to ask each one for a written

recommendation and/or referral. Be specific about what you want from them.

Client #1

Client #2

Client #3

Client #4

Expand until all clients have been identified and then place on your Communication

Plan. Be sure to keep a record of all recommendations, testimonials and referrals.

At the conclusion of your marketing plan you will have a better idea of who you are, what

services you provide, why you provide them and how you do it. Now it’s time to create

your Executive Summary.

The purpose of the Executive Summary is to describe the key elements of your

business so that the reader will want to learn more about you and your programs. If you

are seeking financial backing, it should have some information so that an investor can

see the benefits of partnering with you.

Complete your Executive Summary last. As the name implies, this section of your

Marketing Plan summarizes each of the other sections of your marketing plan in a short

form. There is no magic formula. Condense all that you do in a one page document.

Use the space below to create your executive summary.

Don’t DELAY! Take small steps and you’ll get it done in no time.

It’s helpful to have each of the TASK! PAGES (cut and paste) into a

standalone document called “My Marketing Plan.” In this way you have

everything in one document.

Be sure to do the SWOT and USP section. It will help you to see the

barriers and strengths of your business.

If you get stuck, go back to the plan and ask what should I be doing and

then do it!

A plan is just a plan. It’s not set in stone.

If something is not working, change it, ignore it or delete it.

Get professional help when needed. It’s hard to be objective. A second

opinion is worth it.

Make a commitment to review your plan monthly.

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