Stephen Covey said, "Begin with the end in mind." That's good advice. Whether plotting the path for a road trip or writing a marketing plan, it helps to focus on where you want to end up before deciding how best to get there. Skip that step and you could end up in the wrong place...fast.
But the destination we imagine is almost always something BIG. We dream of record-setting success for our product, bestseller-status for our book, or chart-topping popularity for our new song. But big thinking can distract us from the equally important need to think small.
Big is where we end up, but small is where we must start.
Every oak tree began with an acorn. Every marketing phenomenon began with a single sale. Where will you start yours? If I had to sell just one record by a new music artist I wouldn't buy national advertising, I'd talk to their mom. If I had to sell a second, I'd talk to their spouse.
I'd start with people who have the most reasons to buy--reasons that extend beyond the product's features and benefits. With those initial sales secured, I'd turn my attention to friends of those that bought, and so on.
By thinking small you can have a clearer idea of where to start and what to do next. Spread the fire. GS
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