The Four Components of the Marketing Cycle

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. I say that time in time again, because it’s true. Smart business owners spend MOST of their time on sales and marketing because they understand those two activities are what produce the revenue in their business. 

The marketing cycle consists of four steps. These four steps are the same for every business. The four steps include: (1) generating leads, (2) following-up, (3) giving presentations and (4) closing sales. In the paragraphs below, I will explain more on each topic.

1. Generating Leads 

This is the most critical step in your marketing cycle. You need a constant flow of new leads for your business. These are folks who are in your “target market” and would be a great fit as a customer. 

Your goal is to get as many people into your pipeline as possible, and keep adding new people to your pipeline daily. You can do this with using whichever marketing strategy you prefer. Some of the most popular ways to get people in your pipeline are newspaper advertising, direct mail, networking, social media and pay per click ads. 

2. Following-Up 

We all know that the follow-up is vital. Most of your leads will NEVER become customers if you don’t follow-up. It’s important to have a plan to follow-up with all of your leads until they buy, die or ask you to stop following up with them. 

You can follow up with telemarketing, direct mail, an email auto-responder or face-to-face. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember that people buy when they are ready to buy, not when you want them to buy. 

If you don’t follow-up with them regularly, they will forget about you. You need a system in place to manage your leads and tell you when and how you will follow-up with them. 

3. Giving Presentations

Your next step is to give presentations. The purpose of your follow-up is to set up a time for your leads to see a complete presentation. 

Most people try to sell on the initial contact, which is typically a big mistake. Instead, book a time to give a complete presentation, during your follow-up. Sell the sizzle (the appointment) and let your sizzle sell the steak (your presentation).

The length of your presentation will vary, depending upon what you are selling and how much it costs. You can standardize the presentation process by creating a presentation video or with an audio recording.

4. Closing Sales

The last step in your marketing cycle is to close sales. After you give a presentation, you might get the sale immediately. Or, you might have to follow-up a few more times with your prospect. 

Whatever you do, ask for the sale EVERY TIME you talk with your prospect. Assume the person will buy your product or service and walk them through the closing process. If you have a sales team, make sure they are trained on how to do this well.

Keep in mind you don't need to pressure or hard-sell anyone, but you do need to lead people to a decision. 

Final Thoughts

In summary, these are the four components of a marketing cycle, as I see it. As a smart business owner, you must understand each component and have a systematic way to complete the process. 

One of the best things you can do is create a simple two to five page document which covers each aspect of your marketing cycle and write down what you want to happen (or what should happen). Once you do that, you can create a simple system that you and your employees can follow.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you. 

About the Author

Chuck Holmes is an author, blogger, business coach and network marketer. He lives in sunny Florida with his wife, Rachel.