The Problem With Business Planning

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Scott Bywater


If you go to a conventional business seminar, you are going to get the following advice:

Write a business plan Do a swot analysis A competitor analysis etc. etc.

And I can see why so many people are held back from starting a business.

But I have another approach. A simper approach. An approach which will tell you whether it's actually worth writing that damn plan.

And that approach is...

JUST WRITE A FRICKIN AD

What do I mean by that?

Well, let's say you go to China or get this amazing idea for a product.

You could spend a month writing a business plan, coming up with statistics on how many you are going to sell, financial forecasting your future, etc.

But none of that means anything unless THE AD WORKS.

Or the sales letter. Or the web site. Or the flyer.

Truth is, if nobody wants what you are selling then the business plan isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

And none of your forecasts will come true.

But if you write that ad... the phone rings... and the orders come flowing through...then you know you are onto a winning formula.

... because you can run that ad all over town.

If it works in an Adelaide newspaper... it will probably work in a Sydney newspaper... a Melbourne newspaper, etc.

And by the same token if it works in a suburban newspaper it will probably work in other suburban newspapers.

But without the ad... without knowing if it sells... you certainly don't have a business.

So my advice is if you've got a new idea...

Risk as little as possible to get your hands on a small amount of the product you want to sell.

Write an ad and see if people want what you have to sell.

But make sure you write it the right way. Because just like a bad salesperson cannot sell much, neither will a bad advertisement.


About the Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the "right type" of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and "outside of the box" strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/