Over the years. I've created or advised on the creation of literally hundreds of marketing plans. Right from small one-person businesses through to billion-dollar corporations.

And almost all of them – even the really big companies – have all had one missing vital component that puts their success at serious risk.

In this Episode of More Clients TV I reveal what that missing link is, how to fix it, and what I've found is the best approach to implement that fix.

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The Missing Link in Almost All Marketing Plans (and how to fix it)

Mike Tyson famously said “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”.

And that's really the issue with most marketing plans.

It's not that the plans themselves aren't great (well, some of them aren't but usually most of them are half decent).

The issue is that things change.

Life happens.

Other priorities take over and you end up drifting away from the plan and just not executing it.

If you were looking back on all those wonderful marketing plans and projects you started so enthusiastically over the past couple of years you'll probably find that the majority of them just kind of fizzled out because other things got in the way.

Things that perhaps weren't as important but seemed more urgent at the time.

And so your big project took a back seat.

And then it just never got off the ground again.

So the most important component to have in any marketing plan is simply a description of how you're going to make sure you actually stick to the plan. Or how you're going to change it and update it as needed.

And that mechanism doesn't have to be complicated.

In fact, probably the very best method I've found to make sure you deliver on your plan is simply to have some kind of accountability program or group set up to check on your progress.

That could be a partner you share your plans with and update them on your progress every week or two weeks. That's enough usually to make sure that you keep going. Just the embarrassment of having to say in public “oh no I didn't do anything this week” is enough to make sure you keep stick with the plan against the typical minor obstacles you're bound to run into again and again.

And if they're a smart accountability partner they'll ask you questions about your plans and progress. They'll make sure things are progressing properly. They'll challenge you if you're going in the wrong direction.

One of the things I do is I run a mastermind group every week for my Momentum Club members where we simply get on a call and we talk about what we achieved in the previous week.

People ask questions or for help if they've got any problems. And then the group and I give feedback and share our ideas and experiences.

At the end of the call we make commitments for the next week or so. And that's usually enough to make
sure that we actually do go on and execute.

And although the group is set up for the benefit of members, the process works for me too.

Just this week Corine, one of our members, reminded me that a couple of weeks ago I'd said I was going to start
another five-day writing challenge on LinkedIn for members.

The previous one had been really successful and very popular so the gang wanted another one and I said “yes of course I'll do it”.

And this week Corine gently reminded me of that commitment. “Ian, when was it you were going to start that program?”

And of course I hadn't started it. But now I've committed to doing it and we're starting it on Monday.

This simple process of making commitments publicly and having people willing to give you feedback and say “you know what, you said you were going to do this – you haven't done it – why is that?” really works well.

And thanks Corine!