Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, invented a technique called the 5 Whys to quickly get to the root of a problem. He came up with this brilliantly simple framework back in the ’30s, but it exploded onto the scene in the ’70s. Thousands of businesses around the world, including Toyota, still use the 5 Whys to this day.
Marketing is solving problems, so it’s not surprising you can use a similar approach to build a marketing plan. This nifty little trick will get to the root of what your company needs to grow—fast. I call this system the How Funnel. Unlike most marketing plan frameworks, the How Funnel is stupidly simple. The simplicity is why it works so well.
How Funnel – Marketing Plan Framework
Let’s use our Special Sauce How Funnel as an illustration of this framework in action. Everything starts with a clear and measurable business goal. Our business goal is to add an additional $120K of MRR (monthly recurring revenue) by March 2023. This goal isn’t vague or questionable. Everyone on our team can easily understand the destination we’re working toward.
With our goal in hand, the process is straightforward. We just start asking how…
How do we add $120K of MRR by March 2023?
Sign an average of one client per month at a minimum of $5,000 per month for the next 24 months.
How do we sign one client per month?
Complete two Brand Recipe Sprints (our Brand Recipe Sprint is the first step all clients take with us, it takes one month, and we convert clients into an ongoing partnership at 50%).
How do we sign two clients per month for our Brand Recipe process?
Send four proposals to qualified prospects each month.
How do we get four qualified prospects to request a proposal?
Attract a minimum of eight quality leads each month.
How do we get eight quality leads each month?
Make ourselves visible to the right people with Google PPC & SEO, LinkedIn posts, Medium articles, and client referrals.
How do we make ourselves visible to the right people on Google, LinkedIn, and Medium?
Maintain a sufficient budget on Google to reach people searching high intent terms, produce weekly blog posts targeting valuable keywords, and write Medium articles and LinkedIn posts that help the people we want as clients solve problems.
That’s our marketing plan. It took me a whopping 30 minutes to chart a clear path (with milestones we can monitor every month) straight to another $1.4 million in revenue each year.
Give The How Funnel A Try
I’ve used this method for SaaS companies, CPG brands, and retailers. This strategy works regardless of industry, niche, or size. Every business must know how they’re going to attract and convert buyers. Carve out 30 minutes and build your How Funnel. I promise it won’t be wasted time, and it just might be the most valuable thing you ever do for your business.
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