How to Effectively Set Your Marketing Budget

In this episode of the Max Your Business Podcast, Business Coaches Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin dive into the frequently asked question of how to set your marketing budget.

Tailored for business owners striving to grow their businesses, this podcast covers a step-by-step approach to determining your marketing budget.

Topics include assessing your average dollar sale, understanding customer purchasing frequency, calculating client acquisition costs, and ensuring your sales processes can handle generated leads.

Ben and David also touch on the crucial idea that 'marketing is math,' emphasizing the importance of knowing your numbers.

Plus, you can access a free worksheet to help you work out your marketing budget.

Download the detailed worksheet at www.maxmyprofit.com.au/tam

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast 00:28 Meet the Hosts 00:43 Weather and Fishing Adventures 02:46 Today's Topic: Marketing Budget 03:11 The Four Business Machines 05:57 Understanding Marketing Costs 07:29 Calculating Your Marketing Budget 09:07 Knowing Your Numbers 14:23 Acquisition Costs and Strategy 16:29 The Importance of a Sales Machine 17:32 Understanding Marketing Failures 18:13 The Importance of a Sales Process 20:16 Setting Your Marketing Budget 23:23 Realistic Marketing Expectations 28:38 Repeat Business Strategies 30:24 Conclusion and Resources

This week's key takeaway: How to incentivise a salesperson - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: We've tried almost everything in our business down the years… this really isn't a simple matter of offering commission. If you look at incentivising like that, you're going to mess it up! There are lots of different incentives you can offer, and they don't always have to be financial.

We're going to teach you how to look at this differently than you have done before. By the end of this episode you'll have a list of many different types of incentives that we have seen work out in the field, but more importantly, you will have a better understanding of the potential consequences (good and bad) of different incentivisation.

In this week's episode you will learn:

• Higher incentives versus lower incentives
• Why people need to be incentivised
• The psychology of a salesperson
• How a base target can help
• Bonus pools explained
• How to avoid 'sandbagging'
• The danger of discounts
• How to prevent over-promising
• How to use Cost of Sale to keep you on track
• Lifetime-value bonuses
• The numbers you need to know
• How much of your profit should you give away to your salespeople?

Show links:

• Check out our Maxed training for more on how to manage your sales team: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Contact us at Max My Profit for a free 15-minute strategy session
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: How to write subject lines for your marketing - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: If your marketing messaging doesn't get people's attention and gives them no desire to take action, it simply won't work. A common mistake we see is companies boring people with their service offerings, but what they really should be doing is focusing on OUTCOME.

In this episode we give you the shortcuts to make sure your subject lines and headlines are on message. See this as an idiot's guide to not wasting your marketing budget!

In this week's episode you will learn:

• POD - Problem, Obstacle, Desire
• How to deconstruct the problem your advertising is solving in the correct order
• Solution marketing V interruption marketing
• Why you should talk to your customers and and aggregate what they say
• The right questions to ask your customers
• Understanding how a trigger event can influence your marketing message
• TAM - Test, Adjust, Measure
• Why you should not look for one catch-all advert
• How to find the desired outcome
• Why you need a copywriter

Show links:

• https://maxmyprofit.com.au/pod
• Write Language: The New Secrets of Writing Letters That Really Work can be bought from Amazon here
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: So how do I let go and not be the central player in my business? - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: Detaching yourself from your business should be your holy grail - the moment that you really cracked it in business. And yet so many entrepreneurs just can't let go. This is one of the most common things we talk about when we coach senior professionals, so we thought we'd dedicate an episode to this all-important aspect of business.

The headline news is that you need to stop being the solution… think of it as weaning your employees off of you! But how do you do that? Listen to the show for the answers.

In this week's episode you will learn:

• Why you should question what you've always done
• How to delegate without losing your identity
• How to think from "the top of the mindset"
• When you shouldn't meddle
• How to make the all-important mental shift
• Preparing your business for sale
• How you need to do it differently if you are a smaller business

Show links:

• Get this week's free resource: http://maxmyprofit.com.au/delegate
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: What's the difference between a Sales Manager and an Account Manager? - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: We get this question from a lot of clients, so we thought we'd dedicate an episode to explaining the all-important difference between making sales and managing clients.

Don't make the mistake of promoting your salespeople to account management! We'll tell you that one for free, plus a whole host of other insight on the matter.

In this week's episode you will learn:

• The KPIs for a Sales Manager versus an Account Manager
• How to look at conversion rates and sales differently
• Where an estimator/quoter fits in
• The difference between a 'hunter' and a 'minder'
• Why you need a CRM
• How to know if your customers are happy
• Why lead acquisition is not the be-all and end-all

Show links:

• This week's handout can be found here: http://maxmyprofit.com.au/structure
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: Designing your core values - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: Core values are much more than just management-speak. They define the 'why' of what your business is doing.

You might be thinking, "I'm just a small business, why do I need this?" Firstly, every business started as a small business! Secondly, you should listen to Ben and David… they'll help you find your 'why'.

In this week's episode you will learn:

• How to keep your core values fresh
• How to avoid complacency
• The difference between beliefs and values
• How to find your mission
• Whether your company's values should be your own or a collaboration with your staff
• Four simple steps for creating robust core values
• How core values can help when having a disciplinary conversation with an employee

Show links:

• Get the handout for this week's episode: http://maxmyprofit.com.au/core
• Go to http://digitlc.com.au and book a free digital-marketing intro call
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: Structure your business for results with the right team - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: Structuring a business can be very confusing. There are certain conventions that we're all aware of, but are they right for YOUR business?

A business structure is about so much more than an organisational chart. To know who manages who is a decent starting point, but the key is in the accountability for the fundamental tasks and outcomes that drive your business. We'll talk you through how to do it properly…

In this week's episode you will learn:

• Why you shouldn't simply do what you already know
• How to assess a small business differently to a large one
• Who should be accountable to who?
• The KPIs you need to know
• Why you should separate responsibility for conversion from sales
• How to measure employees with multiple roles
• Why a business owner should have different accountability to an employee
• How to stop your team being overly dependent on you
• How to strike the right balance between systemising and humanising
• How long it should take to restructure your business

Show links:

• This week's free resource: http://maxmyprofit.com.au/structure
• Go to http://digitlc.com.au and book a free digital-marketing intro call
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: Generating sales with digital marketing - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: As human beings we've gone digital… when was the last time you read a newspaper? And yet so many businesses do not understand how to utilise digital marketing.

Guess what: we can help you with it. Not only do we have experience as digital marketeers; we've also been on the other side of the fence where unscrupulous 'agencies' and 'consultants' have taken us for a ride!

Sound familiar? Listen up and get wise to digital marketing. We can empower you to make it work.

In this week's episode you will learn:

• Why digital marketing is so popular
• How to define an acquisition cost
• How to be accountable to an outcome
• How to capture qualified leads
• What a digital marketing company should do for you
• The difference between a digital marketing 'partner' and a digital marketing 'agency'
• The importance of re-engaging old leads and customers

Show links:

• Go to http://digitlc.com.au and book a free digital-marketing intro call
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/

This week's key takeaway: Ensure all your team have KPIs and are being kept accountable - with Ben Fewtrell and David Carlin

Episode intro: We help a lot of clients restructure their business, and it's amazing how many we find that aren't clear about exactly what their colleagues need to deliver. They're making judgments based on people rather than outcome… a classic mistake!

And if you think of it another way, how do you know your business is working correctly when you're not there? Without the right KPIs and role clarity, you can never be confident that your business just "works." By the end of the episode, you'll have some easily actionable tips to enable you to use KPIs to your advantage.

In this week's episode you will learn:

• The importance of role clarity
• Why you should "forget the person" and look at the skills and targets instead
• Why you should look to manage outcomes rather than behaviour
• How to define your core values as a business
• How to measure outcomes
• How to understand quantitative and qualitative measurement techniques
• How to create role clarity for someone who has more than one role

Show links:

• This week's workbook on role clarity: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/clarity
• Check out our courses here: https://maxmyprofit.com.au/maxed
• Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxyourbusiness/