how to sell products in a business plan

How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated April 17, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

Kickstart your business plan writing with one of our free business plan templates or recommended tools.

Free business plan template

Download a free SBA-approved business plan template built for small businesses and startups.

Download Template

One-page plan template

Download a free one-page plan template to write a useful business plan in as little as 30-minutes.

Sample business plan library

Explore over 500 real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries.

View Sample Plans

How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

Related Articles

7 Min. Read

How to Write a Food and Beverage Business Plan + Sample Business Plan PDF

18 Min. Read

How to Write a Business Plan for a Subscription Box Service

8 Min. Read

How to Conduct an Industry Analysis

6 Min. Read

How to Write a Yoga Studio Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

The Bplans Newsletter

The Bplans Weekly

Subscribe now for weekly advice and free downloadable resources to help start and grow your business.

We care about your privacy. See our privacy policy .

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

500+ business plans and financial models

Products & Services Section in a Business Plan (+ Examples)

• March 21, 2024
• Business Plan , How to Write

In this blog post, we’ll guide you through writing the products and services section of your business plan. We’ll cover how to describe what you’re selling and why it’s important in your business plan.

Whether you’re launching a new startup or creating a business plan for an existing business, this section is crucial for showing the value you bring to customers. Let’s get started!

Why do we include them in a business plan?

The products and services section of a business plan is more than just a list of what a company sells; it’s a vital narrative that tells the story of the business’s core offerings and their significance to the market.

This section is paramount for readers (especially potential investors) to grasp the essence of what the business is about, the unique problems it solves, or the specific needs it addresses.

A meticulously crafted products and services segment does much more than describe offerings. Indeed, it lays the groundwork for comprehensive marketing strategies , informs operational planning, and financial projections.

Moreover, understanding the business’s offerings in depth enables stakeholders to envision the company’s value proposition and competitive edge.

Where should you include them?

In a business plan, the Products and Services section is typically included within the business overview section.

This allows you to first introduce the business model and what it offers to customers. Only after this you can provide more details of the products and services.

The Products and Services section should clearly detail what you are selling, highlight the unique value proposition . It should also ideally explain how it meets the needs of your target market if it isn’t obvious. T

What to include: 2 Examples

Begin with a clear, engaging description of each product or service you offer. For services, describe the process, customer experience, and outcome. For products, discuss the materials, technology, and any unique features.

Services example: a Cryotherapy business plan

Products example: a Brewery business plan

Privacy Overview

How to Sell Online: 7-Step Guide To Sell Products Like A Pro

Darren DeMatas

February 21, 2024

[show_reviewed_by_link]

In addition to receiving commissions generated through affiliate marketing, we are able to fund our independent research and reviews at no extra cost to our readers. Learn more.

As ecommerce sales continue to grow, opportunities for entrepreneurs and merchants to start their own online businesses are increasing. A good website builder can help them get started. If you’re thinking about entering the ecommerce fray, there’s a lot you need to know to be successful when you sell online.

In 2023, the number of digital buyers is 2.64 billion ; by 2025, sales are expected to grow nearly 50% to $7.4 trillion .

It’s more than figuring out what to sell on an ecommerce site. It’s also establishing your target audience, choosing a business model, leveraging online marketplaces, accepting payments, figuring out shipping, marketing your products, and handling customer service.

What Products to Sell Online

How to establish a target audience, craft your business plan, places to sell stuff online, accepting payments, shipping your products.

• Marketing and Promoting Products

Customer Service

What will you sell online.

When starting an ecommerce business, it’s crucial to carefully consider your product category and the best shipping options for your ecommerce sales. The first step is to narrow down your options by considering what you’re passionate about and what you know about. Once you know what you’re interested in, research the demand for that product or service online since not all product ideas are created equally.

You can use Google Trends, Exploding Topics, or other keyword research tools to see how popular certain terms are. Trending products are great, but online sellers shouldn’t base their entire business on them. The trends of online shopping change too frequently.

Another critical factor to consider is competition . Suppose there are already a lot of businesses selling what you want to sell. In that case, you’ll need to find a way to differentiate yourself . Try offering unique products or services your competitors don’t. You may also focus on a niche market that isn’t as saturated.

Establishing your target audience is challenging, especially if you’re just starting. But it’s essential to take the time to think about who you want to sell to and why. Once you understand your target audience of online shoppers , you can start to build your ecommerce store around their needs and preferences.

Define Your Ideal Customer Base

Think about your ideal customers. Who are they? What do they need or want? What are their demographics? The better you understand your target audience, the more focused your marketing strategy will be.

Do Some Market Research

Once you have a good idea of your ideal customer, it’s time to do some market research . There are several ways to gather information about your target market, including asking questions in online surveys, conducting focus groups, and customer interviews. This research will help you understand your buyer personas ‘ needs, wants, and buying habits.

Build a Customer Profile

With this information, you can create a customer persona . This profile should include everything from demographics to psychographics and should be used to guide your marketing efforts.

The process of selecting an appropriate business model is vital in the realm of ecommerce.  This significant step in utilizing data analytics can determine the ultimate success or failure of your online enterprise. In truth, your business model is the engine that powers your ecommerce operations , dictating critical elements such as your products or services, pricing strategy, target audience, and marketing and sales approach.

Business Models

Now that you understand the basics of starting an online business, let’s delve further into the various types of ecommerce business models you can adopt: 

• Private Labeling: In this model, you work closely with a manufacturer to create a custom product under your brand name. You have control over the product’s design, packaging, and pricing.
• Dropshipping: With Dropshipping, you sell products from various suppliers without handling inventory or delivery. The supplier is responsible for delivering the product on your behalf to the customer.
• Retail Arbitrage: This model involves buying products at low prices from retailers and reselling them online at higher prices. Your profits lie in the price difference.
• Wholesale : The wholesale model involves purchasing large quantities of products directly from manufacturers or distributors at a discounted rate and reselling them online.
• Print on Demand: As a print-on-demand merchant, you collaborate with a supplier to custom print designs on products only after a customer places an order. This model is commonly applied to clothing and accessories, art prints, and home decor items.
• White Labeling: In a white-label model, you take an existing product, rebrand it, and sell it as your own. It’s similar to private labeling, but there’s no need for customization or design change in the product.

Choosing the right model for your business largely depends on your objectives, capital, and the resources available to you. Start by assessing your business goals and gradually move towards a method that fits your individual needs.

Once you have a good idea on their business model, you’ll be better equipped to finalize your product selection and business model.

Competitive Analysis

Neglecting to invest time and energy into establishing the right model can present roadblocks down the road, slowing your growth and even harming your brand reputation . By the same token, it’s equally essential to scrutinize your marketplace competitors. 

Nail Down Your Brand And Product Pricing

Now that you have decided on your product, it’s time to focus on crystalizing your brand and settling on product pricing . This step is crucial for success in online selling.

In a sea of ecommerce businesses , it’s your brand that will set you apart. Your brand’s identity is more than just a logo; it embodies your vision, mission, and values. It’s what customers associate with your business.

Registering your business is a critical initial step to set you on your way to building a successful ecommerce empire. It brings legitimacy to your business and offers you a multitude of opportunities, ranging from financial advantages to legal protections. However, it also brings some key responsibilities such as setting up taxes. In the world of ecommerce, no business entity can evade the necessity of dealing with taxes, especially when it comes to managing revenue. 

While establishing an ecommerce store , you need to make sure you’re familiar with online sales tax laws in all the states or regions you’re selling to, to keep your business Dealing with taxes for an ecommerce store isn’t always straightforward, but it’s a vital part of operating your venture. A well-thought-out tax plan can save you money and prevent unnecessary complications down the line. 

It’s worth noting that registering your business isn’t just a benefit for you – it’s a requirement for dealing with suppliers. Most suppliers require a business license and tax ID to initiate any business. They typically do not engage with individuals, as they want to ensure their products are being sold through a legitimate business. Therefore, being officially registered makes your online store more appealing and trustworthy to your potential suppliers, giving you access to a broad range of products and services to sell online . In the end, establishing a company is all about managing cash flow and taking the right steps at the right time. Once you get off to a good start, there’s no limit to what you can achieve in the world of ecommerce. Good luck!

 Setting the right price point is crucial for maximizing profit margins and finding the best way to sell your products in this highly competitive ecommerce industry. Finding the balance between profit, revenue, and consumer appeal is crucial for maintaining a healthy income and cash flow. Risks of overpricing include losing potential customers and negatively impacting profit margins, whereas underpricing might devalue your product. 

• Cost-based Pricing: The most straightforward method where you add a profit margin atop your product’s manufacturing cost.
• Competitive Pricing : Setting the price after scrutinizing your competitors’ prices for the same product. Keep it competitive while ensuring your profit.
• Value-based pricing is a strategy that involves setting the price point of a product based on the perceived value it offers to customers. This requires understanding your customers thoroughly.

A strong brand identity and a well-thought-out business plan will separate you from the sea of competitors.

Product Marketing

Product marketing is where your branding comes to life. High-quality product photos play a key role in this area. Consumers are visual creatures and quality images and video can significantly impact a customer’s buying decision. Consider hiring a professional to help you with your product photography.

Provide multiple, professionally taken images from different angles for each product. This helps potential customers understand what they’re buying and can even remove any doubts, they may be feeling about purchasing, especially when they visit your product pages. 

Apart from captivating imagery, product descriptions are just as pivotal in selling a product online. Incorporate detailed, yet concise descriptions for your products. Include essential details such as features, benefits, and technical specifications on your product pages. To foster trust and authenticity, avoid over-hyping your products. Rather, uphold honesty and transparency in your descriptions. 

Sourcing your products is certainly a primary concern. A  reliable product source or supplier guarantees the availability and quality of your merchandise, directly affecting your online store’s credibility. Opt for suppliers who align with your business values , maintain consistent quality, and punctually deliver products. Remember, the quality of your products is reflective of your brand, and conducting thorough research on potential suppliers is a significant step toward building a  successful online business .

There are tons of places to sell online. It’s best to start small and expand your store to other sales channels as you grow.

Your Ecommerce Website

Your own online store is the best place to start selling. Using an app like Shopify, BigCommerce, or Nexcess Storebuilder is ideal for beginners. The best website builder depends on several factors, including the type of product, your business model, level of desired control/technical skill, budget, and product catalog size.

All you need to get started with your online business is a domain name and a well-crafted website design, and you’ll have a home base for your online business. You’ll pay a monthly fee but won’t have to worry about the technical aspects of maintaining your website.

No matter where else you sell, you can always direct your marketing campaigns to your main online storefront.

You’ll need to spend some time on search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing to drive traffic to your own website. This is why selling on other platforms can be helpful when you’re getting started.

Social Commerce

Facebook (and facebook marketplace).

Facebook is a popular social media platform with millions of daily and monthly users . You can sell on Facebook with a Facebook Shop – that can link directly to your ecommerce platform for easier order management.

If you’re not ready to create a Facebook Shop or just want to get rid of a few extra things you’ve got around the house, you can use the Facebook Marketplace to sell directly to another Facebook user.

Our guide to selling on Facebook can help you get started.

If Instagram is one of your favorite platforms, you can also link your Facebook Shop to Instagram and sell there. Read more about how to sell on Instagram .

Online Marketplaces

Over 200 million people worldwide have Amazon Prime accounts , and millions more visit the site regularly. It is the world’s largest marketplace, so it’s worth adding to your long-term marketing strategy to reach global markets.

Amazon makes it easy to sell stuff online. They have a streamlined process for listing and shipping products, and they take care of all the payment processing for you. This makes it simpler and less time-consuming than selling through other online channels, especially when considering the competitive sale price.

Check out our guide to selling on Amazon to learn more.

One of the most popular places to sell stuff online is eBay. People from all over the world use eBay to buy and sell items. You can sell nearly anything, including clothes, electronics, and equipment on eBay.

Our guide on How to Sell on eBay will make it easier for you to get started.

Poshmark is an excellent way to reach more potential customers if you’re selling clothes, jewelry, or accessories. Check out how to sell on Poshmark to learn more.

Mercari is another platform like Poshmark but offers more product categories like sporting goods, toys, and handmade items, making it a versatile option for various markets. Additionally, it provides a convenient package for sellers and buyers.

If you’re selling handmade products , Etsy is a dedicated online marketplace that you’ll want to use. Like with eBay, you’ll pay listing fees for each product you list.

Additional Guides To Online Selling

• How To Sell On Amazon : 7 Step Beginner’s Guide
• How to Sell on eBay: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
• How to Sell on Walmart
• How to Sell on Facebook
• How to Sell on Poshmark
• How to Sell on Instagram
• How to Successfully Sell Clothes Online

As a business owner, you’ll need to accept various payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can do this via platforms like PayPal and Shop Pay for various shipping options (if you have a Shopify store). If you also accept credit card payments in-store, like if you have a pop-up shop, you’ll need a card reader , which you can usually get free or cheap from your payment processor.

No matter how you accept payments, you’ll pay transaction fees on everything except cash . Consider the transaction fees when you choose the credit card processor you’ll use.

When you’re selling a physical product, unless you’re dropshipping, you’ll need to figure out how to get parcels to customers. If you have brick-and-mortar stores, you can offer in-person pick-up to cut shipping costs. If you’re selling digital products , simply deliver via email.

When starting out, it may be easier to ship orders on your own with a flat-rate shipping solution like USPS priority mail. But, as the business scales, you may find the order volume is just too much to keep up with yourself. Using software can help you get the best shipping rates.

To keep shipping costs down, consider partnering with a 3PL that can pass shipping carrier discounts on to you, such as ShipBob or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). You’ll pass the fulfillment tasks to experts and won’t have to worry about warehouse inventory management. When possible, look for a carbon-neutral shipping option, so you can promote your commitment to the environment in your marketing efforts.

Product Promotion

You can market and promote products with:

• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Social media marketing (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram)
• Google Ads and Google Shopping Ads

Focus on creating high-quality content to draw in new customers . Whether it’s blog posts, social media posts, or even just product descriptions, quality content is essential for engaging potential customers and convincing them to make a purchase.

Track your analytics results and analyze your performance, specifically conversions, site traffic, and sales. By regularly evaluating your marketing campaigns, you’ll be able to identify what’s working and what isn’t and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Your job isn’t finished after the sale. To ensure customer satisfaction and build audience loyalty, you must stay in touch. Periodically send customer surveys , and figure out how you’ll handle returns, refunds, discounts , etc. with unhappy customers so you can maintain a positive reputation for your small business .

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best website to sell stuff will vary depending on what you’re selling and your target market. However, some popular websites for selling products online include eBay, Amazon, and Etsy.

Etsy may be the best option for you if you are selling handmade or vintage items. If you sell new or used products, then eBay or Amazon may be better choices. Ultimately, choosing a website that will allow you to reach your target market and sell your products successfully is important.

Sites like eBay, Amazon, and Walmart will charge seller fees. You may not have to pay anything to create product listings, but you will pay a percentage of your sale for using the service. There are many ways to sell products online for free.  Post your product on classified ads websites.   Create a blog or website and include a link to your product page in the sidebar or the posts themselves. You can also create social media accounts devoted to promoting your product and post links and content regularly for effective promotion.

To sell stuff on the internet, you must set up an account with a marketplace or classifieds site. Then you can start creating listings for the items you want to sell.  Be sure to include clear pictures and descriptions of the items and your contact information.

Once someone expresses interest in buying an item, you can arrange for payment and shipping. This is a great way to sell and finalize the sale price. You can also set up your own ecommerce business website, but it takes time to drive traffic and earn sales.

Before you start to sell online, take time to validate your business idea . Research profitable products and business potential. Most importantly, develop a business plan and competitive analysis to help you figure out where you’ll fit into the market. Detail the types of products you’ll sell, your marketing spend, and your advertising strategy. The more you know upfront, the better off you’ll be.

About the author

Leave a Comment

Featured on.

Join 30K+ entrepreneurs already learning ecommerce.

Ecommerce ceo.

Partner With Us

Editorial Policy

Review Guidelines

Terms Of Use

Affiliate Disclosure

Privacy Policy

[email protected]

Guides & Resources

Ecommerce Learning Center

How To Start An Ecommerce Business

How To Make Money Online

What To Sell Online

How To Sell On Amazon

Online Business Ideas

Best Ecommerce Tools

Ecommerce Platforms

Fulfillment Services

Shipping Software

Inventory Management

Print On Demand

Dropshipping Companies

Amazon Research

Online Course Platforms

POS Systems

3PL Companies

BigCommerce

Shopify vs BigCommerce

2800 N 6th Street #5156 St. Augustine, FL 32084 United States

‪(904) 458-7077 ‬

Copyright © 2024 - Mission Demand LLC . All rights reserved.

Exclusive Member of Mediavine Finance

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Building Your Business
• Becoming an Owner
• Business Plans

How to Write the Business Plan Products and Services Section

Get tips on writing the products and services part of your business plan

• The Products and Services Section
• What to Include
• Tips on Writing the Section

The products and services section of your business plan is more than just a list of what your business is going to provide. This section of your business plan should include details about how you'll price products and services, how you'll fulfill orders, and other details that investors need to hear before you can get funding . Learn more below.

Key Takeaways

• Business plans include details about products and services you'll offer, including exactly how you plan to market, sell, and deliver on customer orders.
• The best business plans are clear and concise.
• The products and services section of your plan should show off why your product or service is needed.
• The products and services section should also convey the expertise and experience you have to succeed.

Why You Need a Products and Services Section in a Business Plan

The business plan products and services section is the centerpiece of your plan. While other sections of your business plan are important, the products and services section is the essence of your business and the point around which every other part of the business plan is built .

What to Include in a Products and Services Section

The products and services section of your business plan outlines your product or service, why it's needed by your market, and how it will compete with other businesses selling the same or similar products and services.

Your products and services section should include a description of the products or services you are offering or plan to offer (including future products or services). You should explain how your products and services will be priced and a comparison of the products or services your competitors offer in relation to yours.

You should also include the sales literature you plan to use. Detail your marketing materials, and clarify the role your website will play in your sales efforts.

The products and services section will include a paragraph or so on how orders from your customers will be processed or fulfilled, as well as any needs you have to create or deliver your products, such as up-to-date computer equipment. If your process depends on intellectual property or legal issues, such as trademarks , then those need to be addressed.

Tips on Writing the Products and Services Section

This section of your business plan should excite those you're hoping will fund your business or work with you. To that end, here are a few tips to create a products and services section that appeals to the reader.

Indicate Why Your Product or Service Is Needed

Especially if you're venturing into a new concept or invention, or a place where there is no current market, you need to explain the need for your product or service.

Highlight the Features of Your Product or Service

A crucial part of business success is the ability to set yourself apart from other businesses that sell the same or similar products and services. What features, such as price point or level of service, do you offer that are unique to you?

Focus on Benefits

Unique features are important, but even more vital is how those features provide value to consumers. Translate your features (i.e., faster or cheaper) into benefits (i.e., get it now or save money). The goal is to highlight how your product or service will fix a problem or improve a client or customer's life.

Be Clear and Concise

Don't let your business plan get bogged down in too much description and information. Use bullets or numbered lists to quickly and easily highlight important information.

Show Off Expertise, Experience, and Accolades

You not only want to describe your products and services but also share why you're the best person to provide them. Include anything in your education or experience that makes you an expert in this business. If you have testimonials, awards, or endorsements, share those. Finally, if you've applied for a patent, copyright, or trademark, include that as well.

Be the Expert, But Use Layman's Terms

You should know your product, service, and industry well, but don't expect your potential funders and partners to have the same level of knowledge. Assume the reader doesn't know as much as you when you explain what you're offering.

Avoid acronyms and jargon when outlining your products and services.

Indicate What's Special About Your Products or Services

Will you be offering a special guarantee or refund policy? Do you have a quicker or more unique way of delivering your product or service? 

Speak to Your Customer

While you don't want to write an advertorial, you do want to be customer-oriented when you write your products and services section.

Examples of a Products and Services Section

The Small Business Administration offers business plan examples that you can draw from to help guide your writing. Here's an example of a products section for someone creating "Wooden Grain Toys."

Wooden Grain Toys will sell wooden toys made from solid hardwoods (maple, beech, birch, cherry, and oak) and steel rivets. The toys are handcrafted and designed for small children to easily use. Our line currently includes the following nine models:

• All-Purpose Pick-Up Truck w/movable doors and tailgate
• Dump Truck w/functioning dumping mechanism and box
• Biplane (two-seater) w/movable propeller
• Steam engine with coal tender - additional cars available separately: caboose, flat car w/logs, box car, tank car, coal car
• Flat-Bed Truck w/logs

Wooden Grain Toys will offer its products for the following prices:

• All-Purpose Pick-Up Truck w/movable doors and tailgate - $25
• Dump Truck w/functioning dumping mechanism and box - $30
• Biplane (two-seater) w/movable propeller - $20
• Additional train cars (single car) - $5
• Additional train cars (three cars) - $12
• City Bus - $12
• Tow Truck - $18
• Flat-Bed Truck w/logs - $35
• Sports Car - $20
• Sedan - $20

What Is Product and Service in a Business Plan?

A products and services section of a business plan clarifies exactly what your business will produce , how much it'll sell for, and other details along those lines.

What Are Examples of Products and Services?

A product or service can be anything a business creates to turn a profit. Some businesses have both products and services. For example, a restaurant's services include cooking for and serving customers. The restaurant's products are the dishes and drinks it creates.

How to Market and Sell a Product: 10 Proven Strategies for Maximum Success

Are you looking for advice on how to successfully market and sell a product? If so, this article is perfect for you. In this guide, you’ll be introduced to 10 proven strategies that have been used by successful entrepreneurs and businesses to ensure the maximum success of marketing teams and their products.

From building a brand identity to using the latest digital marketing techniques, we cover a host of topics that will help you better understand the process of product marketing and selling and give you the knowledge and confidence to take your product to the next level.

So read on and take a step closer to realizing your business goals.

Research Your Market and Competitors

Product marketing is a must-have for any business. It’s the process of creating and executing a marketing plan to promote products or services in an effective way. To make sure your product marketing strategy is successful , you need to do some research first. You’ll want to understand the existing market, identify potential customers, analyze competitors’ marketing tactics, and look into customer behavior and preferences.

When it comes to selling new products compared to existing ones, salespeople have more work on their hands. They need more face-to-face meetings with potential customers so they can explain the product’s features and benefits clearly. Plus, experiments like surveys and focus groups help them get a better understanding of who their target audience is – which helps ensure that the product appeals to prospective customers and solves their problems too!

Finally, evaluating pricing fairness compared to competitors is key when adjusting pricing structure for maximum customer satisfaction. Sams should analyze financial reports from related industries as well as customer needs & challenges before making any decisions about prices. All these steps are essential for successful product marketing efforts!

Understand Your Target Audience

Understand your target audience? Essential for product marketing success. But how do you identify them? Customer research can help – in understanding customer behavior, preferences, and feedback. Surveys, focus groups, A/B testing, and customer feedback provide insights into the target audience. Plus, creating buyer personas helps create a tangible outline of the customer base and their needs.

But why is it important to understand customers’ needs, challenges, and pain points? To develop a product that meets their needs! Gather data on customer behavior, preferences, online reviews, and feedback – plus study industry trends. Understanding the target audience also helps determine what type of content to provide based on the customer’s niche.

Analyze Your Competition

Analyzing competitors’ marketing strategies also can provide invaluable insights on how to effectively promote the product and what new audience(s) and markets to launch it in. It’s important to compare the features and benefits of your product with those of competitors’ offerings, as well as use their work for inspiration when creating marketing campaigns.

To identify features that set your product apart, you need to understand competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Analyzing their SEO, social media strategies, email marketing tactics, etc., will help inform which ones are best suited for your own campaigns.

Don’t forget about people heavily invested in the status quo – studying customer reviews on competitors’ products can give you an idea of potential customers’ challenges. Have you explored all possibilities yet?

Conduct Market Research

Conducting market research is a must for product marketing success. It’s essential to understand the existing market and identify potential customers, including researching general market reports and industry trends to determine who the target customer is, what their needs and challenges are, and how many customers gravitate to the product. Additionally, researching customer behavior, preferences, and feedback can help comprehend the target audience.

There are several types of market research that can be conducted – surveys, interviews, focus groups, or data analysis – as well as analyzing competitors’ strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media strategies, or email marketing. Examining customer reviews and feedback on rivals’ products can provide insight into potential customers’ issues.

Knowing your target audience is key to ensuring that your product appeals to them while addressing their problems. Experiments like surveys, focus groups, or A/B testing combined with creating buyer personas will create an outline of your ideal customer base’s needs. Finally, evaluating pricing compared to competitors is also important; analyzing customers’ industries plus financial reports in order to determine strengths & weaknesses relative to other players in the market; understanding customer needs & challenges helps adjust pricing structure accordingly.

Create a Product Marketing Plan

Product marketing is a must-have for any business looking to increase its market share. It’s the key to success, and it involves planning, executing, and measuring the effectiveness of marketing tactics. To get started on your product marketing journey, you’ll need to understand your target audience, research competitors’ products, and services, and conduct market research.

Once you have this information in hand, it’s time to set goals that are specific and measurable with a timeline for achieving them. You’ll also want to define positioning and messaging that will resonate with your target audience – highlighting how your product meets their needs while distinguishing itself from competitors.

Product marketers have plenty of responsibilities when it comes to getting the word out about a new or updated product: creating content that excites customers; managing campaigns like email marketing or social media; engaging directly with customers by building relationships; understanding customer needs & preferences; gathering feedback, the list goes on!

To make sure everything runs smoothly during the process of launching a new product (or updating an existing one), create a checklist. This should include setting primary goals as well as making lists of ideas for promos – plus staying organized, so everyone involved has access to all relevant info about the product (like decks/presentations outlining its strategy).

Set Goals for Your Product

The first step to success? Setting goals. But what kind of goals? Specific, measurable ones with a timeline for achieving them – like increasing sales, acquiring new customers, or launching a new product. It’s important to be realistic and set achievable targets.

Next up is pricing: the tricky part! You need to research the market and understand customer needs before you can make an informed decision. Consider factors such as competition, feedback from customers, customer education, and market trends – all while keeping your budget, resources, and timeline in mind.

Creating a successful product marketing plan is like baking a cake: it takes time, effort, and careful consideration of each ingredient if you want it to turn out just right!

Define Your Positioning and Messaging

Creating a unique positioning and messaging strategy is essential for product marketing. It’s like a map that helps you navigate the features and benefits of your product while also setting it apart from competitors in a way that resonates with your target audience. So how do you get started?

First, identify who your target audience is and create campaigns to reach them through various channels – think content and social media marketing, paid ads, and comarketing – all focused on the customer rather than just the product itself. Share stories about your business values, working process, team members, and commitment to customer service to really connect with them.

When creating those campaigns, consider the product’s features and benefits as well as what’s happening in the competitive landscape around you; take into account customer feedback; encourage customers to stay up-to-date on market trends; be aware of their journey from the initial awareness stage right through to decision stage where they’ll likely weigh up risk factors such as people affected by their choice or regret if they switch products plus any switching costs involved.

Determine Your Pricing

Once the product is ready to blast off, it’s essential to establish pricing. Product marketers have a few strategies at their disposal – cost-plus, value-based and market-oriented pricing – each with its own pros and cons. Cost-plus involves setting prices that cover costs plus a certain percentage of profit; this can be beneficial for products with consistent costs. Value-based means basing prices on the product’s perceived value to customers, great for unique features or benefits. Market-oriented entails setting prices based on competing products and customer demand, ideal for competitive markets.

When determining to price, don’t forget about the customer journey! Reinforce your loyalty program by offering exclusive experiences like prelaunch parties, online tours, previews, and demos – even special invitations to test out your product and give feedback!

To create an effective product marketing strategy , you need flexibility: adjust as needed and review results/analytics regularly, so you know what works best for your target market. With the right plan in place, businesses can effectively promote their products while achieving their goals!

Read also: How to Learn Marketing Skills: 15 Essential Skills

Promote Your Product

Product marketing is a must for any product’s success and the business as a whole. But what channels are available to product marketers? Content and social media marketing are key, allowing businesses to reach out to potential customers, inform existing ones of new products or services, and build relationships with influencers. Plus, email campaigns and social media ads can be used to promote the product even further. But how about paid ads? They’re an effective way to target customers who have already shown interest in the product – plus retargeting them too! And don’t forget cross-selling or upselling related products or services when launching something new. Finally, comarketing is great for increasing brand awareness by partnering with another business or influencer marketing together – creating content together like videos, blog posts, and social media posts that feature both businesses’ products. You could also offer secret sales with coupons just for returning customers or set up a blog subscription for your online store!

Leverage Content and Social Media Marketing

Encouraging customers to try a product is essential for success. Highlighting the benefits, they will experience when using it and educating them about it via email are key steps to take. Combining product posts with other content, such as inspirational, educational, or visually appealing content, can also be helpful. But how do businesses choose the right social media platform? There are many guides available to help – researching user demographics and tailoring content to the platform’s audience should be done before measuring its effectiveness over time.

Utilize Paid Ads

Using social media to market products – can it really be a powerful tool? Absolutely! It’s like a sharp arrow hitting the bullseye of target customers. Businesses can use psychographic information to find people with similar interests or those who have already visited the website and shown interest. Plus, retargeting helps reach these same loyal customers and boost online sales.

Cross-selling and upselling are two helpful strategies for increasing sales. Cross-selling is when you can offer free shipping of related products or services during checkout, while upselling involves offering higher-priced items or services. Scheduling product launches also has its benefits – it encourages customers to visit your website often in search of new drops, helping increase sales even more!

Try Comarketing

Comarketing can be a powerful tool – but how can you use it to your advantage? Comarketing is the practice of two companies working together to promote each other’s products and services. This could involve creating content, offering discounts or free gifts, or setting up affiliate programs.

The benefits are clear: comarketing helps increase brand awareness, build relationships with other businesses and influencers, and reach new customers. It also provides an opportunity for customers to promote products through incentives like coupons or blog posts, or subscriptions.

In short, comarketing is a great way to get your product out there and engage with potential customers. With the right strategy in place, you can reap the rewards of this effective marketing technique!

Monitor Your Results

Monitoring your product marketing strategy is a must for achieving maximum success. It’s essential to track the performance of your product marketing efforts, measure the return on investment (ROI) of the marketing campaign, and adjust strategies as needed. To get an idea of how successful your product is, you can use different metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the number of trials, product engagement rates, lead acquisition, average customer lifetime value, net promoter score, deals won vs. deals lost, new customer revenue vs. revenue from existing customers, selling costs vs. revenue earned market penetration and growth over time.

To keep tabs on campaigns’ results, it’s important to monitor progress and tweak spending accordingly – tracking lead sources and close rates will help you determine which channels are most effective while analyzing repeat purchases and customer journeys can reveal opportunities for growth or areas that need improvement.

Customer feedback also plays a role in shaping your product marketing strategy – by understanding the target market better you’ll be able to adjust positioning and messaging according to their needs more accurately. Additionally, using search engines & social media platforms can help reach a larger audience, thus boosting sales figures even further!

Finally, monitoring how efficiently salespeople perform compared to goals outlined in the sales strategy is crucial for success – CRM tools like Pipedrive enable marketing teams to monitor activities that directly impact goals for selling a product with ease!

Track Your Sales

Tracking sales and customer retention is a must for any product marketing strategy. But how do you know which strategies are working and which need improvement? By keeping tabs on customer purchases and return rates, you can spot opportunities to grow your business.

To understand what attracts new customers, measuring lead acquisition and marketing channels is key. Track the sources of leads and close rates to identify which channels bring in the most leads – and those that don’t.

Managing your budget throughout the campaign is also essential. Monitor spending closely so you stay within allocated funds – or readjust if needed. Plus, unsubscribe customers who haven’t opened an email after 60 days to keep your list up-to-date with only interested buyers.

Measure Your ROI

Measuring the ROI of a product marketing campaign is essential to understand how successful it was. Track the number of customers gained, revenue generated, and cost of the campaign to determine ROI. Analytics can give you an insight into what’s working and what needs improvement. Look at website visitors, leads generated, social media engagement, emails sent, and click-through rate for this purpose. Plus, customer feedback helps adjust strategies accordingly. Don’t forget to run ads for special promotions every 2-4 weeks – it’ll help engage customers and increase revenue!

Adjust Your Strategies as Needed

It is essential to keep a close eye on product marketing campaigns and make adjustments as needed. This could mean revising the product name, description, positioning and messaging – even changing pricing to better suit customer needs. Managers should also give salespeople time to explore the market and gain an understanding of what customers want. Connecting with customers through email marketing and social media is another great way to build relationships and increase retention. Plus, sharing success stories online can help draw in more customers while boosting revenue too! By monitoring results regularly and adjusting strategies accordingly, you’ll be sure to reach maximum success.

Also feel free to check out our article about What is Door in the Face Technique?

Marketing and selling a product has its challenges, from researching the market and understanding the target audience to leveraging content and social media marketing to create effective campaigns. It is essential for businesses to set goals and objectives for their next product launch, define the messaging and positioning, determine pricing that satisfies customer needs, and remain open to adjustment and improvement of strategies for maximum success.

Conducting market research, tracking sales, monitoring performance of the product, and measuring the return on investment of marketing materials are all necessary steps when creating a product marketing plan. With these proven strategies , businesses can ensure that their products meet their desired results in the most optimized way.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you sell or market a product.

To effectively market a product or service, create customer and loyalty programs and initiatives, leverage content marketing platforms, use targeted ads, offer exclusive previews, create gift guides and bundle collections, implement email signup discounts and subscription services, as well as utilize customer-generated content on social media.

These strategies can help to increase brand awareness, attract customers, build customer relationships, and drive sales. Additionally, they can help to create a positive customer experience and foster customer loyalty.

By utilizing these strategies, businesses can create a comprehensive marketing plan that will help to reach their target audience and increase their customer base. Additionally, businesses can use these strategies to create

What is the marketing sells product?

Product marketing is the process of promoting and selling a product to the target market. It involves understanding customer needs, developing effective marketing messages, utilizing various media outlets and sales channels, and measuring the success of a product in the market.

Marketing messages should be tailored to the target market and should be designed to create an emotional connection with the customer. The messages should be clear and concise, and should

How do you sell a product through marketing?

To successfully sell a product through marketing, you need to identify your target audience, develop a compelling positioning and messages, design an engaging promotion strategy, leverage relevant channels, and continuously measure and optimize your performance.

Identifying your target audience is the first step in any successful marketing campaign. You need to understand who your potential customers are, what their needs and wants are, and how you can best reach them.

Developing a compelling positioning and messages is essential to ensure that your product stands

What are the 4 types of products in marketing?

Marketing products can be divided into four distinct categories: convenience goods, shopping goods, specialty products, and unsought goods.

Each type is characterized by different levels of price, availability, and appeal to customers.

Leave a Comment Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Address:

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

How to describe your product and service in a business plan like a pro

It’s deceiving.

You’d think that this part of a business plan does exactly what it says on the tin–describe your product & service offering– right ?

And yes, you are partially right. 

But there’s a very specific way in which this description should be written to make sure that your business has the best chance of succeeding – in real life and under the eagle eye of a potential backer (if you’re preparing a business plan for external financing purposes).

Keep reading to find out the secret sauce to writing a winning product and service description:

WHAT is the Product and Service Description in a Business Plan?

This business plan section is also known as:

• Product and/or Service Overview

HOW Do You Write a Product and Service Description in a Business Plan?

So, what should a good product/service overview contain?

Here are some items to consider including into this section:

1.     Portfolio:

The range of products and/or services that a business offers to potential and current customers.

2.     Features and benefits (value proposition):

Explain what the product/service does and how it works.

3.     Problem and solution (value proposition cont.):

The problem(s) the product or service solves. Every business needs to solve a problem that its customers face. Explain what the problem is and how the product or service solves it.

4.     Innovation:

If the company is doing something new and different, explain why the world needs the innovation.

5.     Proprietary advantages:

Any proprietary features that contribute to a competitive advantage. This could include: intellectual property (e.g., copyright, trademark, patent filings, trade secret), exclusive agreements with suppliers or vendors, exclusive licenses (e.g., for a product, service or technology), company’s own research and development activities.

6.     Development stage:

Current stage of development of the product / service (e.g., idea, development, testing, prototype, already on the market).

7.     Product life-cycle:

Estimate the life span of the product or service.

Specify whether the product or service under consideration is a short-lived fad or has a long-term potential.

8.     Future:

Mention plans for changes and new additions to the current portfolio of products / services.

Describe any plans to move into new markets in the future (e.g., serving different types or sizes of customers, industries, geographic areas).

Make your best guess at when the business will be ready to address these markets and what it needs to do first to be ready.

9.     Limitations:

If applicable, explain any risks or limitations associated with the product (e.g., liability issues like guarantees or returns), along with any legal advice received regarding these issues.

10.  Visual aids:

Use photos, images, diagrams and other graphics to help the reader visualize and learn about the products / services.

If the business is tackling several distinct problems through different products / services, describe the solutions individually .

However, for a large line of products / services, there is no need to list each one, just identifying the general categories will suffice.

How LONG Is the Product and Service Chapter of a Business Plan?

This part of a business plan can be very short, just a couple of paragraphs, or it can spread over multiple pages, depending on how many products/services you offer and how much explanation they require.

If your products or services are particularly complex , technical , innovative , or proprietary , you will want to provide more information and spend considerable time describing them.

This is especially true if you are seeking funding for a new product or service, particularly one that is not immediately understandable to the business plan readers, and if potential funders are likely to be motivated by the specifics.

In any case, when describing a product or service, provide just enough information to paint a clear picture of what it is and does . A brief explanation of what you will be making, selling or doing is appropriate here.

Excessive detail makes this section cumbersome for a reader to wade through. Reserve detailed descriptions (e.g., production processes) for the Appendix.

In any case, it is a good idea to first summarize the value proposition of each product or service into a one short sentence, and only then continue with a more detailed description of the product or service.

If any images or graphics are available that would contribute to the understanding of the product or service, the writers of a business plan should use them.

Otherwise, include any product or service details , such as technical specifications, drawings, photos, patent documents and other support information, in the Appendix section of the business plan document.

TOP 4 TIPS for Writing a Product and Service Overview

Tip #1: features v. benefits.

Don’t just list the features of the product / service.

Instead, describe the specific benefits it will offer to customers – from their perspective.

Make it clear what your customers will gain through buying your product or service. Include information about the specific benefits of your product or service – from your customers’ perspective.

Features are not the same thing as benefits. And you need to understand both.

Confused? Let’s clarify:

What Is the Difference Between Features and Benefits?

Tip #2: problem v. solution.

If at all possible, present the information in the Problem >> Solution format.

Start by describing the key problem that your customers have, immediately followed by the solution with which you will address this need for your target market.

Tip #3: Competitive Advantage

You should also comment on your ability to meet consumers’ key problems or unmet needs in a way that brings your product or service advantages over the competition.

For example:

• If you have a common business, such as a restaurant:

Explain why your customers need your particular restaurant. Do you offer lower prices? More convenient hours? A better location? A different concept, such as a vegan ice-cream pop up store? A specialty that is not otherwise available in your area, such as a Peruvian ceviche or Hungarian goulash?

• If your company is doing something new and innovative :

What is it about the existing solutions that is subpar? Maybe you are improving on a mediocre product category, such as creating better medical uniforms for healthcare workers (e.g., more flattering cut, trendy designs, sustainable materials). Or perhaps your new blockchain solution has the potential to entirely eliminate the middle-men in an entire industry.

Although the subject of competitive advantage regarding the business as a whole will be fully explored in the Market and Competitor Analysis part of a business plan, it is advisable to touch on it here also – in the context of the company’s products and service.

Tip #4: Validating the Problem and Solution

Speaking of which, when you are doing market research and analysis for your business plan, remember to validate the problem and solution your product or service is addressing.

There is a plethora of minor issues out there that people are perfectly fine with just tolerating. To build a solid business, though, you need a problem that a sufficient number of people are motivated to solve. That is, that they recognize it as a problem that’s worth paying you to solve. Even if they didn’t realize it was solvable until they were presented with your solution.

So, how do you get evidence that prospects are willing to pay for your solution?

Validation of Problem

Describe what you’ve done so far to confirm that the problem you are focused on is a real problem for your customers.

• Existing Business:

For an established business, this is probably just a matter of recapping your success in the marketplace. Your customers have already voted with their wallets.

• New Business:

For a startup, it is important to survey and have conversations with as many potential customers as possible about where they are having problems, how they solve them today, and validate that they are interested enough in addressing those problems to pay for a good solution.

Validation of Solution

Describe how you have tested your ideas with existing or potential customers to confirm that there is a good market for the products or services you plan to offer. Summarize the positive customer feedback or market traction that you have achieved with your solution so far.

For an established business, the answers probably lie in your paying customer base – their existence itself, combined with their repeat business, word-of-mouth referrals, follow-up customer surveys, and other indicators of customer satisfaction.

For a new business, you can start validating your solution immediately by trying it out with potential customers, even informally or at no charge, to get their opinion. If your product or service does not exist yet, talk to prospects about what you plan to offer and measure their feedback.

In summary, this section should answer the million dollar question:

What makes you think that people will buy, be satisfied with, and recommend your products or services?

Related Questions

What are products and services.

Products and services are items that businesses offer for sale to a market. While services are intangible, meaning that they do not exist in a physical form, products are of tangible nature, in other words – you can touch them.

What is a Product Line?

Product line is a group of related products that are all produced or sold by one entity and typically marketed under one brand name.

What is a Service Line?

Service line is a group of related services that are all produced or sold by one entity and typically marketed under one brand name.

Sign up for our Newsletter

Get more articles just like this straight into your mailbox.

Related Posts

Recent Posts

• Search Search Please fill out this field.

1. Identifying the Reasons for the Sale

2. deciding the timing of the sale, 3. getting a business valuation.

• 4. Should You Use a Broker?

5. Preparing Documents

6. finding a buyer, 7. handling the profits, how do you sell a franchise business, how do you sell a business idea, how do you sell a small business without a broker, how do you sell your share of a business, how much does it cost to sell a business, the bottom line.

• Small Business

7 Steps to Selling Your Small Business

Selling a small business is a complex venture that involves several considerations. It can require that you enlist a broker , accountant, and/or an attorney as you proceed. Whether you profit will depend on the reason for the sale, the timing of the sale, the strength of the business's operation, and its structure.

The business sale will also require much of your time and, once the business is sold, you'll need to determine some smart ways to handle the profit. Reviewing these seven considerations can help you build a solid plan and make negotiations a success.

Key Takeaways

• Identify why you want to sell your business and make sure it's ready to be sold.
• Take the time you need to prepare your business for sale, determine the value of your business, and consider hiring a business appraiser.
• Decide whether you want to hire a broker or negotiate the deal yourself.
• Once you find a good buyer, there are a series of financial screenings and other steps that need to be taken to keep the process moving.
• Take the time to work with a financial professional and determine how you want to invest or otherwise use the money you make from the sale of your business.

You've decided to sell your business. Why? That's one of the first questions a potential buyer will ask.

Owners commonly sell their businesses for any of the following reasons:

• Partnership disputes
• Illness or death
• Becoming overworked

Some owners consider selling the business when it is not profitable , but this can make it harder to attract buyers. Consider the business's ability to sell, its readiness, and your timing.

There are many attributes that can make your business appear more attractive, including:

• Increasing profits
• Consistent income figures
• A strong customer base
• A major contract that spans several years

Timing is everything. And that includes the time it takes to get everything ready to sell off your business.

Prepare for the sale as early as possible, preferably a year or two ahead of time. The preparation will help you to improve your financial records, business structure, and customer base to make the business more profitable.

These improvements will also ease the transition for the buyer and keep the business running smoothly. 

Selling a business involves negotiations, discussions, and a lot of leg work. If it's not possible for all this to occur in person, then certainly using services like Zoom or Skype to hold business meetings with potential buyers digitally is possible.

Determine the value of your business to make sure you don't price it too high or too low. You can do this by finding and hiring a business appraiser to get a valuation .

Once you hire an appraiser, they will draw up a detailed explanation of the business's worth. The document will bring credibility to the asking price and can serve as a gauge for your listing price .

You can also determine the overall value of your business using some key metrics. Consider evaluating your company by determining the market capitalization , looking at earnings multipliers, book value, or other metrics.

4. Hiring a Broker

Selling the business yourself allows you to save money and avoid paying a broker's commission . It's also the best route when the sale is to a trusted family member or current employee.

In other circumstances, a broker can help free up time for you to keep the business up and running, or keep the sale quiet and get the highest price. That's because the broker will want to maximize their commission. Discuss expectations and advertisements with the broker and maintain constant communication.  

Even if you decide to sell your business to a close family member or employee, rushing through the sales process is not advised. However, if a relatively quick turnaround is needed, hire a business broker to speed up the proceedings.

Gather your financial statements and tax returns dating back three to four years and review them with an accountant. In addition, develop a list of equipment that's being sold with the business. Create a list of contacts related to sales transactions and supplies, and dig up any relevant paperwork such as your current lease. Make copies of these documents to distribute to financially qualified potential buyers.

Your information packet should also provide a summary describing how the business is conducted and/or an up-to-date operating manual. You'll also want to make sure the business is presentable. Any areas of the business or equipment that are broken or run down should be fixed or replaced prior to the sale. 

A business sale may take anywhere from a few months to years. This includes the time you take to prepare all the way to the end of the sale, according to SCORE, a nonprofit association for entrepreneurs and partners of the Small Business Administration (SBA) .

Finding the right buyer can be a challenge. Try not to limit your advertising, and you'll attract more potential buyers. Once you have prospective buyers, here's how to keep the process moving along:

• Get two to three potential buyers just in case the initial deal falters.
• Stay in contact with potential buyers.
• Find out whether the potential buyer pre-qualifies for financing before giving out information about your business.
• If you plan to finance the sale, work out the details with an accountant or lawyer so you can reach an agreement with the buyer.
• Allow some room to negotiate, but stand firm on a price that is reasonable and considers the company's future worth.
• Put any agreements in writing. The potential buyers should sign a nondisclosure/ confidentiality agreement to protect your information.
• Try to get the signed purchase agreement into escrow .

You may encounter the following documents after the sale:

• The bill of sale , which transfers the business assets to the buyer
• An assignment of a lease
• A security agreement , which has a seller retain a lien on the business

In addition, the buyer may have you sign a non-compete agreement, in which you would agree to not start a new, competing business and woo away customers.

A business broker often charges an average of 10% for businesses under $1 million; while that may seem steep, the broker may also be able to negotiate a deal that is better for you than the one you would have arranged by yourself.

Now that you've sold off your business, it's time to figure out what to do with the profit that you've made. The first instinct may be to go on a spending spree, but that probably isn't the most wise decision.

Here are a few things you may want to consider:

• Take some time—at least a few months—before spending the profits from the sale.
• Create a plan outlining your financial goals, and learn about any tax consequences associated with the sudden wealth.
• Speak with a financial professional to determine how you want to invest the money and focus on long-term benefits, such as getting out of debt and saving for retirement .

You'll need to work in conjunction with your franchiser, as they will need to determine if the new buyer is appropriate. Plus, that new buyer will need to sign a franchise agreement with the franchiser.

There are a variety of fees and rules associated with owning or selling a franchise that can be found in the FTC's compliance guide .  

It's possible to approach a company with a business idea, but first, you need to do your research, prepare a presentation, and research and approach potential targets. While some business plans are best protected with a patent, others can be secured by getting a potential company you want to work with to agree to a non-disclosure agreement.

While many people would like to avoid the 10% a business broker may charge, the risks of selling on your own may outweigh the loss of money. But if you're going to go it alone, prioritize selling to a buyer you know, make use of the advice of experienced, retired owners and executives, and use all the internet resources available, such as the Small Business Administration, or the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) .

Selling your share of a business to your partner(s) is a common ownership transfer method, particularly for small businesses. Having an agreement in place with your partners ahead of the sale will help smooth the transition, increasing the likelihood that both the staying and exiting partners benefit.

If you go through a business broker and your business is under $1 million, the broker's commission is likely 10% to 12%. Other fees that can crop up include attorney fees, marketing fees, and the costs of making any cosmetic or more substantial upgrades to your business so as to make it more sellable. There are also fees that may come up if you are transferring a lease to the new owner of your business.

Selling a business is time-consuming and for many people, it's an emotional venture. A good reason to sell or the existence of a hot market can ease the burden, as can the help of professionals.

It may also be possible to receive free counseling from organizations such as SCORE, and your local chamber of commerce may offer relevant seminars and workshops. When all is said and done, the large sum of money in your bank account and your newfound free time will make the grueling process seem worthwhile.

Small Business Chronicle. " How to Calculate the Selling Price For a Business ."

Inc. " What You Should Know About Working With Business Brokers ."

Score. " Selling Your Business ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Close or Sell Your Business ."

Federal Trade Commission. " Franchise Rule Compliance Guide ," Pages i, 24-119.

International Franchise Association. " Royalty Fee Requirement Definitions ," Page 1.

Small Business Chronicle. " How to Sell Ownership in a Partnership ."

• Terms of Service
• Editorial Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Your Privacy Choices

Home > Finance > Ecommerce

What You Need to Know to Start Selling Products

We are committed to sharing unbiased reviews. Some of the links on our site are from our partners who compensate us. Read our editorial guidelines and advertising disclosure .

If you’re starting a small retail business , it’s important to know how to source products. That’s why Business.org asked small-business owners for their tips and tricks on finding the right products to sell in their stores. Many business owners shared how they source products and the licenses they acquired to get their business off the ground.

Find the right products

The first step for any business owner is figuring out what to sell. Maybe you started your business with a specific product in mind or a gap to fill in the market. But if not, there are still options. Market research is one of the best ways to go. It allows you to research consumers and see what products they are interested in.

Market research also allows you to figure out how to best price products so that you attract customers while turning a profit. Be ready to run surveys, ask questions, and see what people are buying so you can stock up.

Williams also outlined a six-step process for inventory sourcing that can help any business owner:

• Find quality sources for your products.
• Contract negotiations.
• Payment terms are established.
• Market research is conducted.
• Product demos and quality testing.
• Establish benchmarks and standards.

You don’t just have to conduct market research or source products online. There are a lot of trade shows and networking opportunities you can attend this year to meet suppliers.

What is inventory?

Inventory is any product you sell to customers. It could include candles, food, artwork . . . anything! Some business owners also use inventory management software to track what they have in stock and what’s going out the door.

Business.org has a bunch of resources to help you organize your inventory —from explainers on the types of inventory management to our favorite software options for small-business owners.

By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Work with suppliers

Once you’ve decided which products to source, the next step is working with manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers that can provide those products to your businesses.

Distributors are a key part of the small-business ecosystem. Another option for your business is wholesalers who act as middlemen while offering lower prices to small businesses. They’re a great option and allow you to build up a network that can supply your growing business.

Maintain multiple supplier relationships

It’s important to diversify your suppliers so you’re not just relying on one to stock the inventory for your whole store. Multiple suppliers allows you to keep items in stock and find new products to sell to customers.

Another business owner recommended working with multiple suppliers to make it easier for your business. However many suppliers you work with, it’s important that you’re practicing relationship management with each one. Fostering a good relationship ensures that you receive goods on time and are upfront about any difficulties.

Obtain the right licenses

So, you have inventory, but can you legally sell your products? That’s where business licenses and registrations come into play.

Of course, you can’t forget to pay your taxes. Many business licenses will include a sales tax license, but it’s always good to double check.

Don’t forget to check in with your local county or city tax office to see if there’s anything else you need. New York City, for example, has a s tep-by-step tool on the official city website to guide you through the process.

Besides a business license and a business name registration, there are a few other licenses that are helpful to have in your back pocket. One entrepreneur recommended three licenses that are dependent on what kind of business you’re running.

What do I need to start a business?

Since each US state has different requirements, the specific business licenses and registrations can vary dramatically. But the basics include a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) , registering your business, reserving your business name, and settling on a legal structure. Sounds like a lot, right? Luckily, Legal Zoom can help with getting an EIN and Incfile will make registering your business a breeze. We also recommend BizFilings for help with finding the licenses your business needs to be on the right side of the law.

The takeaway

As you start your business, it’s important to figure out inventory sourcing and business licensing. We recommend sourcing products and working with suppliers early to cultivate good relationships. Plus, it helps to have the right licenses and documentation early on to get your business going.

With the right guides, tools, and relationships, you’ll be on your way to selling in no time.

Did you find and source products and now you’re ready to sell? Check out our top choices for ecommerce website builders .

Related read: Top Alternatives to Selling on Etsy

Related content

• The Best Inventory Apps of 2023
• 4 Steps to Effective Supplier Relationship Management
• How to Start a Small Business: Must-Have Checklist to Spark Success
• Your Small-Business Loan Requirements Checklist
• Breaking Down Business Startup Costs: What to Expect

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

5202 W Douglas Corrigan Way Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Accounting & Payroll

Point of Sale

Payment Processing

Inventory Management

Human Resources

Other Services

Best Small Business Loans

Best Inventory Management Software

Best Small Business Accounting Software

Best Payroll Software

Best Mobile Credit Card Readers

Best POS Systems

Best Tax Software

Stay updated on the latest products and services anytime anywhere.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use  and  Privacy Policy .

Disclaimer: The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. All information is subject to change. Pricing will vary based on various factors, including, but not limited to, the customer’s location, package chosen, added features and equipment, the purchaser’s credit score, etc. For the most accurate information, please ask your customer service representative. Clarify all fees and contract details before signing a contract or finalizing your purchase.

Our mission is to help consumers make informed purchase decisions. While we strive to keep our reviews as unbiased as possible, we do receive affiliate compensation through some of our links. This can affect which services appear on our site and where we rank them. Our affiliate compensation allows us to maintain an ad-free website and provide a free service to our readers. For more information, please see our  Privacy Policy Page . |

© Business.org 2024 All Rights Reserved.

How to Create a Sales Plan: A Complete Guide (Tips + Examples)

Write a sales plan that can adjust to change, and zero in on the actions that will hit your goals.

Paul Bookstaber

Share article.

There is a world where sales planning happens once a year. You draw it up in January — “Whew, I’m glad that’s done!” — and everything goes as you planned. You hit your goals.

Meanwhile, on Earth, you create a sales plan, start to act on it — and everything hits the fan. A competitor launches a new product, an analyst switches up their report, and your best sales rep quits. Now what?

Below we share tips for how to create a sales plan that can bend to change and not break. You’ll learn why a sales plan is so important, see examples of the different types, and discover how to create one that brings you closer to your big hairy revenue goals — while also driving down costs.

Make sales plans that deliver more revenue

Our Sales Planning solution can help you align your targets, budget, and headcount — with just a few clicks.

What is a sales plan?

A sales plan is a blueprint for hitting revenue targets. It begins when sales leaders define long-term company goals. Then, sales managers create an annual sales plan to achieve those goals, adjusting it as market conditions change. They make decisions around hiring, quotas, compensation, territories, and customer segments. Finally, sellers translate the annual sales plan into account plans to close individual deals.

What are the benefits of creating a sales plan?

The key benefits of creating a sales plan are about hitting your targets with the resources you already have . First, it allows you to spot the gaps in your sales process that block you from your goals and address them with the best actions. Second, it sets you up to adapt fast to changing business and market conditions.

Let’s take a closer look.

Finding the actions to achieve your goals

A sales plan lets you test and measure how different actions will affect your numbers, so you can choose the right path forward to hit your goal.

You begin by adding up the numbers you know — how much your team will likely sell (based on past performance) and how much it will cost (based on your current resources). You’ll arrive at a prediction of the numbers you’ll hit.

If the prediction falls short of your targets, a sales plan helps you test different scenarios so you can find the action that forces the equation to spit out your target number in the most cost-effective way.

What if you hire more people? Increase your quotas? Level up your enablement program to increase win rates (the number of deals that close)? A sales plan gives you the framework to crunch the numbers until you find the reality that matches your dream.

Your business is more resilient to change

The traditional sales plan is something you create once a year. An agile sales plan is something you revisit, test, and adjust continually. The benefit is that even as market conditions change or surprises happen within your company, you can study the impacts of those changes and adapt to stay on track.

The path to agility is to do away with your disconnected tools and bring all of your sales plan data into the same system — your customer relationship management (CRM) system — where you sell. With this in place, changes in the real world show up as threats to your target within your plan. You can react in real-time, studying the data, testing different scenarios, and adjusting your sales plan to get back on track.

Map a clear path to success with annual planning

Set goals, target metrics, and key responsibilities during yearly planning with sales operations. Discover how on Trailhead, the free learning platform from Salesforce.

Annual Planning with Sales Operations

Sales plan types and examples

The different types of sales plans are meant to bring together your company’s long-term vision, short-term tactics that get you there, and everything in between. Leaders set a five-year track for where the company is heading. Then, sales managers step into a new time frame — the year — with sales forecasts and territory plans that help sellers hit their numbers. They come up with capacity plans to make sure teams are running lean and mean. Finally, sellers create account plans for every deal.

Let’s take a closer look at these different types of sales plans with the examples below.

Long-Range Sales Plan

This is where leadership comes together — people like the CEO, chief revenue officer, CFO, and VP of sales — and set the long-term path for the company. They’re thinking about where the opportunities are and how to seize them. For example, they might decide to grow annual contract value (ACV) by $30 million in the next five years, while also slowing the rate of hiring — because they want to make existing sellers more productive instead.

Annual Sales Plan

The sales manager creates an annual sales plan to set immediate targets and decisions that will help the company get closer to the goals established in the long-range sales plan. This plan begins with an understanding of the team’s capacity, or how much revenue they’re likely to produce. From there, territories, quotas, and compensation plans are set to ensure that sellers hit their numbers.

If, for example, the long-range sales plan is to achieve $30 million in ACV over the next five years while also making sellers more productive. Then a sales manager might set targets of $4 million in ACV in the first year and increase the quotas that sellers carry to hit that goal rather than hire more people.

Territory Plan

Don’t just segment customers based on geography. You should also segment them based on categories meaningful to the business. For example, if you want to sell to more enterprises, you might want to segment customers based on their size, and match sellers with enterprise expertise to enterprise companies. You can also segment customers based on industry and assign them to sellers with industry expertise.

Account Plan

Now that sellers know their targets and their territories, they take on planning of their own — customer by customer — with account plans. They strategise how to bring more value to every conversation and close individual deals . They research the needs of the customer, identify obstacles that stand in the way of selling, and list action items for how to build relationships to move each deal forward. Then, they work with different people within their company to execute on their account plans. They might connect with business development representatives (BDRs) to get a foot in the door with new leads, or with solution engineers to create demos for presentations.

How to create a sales plan

To create your annual sales plan for the year and make sure it can adapt to change, bring all of your sales data into one place. Then, study how much your people can sell (based on historical data), and set targets and incentives that will make your goal a reality. Use technology that can update all your sales plan data in real-time, so you can measure the impact of change and adjust to stay on track.

Ready to create your sales plan? Here’s how to take it one step at a time.

1. Connect sales plan data with your CRM

It’s important to build your sales plan in customer relationship management (CRM) software. When you have all your sales data in one central place, updated in real-time, real world changes show up as misalignments in the data. You have visibility into changes that put your targets at risk.

Without this single source of truth, you’d be spending weeks manually pulling in data from different systems, trying to understand the impact of the disruption. With every passing day, the gap between your plan and your reality widens.

Imagine that you begin an enterprise sales push with 50 sellers in January, but two have quit by March. A CRM can send you an alert that you’re under target. That real-time data is critical if you want to adjust your plan quickly to stay on track.

2. Understand your team’s capacity (how much they can sell)

Using your CRM data, take a look at capacity — that’s how much revenue you predict your team can sell during the coming year. To calculate capacity, look at all metrics that affect sales output, including hiring data, a review of quotas and targets, and historical sales rep performance data to predict future sales.

Following the example above, you might determine that based on the previous year’s performance, each seller, on average, can bring in $120,000 worth of revenue. However, now that you’re short two sellers, you’re short $240,000 in your capacity.

3. Measure the gap between your reality and your dream

Now that you understand the reality of who’s under your roof — and how much you think your team can sell — determine the gap between your revenue predictions and your revenue targets.

For example, imagine your target from the long-range sales plan is to hit $6 million in ACV this year. With $240,000 down in your capacity, as we showed above, you’ll need to figure out how to still meet the goal.

4. Find the actions to fill the gap and reach your goal

It’s time to write your sales plan to achieve your targets. Begin with the backbone — your team — and outline what’s expected (quotas), what the rewards are (compensation), how to organise customers (segments), and how to assign the reps (territories).

Then, to close the gap and hit your targets, create “What if?” scenarios to test the impact of different possible actions. The guideposts here should be cost savings and efficiency — how to hit your target by making the most of what you have. What if you hire two more people? (Straight-forward, sure, but hardly cost-effective.) What if you assign your highest performers to more lucrative territories? What if you create an enablement program that trains your sellers in a strategic industry?

In the example above, you’re trying to find a way to add $240,000 to your capacity without adding cost. One of the scenarios you tested shows that a new enablement program might do the trick, because training your sellers to sell more effectively can help you close more and bigger deals. This can be your Plan A. But since it will require investing in a new enablement program, you might want to come up with a Plan B as well that doesn’t require additional budget. For example, you might propose increasing each seller’s quota.

5. Present your proposed actions to leadership and execute

Make your case to leadership to get the rubber stamp on your proposed best action. Show them the data in your sales plan to demonstrate why your proposed solution will hit your targets and be cost-effective at the same time.

You might make the case for Plan A: investing in a new enablement program. If leadership balks because of cost, then it’s time to roll out Plan B: Increase each seller’s quota instead. Sales reps might protest at first, but you can reframe it as an opportunity to make more money. You’re in sales, remember? Finding the positive spin is what you do.

6. Keep adjusting and stay on target even as market conditions change

Change will come — whether from outside forces (think a disruption in your customer base) or inside forces (think a pivot in your product roadmap). The mindset shift is to take your sales plan off the shelf, dust it off, and reimagine it as a living, breathing thing. It’s something you adjust continually throughout the year — with your sights pinned to your goal.

Ready to turn your sales plan into a reality?

With the steps above, you’re ready to go. Study the real-time sales plan data in your CRM, measure the impact of the change on your goals, test different possible actions, and go with the best one. This is agile sales planning. It says, “Bring it on!” to change.

Learn how thousands of sales pros are driving productivity — today

Read our State of Sales report and discover tips and tools from sales teams who are maximising value.

Just For You

What Is a Sales Cycle and How Do You Optimise It for Consistent Sales?

9 Sales KPIs Every Sales Team Should Be Tracking

Explore related content by topic

• Salesblazer

Paul Bookstaber is a writer at Salesforce. He has a decade of experience in content marketing in B2B tech. Before that, he published a magazine and ran a tabloid blog. Today, he splits his time between Florida and the Mountain West, and loves to hike, ski, and watch Bravo. He is in a polyamorous relationship with Luke and Roger, who are cats.

Get our monthly newsletter for the latest business insights.

What Is Sales Enablement? A Complete Guide

What Is a Go-to-Market Strategy? (And Why You Need It to Beat Your Competition)

What Is a Sales Quota? Types, Examples & How To Set Goals

How to Do Sales Prospecting the Right Way

4 Account Management Skills for Sales Success

5 Sales Skills Every Rep Needs To Master Right Now

New to Salesforce?

• Why Salesforce
• What is CRM?
• Explore All Products
• Customer Success
• Product Pricing

About Salesforce

• Security and Performance
• Salesforce.org
• Best CRM Software
• Sustainability
• Give us your Feedback

Popular Links

• New Release Features
• Salesforce Mobile App
• Business App Store
• CRM Software
• Salesforce Plus
• Salesforce for startups
• América Latina (Español)
• Brasil (Português)
• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States (English)

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

• España (Español)
• Deutschland (Deutsch)
• France (Français)
• Italia (Italiano)
• Nederland (Nederlands)
• Sverige (Svenska)
• United Kingdom (English)
• All other countries (English)

Asia Pacific

• Australia (English)
• India (English)
• Malaysia (English)
• ประเทศไทย (ไทย)

© Copyright 2024 Salesforce, Inc. All rights reserved . Various trademarks held by their respective owners.

• Selling on Amazon
• Fulfillment by Amazon

Select your preferred language

• English - US
• Español - US

High-demand and trending products to sell online in 2024

• Copy Link copied

Here are top-trending products and why they work, plus Amazon tools to help you find your next high-demand product to sell.

Thinking about what to sell in your ecommerce store? Wondering what products are already in demand? In this post, we share what products are currently trending on the Amazon Best Sellers lists and why they’re so popular.

You’ll also learn how to find your next high-demand product to sell and how to market it effectively.

9 high-demand products from Amazon Best Sellers lists

Stanley quencher in home & kitchen.

The Stanley Quencher has become a viral sensation after gaining attention from social media influencers. It takes the top spot in the Home & Kitchen category in the Amazon store. The tumbler features double-wall vacuum insulation, keeping drinks hot, cold, or iced for hours.

Social media and influencer marketing has helped #Stanleycup gain billions of views on Tiktok . Since it routinely sells out, the scarcity effect (a bias that causes people to value scarce objects more than abundant ones) may also be part of the reason that it’s even more in demand.

Knowing your audience is key. The Stanley Quencher has a large female fanbase that it appeals to using thoughtful imagery featuring a female audience. Consumer interest in hydration has also skyrocketed in the past several years as people are more focused on wellness and preventative self-care.

Based on reviews, customers like the quality and portability of the tumbler, noting that it keeps drinks at the right temperature and is easy to carry despite its size. But the Stanley brand isn’t the only trending tumbler in Home & Kitchen. Other brands like Owala and Simple Modern are among the top products in the Kitchen & Dining category. That means insulated tumblers is a high-demand niche you could consider.

Mighty Patch in Beauty & Personal Care

Zits happen. Luckily, there’s a patch for that. This blemish patch has received rave reviews from Amazon customers. They mention that it works well and is simple to use–even on sensitive skin.

Besides its quality, this beauty remedy rose to viral fame on TikTok from skincare influencers and has rave reviews from celebrities and beauty and fashion magazine editors. In fact, wearing pimple patches in public has become somewhat of a fashion statement that celebrities have embraced.

The Mighty Patch has garnered over 140,000 global ratings, almost 90% four stars or above. Over 100,000 patches were bought in the past month.

The EggMazing Easter Egg Mini Decorator Kit in Toys & Games

This seasonal egg arts and crafts kit for kids booms around Easter time, peaking in late March and early April. Customers like the colors, ease of cleaning, and that it’s a simple and fun activity for the whole family. They also mention that the eggs turned out beautiful, the colors are vibrant, and the markers dry quickly on the eggs. This kit is also sold by a small business who lets customers know by displaying the Small Business badge on their product listing.

When you launch or sell a seasonal product, timing matters. So think several months ahead to start drumming up interest or reminding customers of the need. Prepare for unique annual holidays, selling days, or campaigns. Some key selling peaks in the US are Amazon Prime Day , Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and major holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Halloween, and Christmas.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder in Health & Household

Protein powder has enjoyed steady popularity among consumers for the last decade. It’s convenience, coupled with an increased number of people exercising, contributes to its demand.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder is frequently bought in the Health & Household categories. Customers like the value, taste, and ability to gain weight from this protein powder. They also mention it’s an affordable option that provides the fuel needed to build muscle, and they appreciate that it keeps carbohydrates and fats in check.

Because of its frequent use, some customers also subscribe to have whey protein sent at regular intervals. Offering this subscription option can be a great way to help secure repeat sales.

Occer 12x25 Compact Binoculars in Camera & Photo Products

These binoculars are popular for their size, clarity, and appearance. Plus, they’re straightforward and easy to use, so customers can use them right away.

Customers mentioned these Occer binoculars are good for hiking trips, fit in a coat pocket, and have crystal clear lenses. These binoculars in particular are great for both adults and kids, catering to a wider range of customers (even little Amazon shoppers).

These binoculars also stand out to customers because they’re highlighted with an Amazon’s Choice label. Amazon’s Choice makes it easy to discover products that other customers frequently choose for similar shopping needs. What does Amazon consider when highlighting a product? Products highlighted as Amazon’s Choice are highly rated, well-priced, and available to ship immediately.

To increase your chances of getting an Amazon’s Choice label, offer competitive prices, great customer service, and fast delivery. You should also look for ways to improve your product quality and encourage customers to leave reviews.

Participating in Amazon Vine to generate customer reviews and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to offer free, two-day shipping through Prime are a few ways you can help improve your chances of getting an Amazon’s Choice label.

Silonn Icemaker Countertop in Appliances

This countertop icemaker earns the top best-seller spot in Appliances . In fact, countertop icemakers took most of the top 10 best-selling spots in the category.

If your refrigerator doesn’t come with an icemaker, standalone icemakers are more convenient than traditional ice-cube trays. You also have to wait for a built-in refrigerator icemaker to produce ice cubes, whereas these countertop versions make ice cubes more quickly. And they can produce different types of ice, like softer nugget ice in a variety of sizes (great if you’re a cocktail afficionado). Plus, it clears space in your freezer.

Beyond the convenience, countertop icemakers have become a symbol of modern luxury in some contemporary kitchens. To add to their trending nature, countertop icemakers started spiking in popularity several years ago during the pandemic due to an appliance shortage.

Crocs in Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

While everyone has their own shoe preferences, many customers agree they love Crocs . A best-seller, customers like Crocs because they’re comfortable, durable, easy to clean, and for their style. They also mention that they’re great for reducing strain and fatigue, perfect for everyday wear or water activities, and that they’re easy to slip on and off.

Crocs are popular for their unique design, defying fashion norms, and maintaining pop culture relevance. Some customers wear Crocs because it reminds them of their childhood. Plus, they have also received celebrity endorsements.

There are certain customer demographics that are more likely to own Crocs, like healthcare workers. Most people that bought Crocs in the Amazon store keep them (meaning, Crocs have fewer returns than average compared to similar products). This is meaningful, particularly for this product, because the apparel category (clothing and shoes) usually sees the highest rates of returns. The return rate is something you want to consider when picking a product category or niche.

Dr. Elsey’s Premium Clumping Cat Litter in Pet Supplies & Cat Litter

This cat litter takes top spots in Pet Supplies and Cat Litter categories.

Customers say this cat litter has great odor and dust control, and clumping abilities. Compared to other cat litters, it also has a great price for the value.

Cat litter is an evergreen product, meaning it can be popular year-round. If you consider offering a product customers need all the time, you may see steady sales, but also face greater competition.

TERRO T300B Liquid Ant Killer in Patio, Lawn & Garden

Not all visitors may be welcome. For ants who find your home appealing, customers like the effectiveness of these ant traps .

They say the bait immediately attracts and clears the area of ants. They appreciate the value for money, saying it provides a good number of traps. Customers are also impressed with the performance, saying the bait works really fast and effectively.

While ants can come creeping into your home or office year-round, there are certain months where their activity increases, like spring or summer as the temperature gets warmer. This means you may see a spike in sales during those seasons.

How to spot trending products and increase demand

Now that you know some of the most in-demand products right now, consider whether those products (or something similar) are best for your business and interests. Using criteria like the following may be helpful in determining if the product you have in mind could become a top seller .

Identify demand

One key step in deciding what to sell is identifying if there is current customer demand. You can use best-seller lists like those noted above and conduct marketplace research to see if anyone will buy what you might want to sell.

How unique is your product? Is it different from what’s online already? If it’s too similar to what’s already out there, you can face more competition. But if you’re filling a gap in the market that meets a need, your product could be successful. One approach for identifying gaps is by reading customer reviews of similar products to see what needs you could potentially meet.

Get to know your audience

Think about who your product is for. That will help you identify your customers and potential volume of interest. The more specific the niche, like home decor or pet supplies, the narrower your audience. It could also limit the amount and types of products you can offer. Alternatively, selling a commonly used product like batteries can help you reach a much wider audience.

It’s also important to get to know your audience. Who are they, what are their preferences, and what do they search?

You can get answers to these type of questions through Amazon Brand Analytics . Available to brands enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry , Brand Analytics aggregates customer search and purchase data to offer insights about demographics, repeat purchase behavior, top search terms, customer loyalty, and more. This tool can help you spot trends and make decisions about how you position your product.

Set the right selling price

Setting the right price can be tricky. A high selling price could prevent your product from being competitive and make customers hesitate. Too low of a selling price could lead to low profit margins.

Check out your competitors who sell the same or similar products for pricing ideas. Perform research using Amazon search , or the Amazon Seller app to monitor competitor prices and use comparison points like match low price and Featured Offer price. Or try the Automate Pricing tool to set prices dynamically, based on market demand.

Calculate revenue

You can use a variety of free resources to calculate sales, gauge performance, and estimate profits for products you already sell in the Amazon store, as well as other products you might be considering selling online.

The Revenue Calculator is a free resource that lets you compare fees, costs, and estimated net profits for your own fulfillment method with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) . FBA is a fulfillment option that allows you to ship products into Amazon’s fulfillment network and outsource packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. FBA can help you save time, reduce operational costs, and grow your business.

Here’s how the Revenue Calculator works:

• Enter the SKU, ISBN, UPC, EAN, ASIN, or title of the product and click Search.
• In the list of products that appears, click Select for the one you want to estimate.
• Review the price, associated fees and costs, net profits, and net margins for FBA.
• Enter your own fulfilment and storage costs.

Compare costs, profits, and margins to get a sense of the revenue potential for each fulfillment method.

Consider perishability

Consider if you want to sell edible products or items that can expire, like food, vitamins, or supplements. These types of products can mean repeat customers who reorder perishable household staples like bread, eggs, and other foods. But if you order too much or overestimate your customer demand, you may have expired inventory . Some perishable items also come with federal and marketplace-specific regulations sellers should be aware of.

Keep durability, product size, and weight in mind

Is your product delicate or breakable? If so, you may have to take extra precautions and use more (or specialized) materials when packing, which also may eat into costs.

Size, weight, and durability are other important considerations. Is the product you want to sell large or heavy? Heavier items cost more to store and ship (especially if shipping overseas). This could cut into your profitability or ability to sell.

Lightweight items can lead to lower shipping costs and potentially higher profits.

Determine seasonality and purchase frequency

Are certain products seeing higher purchases because it’s the holidays or a particular season? This is important to note if you are specializing in a product like bathing suits or Christmas lights, which are likely to have a spike in sales during certain times of the year, as opposed to a product like toothpaste, which is sold year-round.

Everyday products like toilet paper, batteries, and food are in demand year-round, and they have universal appeal. They generally have a lower cost per sale, higher profit margins, and are more affordable for customers. For sellers, it may also be easier to find suppliers. But these products can also face heavier competition due to their popularity.

The frequency a customer will need to reorder your product is also helpful to think about. Products like toilet paper have a high reorder rate, whereas something like party favors are for special occasions.

Adapt to changing tastes and preferences

You may have a great product that is selling well, but then you see a dip in sales or traffic. Staying relevant and keeping up with customers’ changing tastes, preferences, and trends is key to maintaining sales.

For example, instant pressure cookers were popular several years ago and consistently sold out. But consumer interest faded and sales slowed considerably. If you’re seeing this type of downward trend with a product you’re selling, it may be time to identify another trending product in a similar category.

Follow what’s trending

Keeping an eye out on what’s trending on social media can help your spot trending products and stay relevant.

High-demand or trending products are often featured at the top of social media platform feeds and have higher engagement rates. You can also use hashtags to find trending products by category.

For example, if you’re interested in apparel, you can search fashion trends on social media using hashtags like #fashion, #fashionista, or #fashionseries. The most frequently used hashtags will typically state how often they have been used.

Alternatively, following social media influencers within your product category or niche can help you pinpoint what’s currently trending. Influencers have a large number of social media followers, and they often review and promote products. Many social platforms will suggest influencers to follow based upon your interests.

Figure out sourcing

Once you know what you want to sell, next you will need to figure out how to source the product or raw materials if you’re making it yourself . Learn more about things to consider when choosing a supplier and about how to find wholesalers .

Tools for find high-demand products to sell online

In addition to the strategies we’ve covered for deciding what product to sell, there are a variety of tools that can also help inform your decision.

Product Opportunity Explorer

Product Opportunity Explorer helps you discover high-demand products or unmet demand for niches in the product category you’re interested in.

The tool lets you see current trends in customer search patterns, product demand, and popular niches within product categories to help you make informed decisions about what products may be successful.

Here’s how to get started with Product Opportunity Explorer to unlock seasonal trends and other insights:

• Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account ( Professional selling plan required).
• From the main menu, click Growth , then Product Opportunity Explorer.
• Browse niches by category or search niches.

Learn more about Product Opportunity Explorer

Growth Opportunities

To help sellers decide where to invest your time and resources, Amazon’s Growth Opportunities tool aggregates recommendations across Amazon services so you can see what options are available to help grow your ecommerce business. The list of recommended actions is refreshed daily.

Growth Opportunities also includes metrics such as page views, sales rank, inventory count, and conversion trends, both at a category and ASIN level. We generate a customized list of actions for you based on a variety of factors, such as our assessment of the sales potential of your products, as well as the sales lift experienced by other sellers after completing the recommended action on similar products.

Access the Growth Opportunities page by clicking Growth on the main menu in Seller Central, then Growth Opportunities .

B2B Product Opportunity

Amazon Business provides a suite of features and tools that can help you connect with business-to-business (B2B) customers. Business customers often buy in larger quantities and return items less—which means you can sell more with less time and effort.

You can find B2B product selection recommendations for your business through B2B product opportunities . This tool uses demand signals like purchasing trends, new product requests, and requests for quantity discounts from our growing Amazon Business customer base, coupled with your selling history, to create product selection recommendations for your business.

There are two B2B product opportunity reports available:

• Recommended for you : Includes products that are in high demand from the categories or brands you are already selling in.
• Product not yet on Amazon : Includes products requested by Amazon Business customers that may not be available in the Amazon store.

Google Trends

Use Google Trends to look at the popularity of topics over time and see what’s getting a spike in interest:

• Visit Google Trends.
• Enter a keyword related to a product or industry in the search bar.
• Look at the Interest over time graph to see if your selected search term is growing in popularity. You can also see if interest is steady or declining.
• Use Compare to see the popularity of different keywords.
• Select Related queries for more product ideas.

Marketing tips to attract customers

Whether you’re aiming to break into the market with a new high-demand product or rank on the Amazon Best Sellers lists, there are several marketing tips that can help attract customers and increase sales :

• Set competitive prices: Perform pricing research by checking out your competitors, and experiment with different price points to see what results in greater sales. You can use the Automate Pricing tool to automatically adjust prices in response to trends.
• Optimize listings: Use search engine optimizations (SEO) to improve the visibility of your product listings. Use keywords to optimize product titles, photos, descriptions, and more.
• Offer fast, free delivery : Many high-demand products also offer fast and free delivery. Rather than figuring out how to speed up your delivery times, you can outsource fulfillment through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) , which takes fulfillment off your plate and offers customers free, two-day shipping through Prime.
• Try Buy with Prime : Use Buy with Prime to display the Prime logo and delivery promise on your own website, offering a checkout and delivery experience that customers love.
• Advertise : Increase sales with ecommerce marketing methods like cost-per-click (CPC) campaigns through Amazon Ads . For example, Sponsored Products ads promote individual products on product detail pages and relevant search results pages in the Amazon store.
• Analyze sales metrics : As an Amazon seller, the homepage of your Seller Central account provides an overview of sales and units sold. For a deeper dive, access the Sales dashboard , which helps you monitor sales performance and make data-driven decisions to improve your sales strategies.

Seeing a 40% jump in conversion was astonishing to us. After adding Buy with Prime, we saw an immediate conversion lift, which is what any marketer, any brand, any company wants. It helps us carry out our mission to reduce single-use plastic water bottle pollution.

• Website content
• Technical issue

More From Forbes

How to sell a business quickly.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Business owners underestimate the time it takes to prepare, market, and sell their business.

Do you ever have those days when, regardless of how much you love your business, you feel like you want to sell it - like NOW? Selling a business isn't easy and how to sell a business quickly is a bigger challenge.

The number one mistake business owners make -and I’ve been there too- is believing that they can sell their businesses quickly. They underestimate the time it takes to prepare, market, and close a sale.

How long does it take to sell a business?

If you think that selling your business will be done and dusted in just a few months, you might need to adjust your expectations. Optimally, even with a well-prepared business, expect the sales process to take between 6 to 12 months from preparation to closing.

If your business isn't immediately appealing to buyers, exit-ready, or not valuable enough for you to want to sell it, which is true for about 80% of businesses, the timeline could extend to several years, rather than months.

“Due diligence was supposed to take 90 days instead it took 6+ months. Even with clean financials and great process documentation. It was not anyone's fault but once you get the lawyers involved things slow down.” Nathan Hirsch founded and sold Freeup.net and now runs Outsourceschool.com

OpenAI Gets Better Memory, New Lawsuits, And Sora’s First Music Video

Russian military personnel move into niger air base housing some us troops, madden 25 hall of famer will discontinue his relationship with ea.

Understanding how to prepare for your exit is crucial. Without the right strategies, implemented early, you risk making the sales process longer or having to compromise on price.

If you're unsure about the right approach, don't worry. This article will guide you on the appropriate time and method to plan your exit.

Proven Tactics to Sell a Business Quickly

Before taking the bold step of selling your business, it's crucial to have a well-thought-out plan. This will not only ensure a smooth transition but also help you maximize your profits.

“I’d love to say I started my business with an exit plan in mind. But truly, it didn’t occur to me till about year 12! Now that I started another business, it has a radically different business model as I’m in a different stage of life. Owners need to plan for that too.” Leona Watson, exited founder of Cheeky Food Events.

Here are 5 steps to sell a business fast:

• Step 1: Start planning from the start of your business (or now)
• Step 2: Streamline your business operations
• Step 3: Determine the ideal timing for your exit
• Step 4: Organize your legal and financial documents
• Step 5: Develop a robust transition plan

These steps, if followed diligently, will put you in a favorable position when the time comes to sell your business.

5 steps to sell your business quickly

Step 1: the best time to plan your exit was when you started your business, the second best time is now.

The journey towards preparing and selling your business for maximum value begins the moment you draft your business plan. Businesses that are built to sell choose different growth strategies and set up the business in such a way that the selling process is much easier in the future.

“We build all our businesses to be sellable from day one. Even if we don’t want to sell them. That means clean financials, great team and processes, and a backbone of SEO.” Nathan Hirsch founder of Ecombalance.com , accountsbalance.com , nathanhirsch.com and trioseo.com

Step 2: Improve Your Business Operations

A business that operates smoothly and effectively is always appealing to prospective buyers. Strive to ensure your business is efficient and all processes are well-documented. Your team can triple your exit price , so have a team that runs the operations and a second-tier management to rely on.

“Three things we’ve never cut corners on for our startups: lawyer, accountant, and foundational software. When selling your company, you need to be able to move quickly. These three things are the backbone of your operations.” Melissa Kwan, exited entrepreneur and current Cofounder of ewebinar.com , profitled.fm, and melissakwan.com

Step 3: Choose the Right Time to Exit

Timing your million-dollar business exit is an art and it significantly impacts the outcome of the sale. Ideally, you should sell when your business is thriving and market conditions are favorable. Avoid selling during a market downturn or when your business performance is subpar.

With 2,400 businesses for sale every day, we are currently in a buyer’s market, which will likely last for at least another decade. There are more businesses for sale than there are buyers looking to acquire. When they have the luxury of choice, you as the seller need to build an irresistible business for acquirers.

Advice: Do not wait until you're burned out or the market is in a slump. Stay informed about industry trends and seek professional advice to determine the best time to sell. By planning ahead, you will sell your business on your terms.

Exited business owner and current CEO of Create & Grow Georgi Todorov testifies that exiting fast is possible when you are ready and the market time is perfect:

“I sold my online business within one month. But that’s because I had prepared all details in advance. Also, I was proactively looking for a potential buyer.”

Step 4: Get Your Legal, Financial and Operations Documents Ready

Having all your legal, financial and operations documents organized and readily available instills confidence in potential buyers and it will make your life less stressful once you start the selling process. Having your documents in order also increases your business's value.

“I think the smartest thing I did was implement a reward system for documenting processes and made it a competition with staff, with random prizes given out. Every week for 6 months a new process was documented across all areas (Sales, Ops, Finance, Tech). The team owned the creation, the implementation and the updating. When I went to sell years later, the operational documents were all ready. It made us look professional, organized and best of all…valuable.” Leona Watson, ex Founder and CEO of Cheeky Food Events.

Step 5: Make a Plan for the Transition

A comprehensive transition plan, made upfront, makes your business attractive to potential buyers. It demonstrates your commitment to ensuring a seamless change of ownership.

Tip: Draft a detailed plan outlining how the new owner will assume control of the business.

Your Exit Strategy Challenge

• Reflect on the steps provided in this article and start creating your exit strategy.
• Consider the exit-readiness of your business.
• Share your plan with trusted mentors and business owners to get valuable feedback.

So, when that feeling pops up again of wanting to sell your business now, be ready for it.

Prepare your business now to sell it for maximum value later.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

The Ultimate Guide to B2B Sales in 2024 [Expert Tips + New Sales Rep Data]

FREE SALES PLAN TEMPLATE

Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

Updated: 02/06/24

Published: 02/06/24

What is B2B sales? That can be a tricky question to answer. In truth, it's a pretty broad term that can encompass a range of industries, organizational strategies, personal techniques, sales process structures, methodologies, and roles — so as you can imagine, the prospect of writing a comprehensive guide on the concept is pretty imposing. But hey! My living literally depends on my ability to make “imposing” sales concepts accessible.

So to those of you who are curious as to what “B2B sales” means, I‘m going to try to cover as many of the bases I listed above as possible and offer some clarity — and to help me help you, I’ve gathered some key data, connected with sales leaders in my network, and put in a gosh darn lot of effort to string together as thorough a B2B sales guide as possible.

Check it out!

What is B2B sales?

B2b vs. b2c sales: how they’re different, b2b sales examples, b2b sales statistics, trends in b2b sales to watch in 2024 [new data], b2b sales strategies, how to create a b2b sales process, b2b sales tips.

B2B sales is short for business-to-business sales. It describes the transaction of products and services from one business to another. B2B sales transactions can happen in person or online.

At a high level, the concept of B2B sales is pretty straightforward — it‘s literally in the name. It’s when one or more stakeholders from one business (generally from the sales department) sell something to one or more stakeholders from another business, specifically to serve business interests.

In many cases, B2B sales involve high deal values and long sales cycles — after all, they're conducted at an organizational level. That generally means B2B deals…

• Impact several stakeholders
• Involve multiple decision-makers
• Require significant financial investments
• Revolve around products or services that might require onboarding

…along with several other elements that make them particularly labor-intensive, high-stakes, and finicky. But for all of their value, prevalence, and significance, research from Zippia indicates that they only represented 23.6% of all sales in 2023 — and if we‘re being real, if you Googled "B2B sales," I’m guessing you already know that sales isn't limited to B2B.

But still, for the sake of this article‘s flow and ranking potential, I need to call out that there’s another type of sales called B2C. Now, who wants to see how the two differ?

Free Sales Plan Template

Outline your company's sales strategy in one simple, coherent sales plan.

• Target Market
• Prospecting Strategy

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

As a quick refresher, “B2C” stands for business-to-consumer. That means a B2C sale involves stakeholders from a business selling directly to an individual who leverages the company's product or service for their personal needs or interests.

So from as high a level as possible, the difference between B2B and B2C is that the former is used for business needs and the former is used for individual consumption . Shocking — I know.

But if you want to get more granular, here are some more in-depth distinctions between the two — supported by this super neat graphic I made!

“You have to sell your prospect on you if they're going to trust you enough to buy. So show them that you actually care and know what you're talking about beyond your pitch — be confident, empathetic, and prepped.”

Come ready and composed — and be able to speak to the context around a deal that might not be covered in your immediate plans for the conversation. Successful B2B selling starts with you framing yourself as a thoughtful, consultative resource for a prospect. So avoid coming off as a rigid, transactional sales machine.

3. Ask for referrals.

Former HubSpot Sales Director Dan Tyre stressed the importance of following up with prospects for referrals in B2B sales. He says, “This is so important but so easy to skip over. Call current customers and ask for referrals. When was the last time you got a call from a vendor who thanked you for your business? Never? Exactly. Wouldn't you be impressed if you got a call?”

Tyre offers this example of how to approach this kind of call: “Mr. Fuchs, this is Dan from HubSpot. I am calling you to thank you for being a great customer. Over the last few months, you've seen some solid growth. I'm calling to thank you for your business, give you my cell phone number, and let you know that if you ever have a question, you can call me directly. We hope to be a great partner for years to come. By the way, do you know anyone else who might be a good fit for our product or services?”

4. Be an expert on all things your product.

Sunny Sandhu , Account Executive at Ascent Cloud , suggests that all B2B salespeople take the time to really know their product. He says, "Know what your offering does inside and out. It pays to know every small nuance about what makes your product or service the best choice for the person you're speaking with and how it differentiates from solutions like it.

“I used to dread hopping on the phone in the first few days of starting a sales role. But as I learned more about my industry, product, and the value we could bring, I became that much more confident. Calls became exciting when I finally knew I was fully equipped to address concerns and answer even the most technical of questions.”

Like so many other elements we‘ve touched on in this guide, the key to delivering on this strategy is doing your homework. Take the time to develop extensive product knowledge, a thorough understanding of your competitive landscape, and a top-to-bottom picture of your vertical. With all of that in mind, you’ll be able to craft a compelling value proposition and conduct more effective B2B sales efforts.

6. Focus on improving lead targeting.

Tyre also emphasized how successful B2B sales can rest upon the quality of your leads. He says, “Great leads generate reliable sales. Not-so-great leads can leave you hanging on for days or weeks while you put in the effort — only for them to go with another brand.”

According to Dan, the best way to deliver on this point is to “[refine] your lead targeting process with a focus on eliminating leads that are unlikely to buy or may take significant time to convince. By creating a set of qualifying criteria for B2B leads such as their current position, previous purchase history, and how the lead was generated — did they reach out or did you contact them — your team can pinpoint leads more likely to purchase.”

Now let’s walk through what a successful B2B sales process could look like.

• Conduct market research.
• Determine your ideal buyer persona.
• Map out the buyer's journey.
• Qualify leads.
• Meet face-to-face.
• Close the deal.
• Track your results and improve.

1. Conduct market research.

Begin the B2B sales process by performing high-level market research to understand the current state of demand for your offering. Get clear on who your competitors are in your segment, and familiarize yourself with their techniques and strategies to understand what messaging your prospects are hearing from other sources.

2. Determine your ideal buyer persona.

Take time to figure out what companies fit your buyer persona . Besides considering what your prospects sell or offer, be on the lookout for contextual information about how business is progressing. For example:

• Have they recently launched a new product?
• If you are selling to startups, did they recently close a round of fundraising?
• Have they had any leadership changes in the past six months?

Utilizing an email finder tool can significantly streamline the process of finding the right buyer, ensuring efficient outreach and maximizing your sales efforts. This information can help you find out if companies are ready to invest in your offerings, and is a helpful addition to your buyer persona information.

Buyer Persona Templates

Organize your audience segments and make your marketing stronger.

• Learn about personas.
• Conduct persona research.
• Create targetted content.
• Build your own personas.

3. Map out the buyer’s journey.

Now that you are clear on who your audience is and how your offering will serve them, it's time to map out how the customer will purchase your offering. To do this, walk through the steps a potential customer could take to reach your product or service.

Don't forget to share this post!

Powerful and easy-to-use sales software that drives productivity, enables customer connection, and supports growing sales orgs

Exclusive: ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

• Medium Text

ALGORITHMS NOT FOR SALE

Sign up here.

Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu; additional reporting by Josh Ye in Hong Kong, Sheila Dang in Austin, Texas and Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Jane Merriman and Jan Harvey

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Technology Chevron

Factbox: EU probes on Chinese subsidies and imports

The European Union launched an investigation into China's procurement of medical devices on Wednesday in a latest effort to protect home-grown manufacturers.