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If you haven’t figured me out by now, I have a passion for sports. I love watching as well as playing. This week I had the opportunity to attend my sons first soccer game of the year. It was an exciting game and they almost won. I have to say the plan was penetration, defense and passing. This was the coach’s strategy and they almost won. The other team was clearly better and it came down to the best out of 5 shots at the end of the game. Both coachess had a strategy and it served them well.

Having a strategy in business is just like having a strategy in soccer. Maybe not the exact components but clearly running a business needs a strategy. What’s your strategy for marketing? Do you have one? Do you need one? I believe you do? So here are my 5 tips for having a market strategy in your business.

The first one is to have some kind of social media strategy. Make it part of your daily routine. Currently I’m on Facebook and Twitter. Linkedin is also a great way to connect with people. I also have a website. It is very important that you are using social media for your marketing. This is a way of reaching a huge market for free! It’s also important to have some kind of objectives around these social media sites describing how often you are going to post. Hopefully you are using social media to drive traffic to your website. Maybe it’s the connection piece that ‘s important to you for these sites, the by all means connect. Maybe email campaigns are important, or blogs and ezines. My point is to connect with real people and talk with them and form a strategy around doing this?

The second one is to have some kind of offline strategy! This is the hardest for me. This is where you stop hiding behind your computer and get out there in a big way. Some things that I am doing is attending networking events like Business Networking International. Networking works, do you belong to some kind of networking group? A week ago I was interviewed on local television station about my business. This is a big way to get known for what you do. Radio is another way and it’s not as scary as television. Another offline strategy I use is participating at Trade Shows. Trade shows are fun and you meet a number of potential clients.

Thirdly, have some kind of strategy into building a relationship with potential clients so you gain their confidence! Remember most people will do business with who they know, like and trust. What does this look like? Give them something for free. On my website which is connected to my blog, I offer a free PDF to read on 5 Tip of balancing life and work for success. So give your prospects something for free. This will give the potential client a way of discerning if you are the right fit for them in a non-threatening way! In the long run this should translate into more clients for you!

My fourth one you can do everyday. Have some kind of strategy that creates awareness! What are you doing to create the buzz about you! This can be done both online and offline. I’ll talk about offline right now. What I’ve been doing is telling everyone I know about my business, and it has been stirring up interest. Some examples for me have been on print, such as giving business cards. Another is giving out flyers of your upcoming events.

Lastly, have some kind of strategy to your warm market. When I introduced my new coaching business. I wrote a warm letter telling my friends and family what I was doing. Have you done this yet? Like in soccer, strategy has one purpose to score enough goals to win. And to do this you must have a strategy in place. The same with business, the goal is to have a successful business with revenue so you can live the life that you always wanted. My favorite commercial is the Nike slogan “Just do it!” So what are you waiting for! JUST DO IT!

If you go to work every day, you might as well go all the way and shoot for the pinnacle of your profession. It’s a competitive world, so set your sights high. If you’re going to take the risk and invest the time, strive for greatness.

Ever since Jim Collins wrote his best-selling book, Good to Great, in 2001, business people worldwide have been fixated on greatness. Why do some companies do so well when a similar competitor languishes? Why do some companies transition from being merely successful to being truly great? What traits and behaviors separate the good from the great?

Of course, good-versus-great questions apply not only to companies; they can be asked of people who want to be great salespersons or marketers.

And remember, everyone is in sales and marketing regardless of their title.

Whether you’re selling medical equipment, working in business development or brokering international business transactions, it’s frankly easy to fail. Salespersons, marketers and dealmakers in every profession commonly fail. Some succeed, but only a tiny percentage achieves greatness.

The question then is what sales-and-marketing traits will lead you to the top of your profession?

Character – Great professionals are ethical and honest. They don’t tell a client or colleague what he or she wants to hear, it’s what they need to hear. Leaders with character tend to hire employees who are also upstanding citizens. Together, they attract clients of character. Everybody wins.

Be competitive – “Second don’t mean nothin’,” said Hall of Fame football coach Barry Switzer who led the Oklahoma Sooners to three national championships and the Dallas Cowboys to the Superbowl. Play to win. Be persistent. Don’t let anything fall through the cracks. Keep track of your competition and do what it takes to run at least a couple steps ahead of them. Be bold for the world has no room for shrinking violets.

Interpersonal skills – It sure helps if you possess some charisma, but rule number one is to listen. Great professionals listen and truly HEAR. When you are engaged in conversation, remember it’s not about you; it’s about your client.

Strategic Thinking – Have a plan that takes into account the big picture. What’s your philosophy? Strong organizations have developed mission and vision statements. Great individuals need them too.

Focus – Whether you are looking at this from an organizational perspective or a personal one, determine your competencies and spend the majority of your time, energy and resources working on those. If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, ask yourself, “Am I doing what is truly important?”

Have a good product – Contrary to the popular saying, nobody can really sell ice to Eskimos. If your product or service doesn’t stand on its own merit, trying to sell it is no different than beating your head against the wall.

Others first – Real estate agents, accountants and trustees are said to have “fiduciary” responsibilities to their clients. In other words, they are legally required to put the client’s interest before their own. No matter what you do, pretend you have a fiduciary duty to the customers you serve. If you do this, you will build rapport, which leads to a relationship, which leads to the holy grail of sales and marketing: trust.

Ability to handle stress – “There are many guys who can paint an incredibly cogent picture of why a company should be investing in China or why a football team should run a certain offense,” says Joe Moglia, who serves as both chairman of TD Ameritrade and a head coach in the United Football League. “The reality is, when things are not going well, when you’re losing money in China, and your guys keep fumbling the ball, how do you handle yourself?”

Keep prospecting – No matter how busy you are as you put the finishing touches a big deal, remember to think about future deals. Always take time to fill your hopper, so you always have a steady supply of business. Don’t get emotionally attached to a certain piece of business, because you give up your power. Always go where the business is, where your best prospects live. It makes no sense to fish for business in a deserted lake.

Wrap it up – Ultimately, the purpose of marketing is to get somebody to say “yes.” Know what you hope to achieve from a prospect before you meet him or her and then keep steering the conversation toward closure.