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Chapter 15—How do you create a
realistic action plan?

Putting together a marketing calendar requires realistic
thinking about what tactics you can undertake with your
resources. If you’re using an outside firm or firms to support
your marketing, you have an advantage in that they will carry
the bulk of the workload. But don’t assume that your time
won’t be needed—it will. No outside firm can undertake B2B
marketing in a vacuum. If they try, they won’t be able to create
as valuable of a product—they simply won’t have enough of
your technical knowledge to develop and distribute the content
that is needed to establish you as a leader.

I suggest two ways for developing a realistic marketing
calendar. The first is the “work-back” plan:

a) Determine your total capacity. For example, if you have
a part-time marketing resource (half of an FTE), your
marketing capacity is roughly eighty hours per month.

b) Identify your fixed marketing activities—the major
industry conferences, trade shows, and other events.
Enter these on your marketing calendar along with
relevant deadlines, such as the deadline for shipping the
booth.

c) Identify the tactics related to those fixed events and
estimate the time needed for them.

• If you’re using your own resources for marketing,
especially if you’re starting marketing with minimal
infrastructure in place, be prepared for tasks to take

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© 2012 Lisa Shepherd