Ask for marketing dollars

Don't be shy with the vendors that you're buying from. Remember, they'ree trying to sell as much product through you and your company as possible. Did you know that they allocate millions of dollars a year just for marketing to partners and marketing through partners. That is you! This is how it works. You run a local marketing campaign. You can run a direct mail campaign, or you can set up a booth at a trade who, or you can offer your sales reps some type of cash or merchandise incentive. All you have to do is put together a plan. The plan does not need to be elaborate it just needs to make sense and it needs to relate back to the manufacturer products you are requesting. Don't think thta HP will pay for a direct mail campaign to sell SUN, it's competitor. Be smart about it. Think about all of your costs. Itemize them. Think about what you are trying to achieve. You might want to generate new leads? How many? You might want to generate new business? How much? By when? Think about these kind of metrics and relate them back to the funds that you are asking for. Sum up your costs and then submit it to your representative for approval. Make sure, once it is approved, to write down the approval number. Some companies will even have an online form to complete with a mini-marketing plan built into it. Good luck! If you need any help writing the plan let me know.

Here is a plan structure you can use:

1. Your company name and contact information

2. Activity type (example; direct mail)

3. Activity costs (don't be skimpy)

4. Describe your event or campaign

5. Total requested amount

6. Performance Objectives

7. What product(s) are you planning to support?

8. What markets are you planning to cover?

9. If you have done this before, explain your successes