As a marketing strategy and sales execution consultant to business owners and small businesses, I see it all; the good, the bad and the ugly.

While I know first hand about the hard road of entrepreneurship, I'm most surprised at how quickly my clients develop an aversion to skinning their knees on sales and marketing plans. All too often they try something once and then if they don't get a result they just stop trying. 

I'm telling you I have some wicked scars on my legs that you can only earn my trying to jump the railroad tracks. I never cleared them until I completely bailed(on more than one occasion) by pushing my 10 year old self beyond the limit. While the skinned knee hurt like heck, I lived to tell tale.  After my wipe outs, I knew exactly what it took to clear the tracks and I had the skinned knee to prove it.

If you are a small business that wants to increase sales fast, you need to develop a marketing plan with a skinned knee.

Here are some great tips for getting started skinning your knee today:

1.) Go talk to your top customers and ask them what they like least about your product or service offering.  If this is too freaky, invite them to play and Innovation Game (www.innovationgames.com).

2.) Try blogging on a regular basis about something meaningful and invite a few customers to read your blog.  Some of this 21st century stuff is not all bad or a waste of time.

3.) Build your own jumps out of whatever you can find.   Figure out how to be resourceful and get the sale and marketing idea done.

4.) Shadow a competitor and to see what they might teach you about you small businesses marketing plan and opportunities for improvement.

5.) Take a look at a sale or marketing idea you said would never work for your business and try it.

If you need help skinning your knee give me a shout!