Basics of Business Plan Screening Part 02

It can be said that the marketing section of a business plan expresses how the business intends to engage the world around it.  This expression provides the context for the rest of the business plan.

Studying the marketing section allows proper understanding of how the business is supposed to work; what activities it will engage in, who all the players are, what’s supposed to happen, when and how and why, etc.  If the marketing section tells the right story, it is onward to the organization section.

How the business intends to organize and lead its people is a key factor is determining the probability of viability of the business.  In the organization section, the business lays out how it is going to meet its functional responsibilities to best carry out the activities laid out in the marketing section.  For example, does the organization and deployment of personnel reflect the skill sets and “fit” required to carry out the functional responsibilities?  If the organization section doesn’t properly support the marketing section, the whole plan is chucked out.  If the organization section tells the right story, it is on to the financial section.