How to Write a Winning Business Plan

Market: Here you provide marketing statistics, quotes from stories and other information that will back up your claim that there is a robust market for your product or service.

Marketing Strategy and Tactics: In this section, you need to provide a plan for how you want to position the product or service. For example, Budweiser is targeted at the masses, but a microbrewer such as Sierra Nevada is targeted at wealthy patrons. Once you have decided your product positioning, then you can list your tactics, such as newspaper, Internet and television advertising.

Sales Strategy and Process: In this section, you need to describe how you plan to sell the product or service and your process for closing a strategic partnership, alliance and sale.

Revenue Streams: This section details how the company has or will make money.

Competition: This is an analysis of the company with a spreadsheet comparison of your proposed venture and its major competitors. This section should also talk about the company's competitive advantages.

Retention Strategy: I put this in all my plans, and I have been told by many venture capitalists and private equity groups that they rarely see plans that mention how they intend to keep their clients. Most entrepreneurs are so focused on obtaining sales that they don't think about getting the same people to purchase on an ongoing basis and to recommend to others to buy.