--- title: It's Still The Wrong Question description: The right question is actually a series of four or five questions. As you are planning your 2007 marketing program, I encourage you to ask them. image: https://www.liftenablement.com/hs-fs/file-359958343/blog-files/images --- ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner # It's Still The Wrong Question [ Doug Davidoff ](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/author/doug-davidoff) Sep 1, 2010 3:30:09 AM ![](https://www.liftenablement.com/hs-fs/file-359958343/blog-files/images "Budget")I'm excited to hear the story of growth everyday in the CEO and salesperson lexicon.  I'm beginning to see more and more companies looking to invigorate the marketing and sales initiatives that grow their markets.  The danger is that people are still asking the wrong question regarding these initiatives. I originally wrote this post four years ago and it's still on point.  I thought I'd share it with you again: I recently had a conversation about some marketing initiatives. As we were outlining our objectives, I was asked the question, “How much are you comfortable spending on this initiative?” While this is a very common question – it is the wrong one. This is the kind of question that leads to poor execution. It is also one of the reasons people who are not sales and marketing people look at marketing with disdain. The right question is actually a series of four or five questions. As you are planning your 2007 marketing program, I encourage you to ask them.   If the answer to this question is ‘no’, then you must go through the following additional decision tree: While this approach requires both marketers and executives to think more, it is the only process that has any chance of working over the long term. As I’ve discussed previously, one of the underlying requirements is to allocate your limited resources (time, money, and energy) effectively against those activities that have the best chance of advancing the organization towards its critical objectives. I’ve seen too many organizations work extraordinarily hard without achieving their desired fast-growth results. One of the major causes is that they under-invest in too many initiatives. Under-investing is the result of focusing on a desired budget instead of focusing on the desired result. Don’t make that mistake. 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