The Power of Planning
I am surprised how few sales professionals, independent consultants, and small business owners take the time to plan the strategy for their business. Most people spend more time writing out a grocery list or planning a vacation than they do planning the direction or outcome of their business. Many will determine a vague or general idea of what they want to accomplish but very few actually identify the specific action steps they will need to take in order to achieve their goals. I'm not suggesting you create a 25-30 page business plan like a good friend of mine writes every year, but I do recommend that you begin outlining the goals you want to accomplish and how you plan to get there.
It is one thing to set a target for yourself, it is quite another to actually plan how you will achieve it. When I establish my annual goals (which get more challenging every year), I ask myself, "How will I accomplish these goals?" This forces me to plan the tactics, strategies, and actions I need to undertake in order to achieve my targets. For example, if your business relies primarily on referrals, identify what you can do to increase the number of referrals you receive.
In her book, Get Clients Now!, author C. J. Hayden suggests using a monthly tracking sheet. This means setting specific monthly goals, planning what action you will take to generate new business, and tracking your progress. She suggests that you engage in a minimum of ten different marketing activities each week. This can include; networking, prospecting, cold calling, sending mailers, speaking, etc. A speaker I know spends most of his Monday planning and strategizing his week, determining exactly what activities he will execute in the upcoming few days.
How should you plan your business? It all depends on what you want to accomplish and what is important to you. I know I could probably increase my revenue significantly in the next 12 months, but it would require spending less time with my family. Only you can determine what is important. And this will change depending on what stage of life you are in. What is important to you now may be completely irrelevant six months from now. Here are five key areas to plan.
Revenue. If you are like most businesses, you likely have more than one product or service. Therefore, breaking down your sales into specific categories makes sense. This allows you to track your progress in each area and see where you can improve year over year. Plus, I can also determine the products or services I should stop selling because they don't generate very good sales.
Profit. Obviously, determining your gross sales is important. More importantly, though, is the amount of money you have left over at the end of the day. In other words, what profit are you going to generate? A professional speaker I know plans his business by deciding what profit he wants to earn by each year. He then creates his plan backwards to determine how he will achieve this. Remember, you can incredible sales but still go out of business.
Expenses. Controlling expenses is a critical aspect of running a profitable and successful business regardless of the size. All large organizations budget expenses but most independent business owners "wing it" and pay the bills as they come in. If you want to increase your revenues, you need to know how much it will cost you to generate your targeted sales. I remember talking to another trainer a few years ago who had learned this lesson. She began analyzing all of her expenses and found several areas she could trim. This freed up cash which she used to market her business. The result was more revenue with no additional out-of-pocket expense.
Vacation or Personal Time. How much free time do you want for yourself in the next year? I have learned that it is very easy to get sucked into the vortex of running a business and forget to take a vacation or personal time to recharge my batteries. Block those days in your calendar early in the year. This signifies a commitment and allows you to plan your business around these personal days. A friend of mine spends most of his summer scuba diving so he plans the rest of year accordingly. He works extremely hard but this frees up almost 3 months for him to partake in his favorite past-time.
Personal Development. I have found that the people who invest in themselves consistently outperform those who don't. Identify the skills that will help you become more successful. Determine what books, programs, courses, or people can help you learn these skills and take action.
Planning does take time. However, it is time well invested. Make the time in your hectic life to create a plan for next year's business. Review it regularly and make the necessary changes as you progress forward. You'll be glad you did.
Copyright 2004 Kelley Robertson. All rights reserved
Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of "Stop, Ask & Listen - Proven sales techniques to turn browsers into buyers." Visit his website at http://www.RobertsonTrainingGroup.com and receive a FREE copy of "100 Ways to Increase Your Sales" by subscribing to his 59-Second Tip, a free weekly e-zine.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exitingMore Strategic Planning Information:
Related Articles
Do You Have A Customer Identity Crisis?
The trick is to determine what uniquely identifies your best customers. Fortunately, deriving this information is not difficult, and in many cases can be obtained from innocuous questions.
The Magic Of Exponential Business Growth
Is there a 'magical' way to exponentially grow your business?It's about the timeless business principle known as "Re-investment".Look, one of the most exciting times for any new business is the time when effort begins to pay off.
How To Prepare A Business Plan That Guarantees Big Profits
It is always said "If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail"
Success in business comes as a result of planning. You have to have a detailed, written plan that shows what the ultimate goal is, the reason for the goal, and each milestone that must be passed in order to reach your goal.
Business Problem Solving
Is there really anything as a problem? Does chaos or challenge mean you have a problem? I am under the belief that such things as other call problems are indeed the life-blood of opportunity and the louder it knocks the greater the gain. Embrace chaos.
College Students and Graduates to Run Company Outlets or Franchises
Does your overall business strategy include the recruitment of college students to run your locations? Are you a franching company and looking for young, talented, hardworking and dedicated franchisees? There are some things to think about before you deploy such a strategy. There are both positives and negatives to focusing your recruitment efforts on college students, for instance best reason's to use college students include some of the following:They May Have Rich Parents Who Can Pay Outright For A Franchise;They May Have Parents Who Are Willing To Co-Sign For A Franchise;They are Young With Plenty Of Energy;They Have Little Business Experience And Will Not Try To Rewrite Our System;They Are Used To A Very Structured Environment;They Want To Succeed;They Might Have A Business Degree;They Are Sociable Animals And Good With People;They Will Study Our Operations Manual Cover To Cover;They Will Make Two To Three Times As Much With A Franchise Than Their First Corporate Job;They Love To Have Fun And This Is A Fun Job.
Breaking the Growth Barriers in the Information Technology and Software Sector
There's nothing automatic about corporate growth, particularly in the information technology industry; build it and they will come is a myth. In the real world there is either a structured, process-driven growth cycle, or stagnation-and stagnation is automatic.
I Always Play by the Rules and It Stinks!
This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call Jill. She's a bright woman, very compassionate and sweet.
5 Strategies That Will Boost Your Business Productivity Today! - Part 2
Growing your own small business can be one of the most exciting journeys you could ever embark upon!But it's important that you continuously implement new and fresh ways to generate sales and improve your profitability in order to stay ahead of the market!Here are the next 5 Strategies to help you propel your business to new heights of success!1. Develop your own Loyalty ProgramIf you have a look in my wallet, I have a Jesters Pies Card, a Subway Card and a Video Ezy card - all of which entitle me to something for nothing once I have made enough purchases!Some people will call me cheap?I just think it makes sense! If I'm going to buy something anyway?why not go somewhere that rewards me for my loyalty?If people have to buy your type of product or service from somewhere, why not make it more attractive for them to buy from you?Create your own loyalty program and create regular, satisfied customers who get rewarded for giving you their business!2.
Microsoft Great Plains in Agriculture - implementation highlights
In this small article we'll concentrate on farmers associations and non-profit state-sponsored organizations, dealing with subsidized state and federal programs distribution and management - loans to farmers and rural communities. As we realized this is relatively narrow market niche and it is almost ignored by software developers.
Connecting Your Offline Business to Your Online Business
These may sound like no brainers, but you'd be surprised. No matter how high-tech your business has become, there is no doubt you still have some non-electronic aspects of your company.
3 Ps of Planning - Prepare, Personalize, Pilot
Here's a really simple way to make sure your plans always
produce the results you expect."There is one quality which one must possess to win, and
that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one
wants, and a burning desire to possess it.
Nine Succession Planning Mistakes Small Businesses Should Avoid
1. Attempt Succession Planning Without Other Strategic Plans.
Alice In Wonderland - A Parable for A Business Plan
Remember reading "Alice in Wonderland?"She asks the Cheshire Cat, "which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where," said Alice.
Planning for Success
Business planning is widely acknowledged as one of the
keys to business success. Yet there is still a great
reluctance by small business owners in this area.
Own Your Niche by Building a Niche Community
In 1997, David Steele was making the transition from a professional therapist to relationship coach. Part of his strategy was to become a center of influence and THE Relationship Coach for his community.
Do You Really Need a Business Plan?
"I don't need a business plan."Neither did Alice in Wonderland.
Abstract thought on Business Strategy and Nature
Here is an abstract thought on studying nature and the natural order of things; things which work to help you better understand and strategize in business, war, sports or military operations. Let's compare the methods of distribution of organic viruses to all other more obvious distribution methods.
Top Reasons To Form A Strategic Business Alliance
A strategic alliance is when two or more businesses join together for a set period of time. The businesses, usually, are not in direct competition, but have similar products or services that are directed toward the same target audience.
Dayton, OH; Why your Company needs to expand there
In Ohio: besides the 3-Cs you should look at Akron, Dayton, Canton, Toledo, Youngstown and their suburbs. We have been serious studying these areas quite intensely for quite a while, here is what we found; Dayton OH, is looking up after the recent GM Plant received high ratings for productivity being able to beat the Domestic Averages for time to build cars and SUVs, it's SUV Plant was amongst the top performers in the Country for time to build at an average of 20.
3 Undercover Ways to Make Big Profits from Your Competition
You have heard that there is extra money on the table
marketing products related to yours. You have also heard
that your direct competitors product is off the table.