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
Shortening Product Life Cycle!
The current state of the available technology at the disposal of designer is the most limiting determinant to what is technically and economically feasible to develop, therefore research into metatechnology such as computer science, whereby interdisciplinary spin off provides advances that both directly increase capabilities, and affects other technologies to dramatically improve system performance, is a necessity, the implication being that despite many of the basic principles being relatively static, the technology used is essentially in a state of constant development.Such developments result in smaller, more efficient, cheaper and more reliable components.
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.
Five Crucial Components of a Business Plan
The format of a Business Plan is something that has been
developed and refined over the years and is something that should
not be changed. Like a good recipe, a business plan needs to
include certain ingredients to make it work.
Buying Used Detailing Equipment and Rainy Day Services
Mobile auto detailing equipment becomes very inexpensive around March each year. If you look on eBay or your local classified section of the newspaper you will see.
Business Plan: The Simplest Business Plan Ever
If you're a solo professional like I am, you know how tough it is to find any time at all to do any business planning. Doing a full business plan is a must if you're planning to seek financing or investors, but most solo professionals don't need anything that complicated.
The Top Ten Rules of Effective Networking
Many of us are discouraged by the networking events that we go to. We feel swamped by people just looking to get money from us, and we rarely feel as though the event was worth our time.
Business Disaster? Wont Happen to Me
As fast as you can say business disaster, your business can go up in smoke. That's what happened a while back to Castle Carpet One.
Ten Steps To A Great Strategic Plan
Ask a small business owner about their strategic plan and they'll either laugh or get that stricken look in their eyes. Yet it's well documented that businesses with a strategic plan are more successful.
Offense: Beat the Odds
When in doubt, cut that out! Yeah, yea, doubting Thomas may have had a point in his day, and life may not be what you want it to be, but if you constantly doubt yourself, how can you accomplish anything?Where is your confidence? What possible good can come from taking the negative aspect of any situation and growing it into acceptance?Purpose of achievement is to attain a goal. So, if you set your goals and strive to get there, it should be assumed that you are moving toward your goal (at least so far as intent) no matter what you are doing, right?I vaguely remember an instructor from college saying once, "If there are two ways to take something, always input the benefit of doubt and assume the better more optimistic choice is the right way to take it.
Who is Responsible?
While writing an article recently on effective ways to bridge the IT/Management communication gap, I realized that few of us are eager to take responsibility in our business lives to make something different happen and be part of the solution.Indeed, we have a culture based on blaming: sellers would obviously close more sales if it weren't for the buyer; decisions could easily get made in meetings if people could make up their minds; systems would get designed correctly if the users could get it right the first time; teammates would get along if it weren't for those in the team that were difficult, etc.
Clearing the Path: 4 Ways Fear Wreaks Havoc on Your Dream and What to Do About It
Please take a moment before you read any further and answer these three simple questions:1. Are you making daily progress towards accomplishing your business vision?2.
Will and Vision
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by storm in 1932?
Of course you don't. Chux saw its product as a luxury item, and happily kept its little throwaway business to itself for almost forty years.
Break-Even Analysis
A significant advantage of some business ideas is that the venture can break even at what seems to be an easily achievable volume. A technique for quantifying that volume, called break-even analysis, examines the interaction among fixed costs, variable costs, prices, and unit volume to determine that combination of elements in which revenues and total costs are equal.
Top Ten Reasons To Create A One Page Business Plan
There is a story, about a business owner who wasn't doing very well. She had no business plan, but had heard, quite a bit, how creating one would help.
How to Write a Business Plan in Five Steps
People often ask "What makes a good business plan? Or, "How do I make my plan attractive to lenders and investors?".The simple answer is that lenders and investors (I'll call them "readers" from here on out) are looking for "good deals".
Writing a Business Plan for Success in Business and for Funding
Writing a business plan to help you direct and manage your company is a key part of starting you new company that will help lead you and your company to success. Creating a "living and breathing" business plan makes that success even easier to reach.
Three Easy Ways To Know Thy Competitor
"Did you hear what your competitor is doing?" This question has caused many business people to freeze in their tracks. How about you? Does your sales team know what your competitors are doing? And if a prospect was to ask them, "give me 10 unique reasons why I should buy from you and your company," could they answer this question without a pause? "Knowing thy competitor" is critical, and this article will outline three easy ways to know more about them, than they know about you! Let's get started!Their people: Begin by "shopping" on the telephone, by mail and in-person, the competitors who offer similar pricing and products as your company.
Defining Go for It Business Goals
Many business start-up kits or consultants will tell you one of the first steps to starting a business is to define your business goals. Your goals may differ from the goals of another individual, for example; some people want freedom to do what they want to do, whenever they want, and without having to report to someone else.
More Uses for Your Business Plan
You have invested a lot of time and energy on writing a business plan just to get a loan or to attract an investor. What do you do when you get the money or, worse, should you be turned down?Do you just file it away? That's like investing in a boat that remains parked in your driveway after its inaugural voyage.
The Chasm of Change---- Restructuring ----- The Goliath
Richard L. Daft one of the country's recognized academic leadership experts raises the question, "What kind of people can lead an organization through major change?" A Turn-A-Round restructuring qualifies as major change and requires transformational leadership.
A Unique Joint Venture Twist: Make Huge Profits Even If You Have No Money, No Products, and No List
Would you like to jumpstart your online or offline business without spending a ton of money?Without a doubt, joint venture marketing is the most powerful secret to making money online or offline.In its simplest form, you partner with someone else: You either sell their product to your customer base or they sell your product to theirs.
Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Pharmaceutical Corporation Specifics - overview
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves mid-size and large clients in horizontal and vertical markets. Historically Great Plains Software was encouraging ISV partner to write third party modules and later on - Great Plains Software had a chance to select the product for incorporation into their core set of modules: Manufacturing, Project Accounting, Purchase Order Processing, Collection Management, etc.
A Rough Cut on Feasibility
A piano tuner recently moved to Buffalo, NY, and would like to assess the business possibilities for him in his new home. He plans to estimate how many piano tuners the greater Buffalo area can support, and compare that to the number listed in the phone book.