Time for the Business Plan
That old saying "plan your work and work your plan" is a constant reminder on the road to success. The problem is the plan that we want to work has to be relatable to our approach to business and marketing. Ask yourself the question: what report card is meaningful and what can I relate to in tracking my performance? Each year I make my business and marketing plan for the coming year. There are several ways of doing this and over the years I have based it on many factors. The one that works best for me also tells me if my work level is sufficient. A good business and marketing plan starts with your previous year's accomplishments and a comparison of goals reached or missed. I see nothing wrong with not making a goal as long as we are truthful with ourselves. For me it is all about activity and how many people I see in a year. I call this group "new seens" and it how I measure my success. Most years I will see about 700 new seens in a work year and for me this number has substance and meaning. Setting goals is essential to building and running a business. By examining your success in relationship to your goals allows you to keep a running total on your years activity. Most work years will only have about 40 weeks that matter. If my goal is 700 new seens a year and I plan a work year of 40 weeks then it is easy to see if I am on track. If I do a check up at the first quarter and find I am behind, I do not try to catch up with super activity. I merely adjust the goal and try and keep on track with my weekly and monthly new seen goal. Trying to catch up with past lower numbers is not possible and makes the tracking system less than accurate. I always write my plan down and keep it updated so I know my numbers and can compare them against my desired goal. If I find myself ahead I will take another week off as long as I know I will reach my numbers. I would schedule this week off at a time when it would have meaning and not just for the sake of not working. If you haven't planned 2008 yet try my method and see how it would make sense for you. To me the more activity I have makes the most sense for my planning. If you decide on an alternative approach to your annual business plan make certain it becomes part of your daily and weekly business life. |
