Failing To Plan Is Planning To Fail!

Business quarters come around fast. So I thought I would share with you three small actions you can take to make it your best quarter ever.

I’ve seen other business owners do this and see a rapid acceleration in the growth of their businesses. It’s one of the secrets to their success.

 

Action 1 – DO a Plan

Do you want to achieve more and grow your business faster? Then one of the fundamental ways to do this is take a little bit of time out of the day-to-day running of your business and do a simple one-page plan for the next quarter.

Why bother? Well, this simple process, done correctly and then carried out will make your business grow quicker and make more money.

You may be thinking I’ve heard this before, how can this really accelerate my growth and make me more money? Let me explain.

The reason making a simple one-page plan works is because it will focus you on achieving your key priorities and make you accountable to doing what the plan says:

·       It is there in black and white; it will be clear to you if you are achieving what you set out to do or not

·       It creates pressure on you to do more and stay focused on the priorities

Indeed, there is plenty of research that shows that companies that make and use plans grow their sales revenue quicker and have higher profit margins.

 

So how do you begin this process?

⇒  Start with deciding what are your key objectives for the quarter. No more than 3-4. Don’t overwhelm yourself. It’s about making it achievable. When you achieve these goals, it will give you confidence and motivation to do it again the following quarter. This way momentum builds and before you know it you are flying.

⇒  Your chosen objectives need to be specific and be able to be measured (so you can know if you have achieved them or not). Importantly, they are not day-to-day things, but strategic objectives that move your business forward to better results. For example, implementing two new marketing strategies to drive more leads.

⇒  Ask yourself what practical step-by-step actions do you need to take to reach that objective.

⇒  What do you need to learn to achieve that particular goal? – Taking my marketing example above, that could mean taking a course on digital marketing, watching an online tutorial or reading a book on marketing strategy.

 

 

Action 2 – ACTION the Plan

Now you have your plan, actually carry it out. Some practical tips to help you stick with it include:

  1. Put the plan up on the wall so you (and your team) can see it and are reminded of what you need to do.
  2. Diarise the practical actions you need to take so you ensure you make time to do them
  3. If you have a team, allocate those actions to specific team members and a timeframe for completing the action.
  4. To give yourself motivation, tick off each action as you do it. Feel good about the progress you are making
  5. If you don’t want it on your wall, put it on an Excel spreadsheet and each time you complete an action, colour it green!

 

Action 3 – REVIEW the Plan

Finally, every two weeks review your progress against your plan, Are you on target, or have you slipped behind?

Don’t beat yourself up if you have failed to meet one action in your plan. Just understand why and what adjustments you can make to get back on track. It’s about being flexible, but aware of your progress so you keep pushing forward in a focused way.

Remember, without the plan you wouldn’t even realise you are falling behind. Time would just drift.

This simple process of preparing a quarterly plan, actioning it and reviewing your progress regularly, will accelerate the progress and results of your company. No doubt about it you will:

  • Develop energy, vision and focus for the next quarter to enable your business to accelerate its growth
  • Network with other local business people, who like you want to develop more focus and grow their businesses. You will learn from each other and some attendees end up doing business together
  • Get some great business education on topics such as lead generation, growing profits and increasing productivity
  • High quality catered lunch and refreshments throughout the day

 

Do you need help with planning your business?

Give me a call and I would be happy help. More importantly, stop worrying about what might happen and take control of what you can control. Act now.

Email me at jamesfrancis@actioncoach.com, Call me on 07768384223 or why not book in with me you can book direct into my calendar by clicking here.