Small business people I believe are simply tired of hearing about another plan, another system, they simply want to get the work done. We have all heard all the reasons and I can recite zillions of them way too much for this blog but the simple fact is, we accomplish more with a plan. But how do we get started. Look at your top producers, they are probably already doing one that works within your company but it may not be documented.
The quickest and most effective way is to build a plan on where you are at. On what is working. It is one of the most important processes that you can do. Then you can define your objectives, develop strategies to achieve them, than institute action plans to carry out your strategies. If your objectives are not being met your strategies and actions may need to be changed. But without a baseline and a plan to work from, the process and achievements are only arbitrary.
As an example, most businesses have no sales process whatsoever. An effective sales process spans from lead generation to include marketing through sales closure. Pick one area at a time and make a commitment to improve that. You might have a long list, but you have to start somewhere and before too long you'll have dramatically improved.
John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing simply states that you must live by a marketing calendar. The idea is to keep doing something related to marketing, according to plan, day in and month out. When you plan your marketing activities using a calendar, your focus tends to be on the immediate goal leaving the long term goals become part of the process. Tracking and accountability is built into the calendar so that you can see the progress or where you may become off-track.
How does your calendar look?
