Showing posts with label writing a strategic business plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing a strategic business plan. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

So You Have a Newly Created Business Plan Format, Now What???

So You Have a Newly Created Business Plan Format, Now What???


You should be congratulated if you have completed a new shiny business plan format (that is finished) but now what do you do to implement it successfully into your organization?

I find most organizations big or small fall into 2 categories once a plan has been created for the year ahead.

1. We have spent so much time planning that I just need a break from it. Often management has spent months creating a fantastic plan but the important part of this is not the written plan itself but the implementation and action of "doing". Therefore sometimes plans just sit on the shelf "for a while" gathering dust.

2. A plan has been created successfully and management and key people are bursting with enthusiasm to get going with implementation.

Of course the 2nd scenario above is where we all aim to be.
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Here are 3 tips on implementing your business plans:

1. Business Plan Format Tip No. 1
Print out the plan and distribute it with a covering letter to all important people in your organization. The cover letter should mention the importance of the document and seek some feedback.

2. Business Plan Format Tip No. 2
Get different sections of your business to have a meeting/s to ascertain the 3 most important first actions required to move forward with key strategies resulting from the plan.

3. Business Plan Format Tip No. 3
Give out report cards each quarter for each main section of the business in regards to how much implementation has happened and reward those who have excelled.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

3 Keys to Writing a Strategic Business Plan That Unlocks Your True Potential

3 Keys to Writing a Strategic Business Plan That Unlocks Your True Potential





I want to present to you today an exact process for writing a strategic business plan. A process that potentially gives you the best chance of operating successfully no matter what business you are in.



Before we do this - I have a question. Why should you plan? Simple Answer really. Research suggests businesses with a workable written current plan achieve 63% higher growth than those in business without a plan.



I am sure in theory you know this to be true as well. Clearly having a plan to success for anything is better than no plan. This applies to life, building a house or running a business (as well as most significant other tasks in life).




Step 1 in Writing a Strategic Business Plan - Your Business Analysis



Starting point for planning is to take stock of your current situation. What is the current data or measurement around:

a) financials (profit and loss and balance sheet) on a monthly and year to date basis.

b) number of current customers and those that have used us over the past 12 months.

c) what is the current number of leads per month.

d) what is the conversion rate from lead to sale (measured over time).
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e) what is the average spend per customer over the previous 3 months.

f) what is the debt level, how many creditors, debtors.

g) team members - how many, how are they going?


Ideally prepare and compare all of this with last year's data. What is this really telling you?

Is business getting better or worse for you?




Step 2 In Writing a Strategic Business Plan - Analyse Your Sales and Market


Break up your total sales into product groups or specific products or services. Compared to the previous year are sales getting better or worse?

The next step is to break this data down into what types or groups of customers (the demographic). In other word who are your purchasers for each product and overall?

In most enterprises, 80% of sales come from 20% of customers. So who are your 20%?

Where are they and how do we attract more of them?


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Step 3 In Writing a Strategic Business Plan - SWOT Analysis and Write the Plan



SWOT is an acronym for Strengths (of the business), Weaknesses (of the business), Opportunities (of the market) and Threats (of competition and the market overall).

This is a perfect time to SWOT after completing steps 1 and 2.



Writing the plan becomes easier if you have completed all the steps so far.

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The plan itself should included

Vision for the future (3-5 year goals)

b) New products/ services strategies over time - what will we do?

c) Marketing strategy for lead generation, repeat business strategy and increasing the average spend strategy.

d) financial targets and strategy

e) sales strategy - what sales and conversion strategy and call plans?

f) Systems / Policies and Procedures: What new technology is required over time? Make a list of technology, accounting, customer service, measuring and review strategies to improve.

g) Team: How will you build a great team? What needs to improve? What is the communication between all of you like? How will you improve this?


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Monday, March 3, 2008

Try This Superior Business Plan Format For 90 Days And Watch For All Round Results

Having a business plan format that is relevant to your specific situation and simple to implement is the cornerstone to success. You see business plans are not just for starting a business or to focus on obtaining funding. These are two primary reasons for planning but there are many more reasons.

Statistics already prove to us from various studies that you are more likely to succeed if you have a business plan. Studies from all around the world highlight the fact of increased business success equals good planning. One Australian study of small business indicated that the enterprise with a strong but simple and current business plan will be 15% more likely to succeed over the long term. This was based on a sampling of over one hundred small businesses.

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The other reasons why you must have a current business plan are:

1.Focuses leaders and team members on internal operations.

2.Focuses on the objectives to be accomplished (the goals and targets) and a step by step strategy to get you there.

3.Allows a focus on all areas of the business. A business plan format covering all 10 areas of business is particularly valuable.

So as a business coach, I focus on 10 key areas of every business I work with. I have found this is a very powerful formula which I will outline below. This is relevant to every business regardless of industry.

An important point: It is fine to construct a large business plan for starting a business or to obtain funding but a more successful way to go for business growth is to complete 90 day action plans of 2-3 pages in length every 90 days.

The benefits of constructing a simple business plan format for the next 90 days are too many to mention here. But here is what you should include.

10 Key Items to Include In your 90 day business plan format.

1. Leadership: How will you lead yourself and your team? What is the big vision for 3-5 years down the track for the business? What is the vision for the next 1 year in your business?

2. Management: How will you spend your time? What strategies need to be implemented here to ensure efficiency for yourself and team? How much time will you spend working ON the marketing, sales and growth aspects of your business per week?

3. Financial Targets: Taking a 3 month view what will be your turnover or revenue per month? Your expenses forecast and most importantly, your profit targets per month?

4. Marketing strategy: What specific strategies will you target for lead generation over the next 90 days?

5. Marketing strategy for Increasing the Average Spend: Increasing the average spend should be measured. How will you increase this and what strategies will you implement over the next 90 days?

6. Marketing strategy for Repeat Customers: Exactly what strategy will you implement over the next 90 days to get more customers coming back again and again?

7. Planning: Do a 90 day plan every quarter forever and focus on it weekly or daily to plan out the next item to be implemented.

8. Systems: What internal procedures need to be written down, improved on or fine tuned?

9. Team: What training, learning and communication will you do as a team to improve the business over the next 90 days?

10. Sales: How can you improve your conversion rate from prospect to sale? Will you measure this and exactly what will you implement over the next 90 days? What are the sales targets per month? You need to include these crucial answers in your own business plan format.

Constructing a business plan format like this every 90 days means rapid focus on the key performance indicators which bring on success. Try it yourself and reap the benefits.

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

How Writing a Strategic Business Plan in 2 Hours or Less is of Immense Value for Your Small Business





How Writing a Strategic Business Plan in 2 Hours or Less is of Immense Value For Your Small Business


So what are the benefits of writing a strategic business plan? Well here are 5 main reasons why writing a strategic business plan equals maximum business success.


Writing a Strategic Business Plan Creates Better Management Results

Business planning has long been recognized as one of the first and critical functions of superior management. When planning is not done it is so much harder to lead effectively, to organize key staff, to know which marketing strategy to implement and to know how to grow your enterprise effectively.

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Keeps your business on track and in better control
There is a proven link between effective leadership control and planning. Why? A business moving towards a set of pre-determined goals and targets, with specific strategies, has against this, a set of measurements and tracking to control if it is effective or not. With this crucial information, a business can therefore make better decisions enabling a better chance of success.


Integrate personal and business goals effectively
By focusing on a mix of personal and business goals creates a more realistic feeling going forward. After all, business and personal are always entwined. We all want to achieve more in our work or career so that our personal live is more effective.
A great idea is to put into every plan your three top five year goals for your company. Then your top three personal goals (only if you are the leader or owner).


Then deviate to the short term. Write down your three top one year business goals and personal goals. Have the courage to do this and put it in writing. Review it weekly and look at the possibility of changing your plan every 90 days. Follow this formula for the best chance of long term success.


Writing a Strategic Business Plan Enables Focus on Goals and Directions
Goal orientated companies generally out perform those without goals. A big statement but a truism as far as I am concerned. Are your business goals written down and clear?
If not, consider a 5 year view, a 1 year view and a 90 day view of your business and personal goals that are written down and smart tested. Smart tested stands for Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and have a Time frame.


Improve the efficiency of your systems and overall business performance
Policies and procedures are a vital part of your business improvement so writing a strategic business plan must outline what procedures you intend to improve over the next ninety days and beyond. A practical step depending on the size of your organization is to take one system or procedure every one to two weeks and write it down, look at it’s process and involve your team (if applicable) in improving it and document it further.


Imagine the difference in your business if twenty six policies and procedures were focused on and ultimately improved each year. Now that is continuous improvement at its greatest. Writing a strategic business plan with the planned procedures is an important bridge between thinking and implementation.


Writing a strategic business plan need not be a complicated, drawn out process. It can be motivating, enlightening, empowering and reflect the true feelings of leaders and others to achieve outstanding success. If you are serious about getting business success you must have a strategic business plan. Otherwise where you want your business to go and where you want it to be might not be where it finishes. Business failure and the lack of planning go hand in hand. The statistics tell us this. You need a plan to give yourself the best possible chance of outstanding success.

As a business coach, I create 90 day action plans every 90 days for all of my clients and the direct result is motivation, direction, focus and better results.

90 day plans are brilliant for small business leaders and their teams in focusing in on the key actions, strategies and tactics for the next 90 days. Best of all they are only 2-3 pages long.

But look what is included in a perfect 90 day plan.

1. Leadership - Tell me what is your big picture vision for the next 3-5 years. Write down 3 clear goals of what it will look like.

2. Planning - If your long term vision is to have a profit of $500k within 3 years. You should write 12 x 90 day plans breaking down into smaller pieces exactly how you will get there. What strategies and actions will you undertake for the next 3 months only. Then when that is finished do it all again - create a 2 page 90 day plan outlining the strategy for the next 3 months. By breaking your vision and goals from the long term down into smaller 3 months plans with no more than 12 strategies, you are on a winning management strategy.

3. Day to Day Management and Time Management.

4. Systems - policies and procedures will you update, improve on or implement.

5. Sales - what targets, what training, what sales management strategies will you include.

6. Marketing -Lead generation - what actions are required to bring in prospects.

7. Marketing - Increase the average spend of customers -How will you do this?

8. Marketing - Repeat customers - how will you continuously communicate to them?

9. Finances - What reporting will you do? Are the systems for debtors and creditors clearly established?

10. Team - Both internal and external - how will you hire, train and keep communicating effectively to them.

Writing a strategic business plan is one of the most rewarding pursuits to do and keeping it shorter, practical and concise will mean you will look at it more frequently and take action.