On the 9th day of Business Planning my true love gave to me… CUSTOMER RETENTION! Sales Expert Jeffrey Gitomer states, “Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.” So often, once we’ve successfully helped our customers navigate their way to the closing table, we send them on their merry way and we neglect to stay in touch. It’s easier, and typically far less expensive, to retain a customer than it is to generate a new one. So it’s well worth taking the time to map out a plan for staying in contact with all your customers post-sale. STOP NOW and determine your level of … [Read more...]
12 Days of Business Planning – Day 8: SALES SYSTEMS
On the 8th day of Business Planning my true love gave to me… SALES SYSTEMS! Let’s face it, nothing happens in business unless a sale is made. And yet, most people spend precious little time evaluating this area of their business. A successful sales facet requires purposefully and thoroughly looking at your sales system from start to finish and understanding the best ways to manage all your sales activities. Have you determined what your sales funnel looks like? By this, we mean everything involved in the acquisition of leads all the way through to closing the sale. What are the … [Read more...]
12 Days of Business Planning – Day 7: TEAM GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
On the 7th day of Business Planning my true love gave to me… TEAM GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT! With the growth you’re planning for the coming year, is your existing team capable of meeting the needs of your business? This can be a very challenging area for many business owners. Maybe you’re under-staffed and the growth will stall if you don’t get more help. Or perhaps you hired someone because you liked them, but their skillset doesn’t measure up to the needs of the job. STOP NOW, take out your team’s individual job descriptions and evaluate their contribution to the business by way of … [Read more...]
12 Days of Business Planning – Day 6: MARKETING
On the 6th day of Business Planning my true love gave to me… MARKETING! Marketing is so much more than shiny business cards and a flashy website. In fact, Marketing is truly grounded in Financials. You need to know these very important aspects: What are all the marketing avenues you’ve invested in? How much are you spending in each of those areas? What return have you been able to track to each of those areas? What revenue was generated as a result? STOP NOW and write down every marketing item you’re doing. Have you been tracking where your business is coming from? If so, … [Read more...]
12 Days of Business Planning – Day 5: PRODUCTS & SERVICES
On the 5th Day of Business Planning my true love game to me… PRODUCTS and SERVICES! Yesterday we discussed the Financials facet. Products & Services are what generate the revenue. Each of your products and services should be individually evaluated. How much revenue did each bring in? What were the expenses associated? If the return was positive, what improvements can you do to make it more profitable? If the return was negative, should you keep offering it with modifications to make it more profitable, or stop selling it altogether? There might be new products or … [Read more...]
