| Last time, we talked about focusing on doing
more business with 'profitable customers', pursuing new
business in a more targeted manner, and making a plan to
follow through. (See: SmartFast e-news, The 80-20 Rule.)
FOCUS = STRATEGY
You've probably heard the expression 'READY - FIRE - AIM'
to describe business strategies that didn't produce the
results desired. Focus is aiming before you take action.
Focus is targeting customers and positioning yourself in
the marketplace, distinguished from the competition.
Focus is much easier said than done. Focus means eliminating
potential customers from your plan.
One way to test your focus is to draw a circle on the white
board and put inside the circle your targeted customers.
Listing specific attributes of your favorite customers
or type of work helps to sharpen the focus.
Now write all around the outside of the circle the customers
that you don't want, can't meet the needs of, or for some
reason aren't a good fit. You may move customers/work from
outside the circle to inside and vice versa. The idea
is that what's inside the circle is your target market.
The more specific you can be about the customer attributes
and type of work that you want, the more clear your target
market will become. For example, as I look at my circle,
I see that a key work area for me is agreements (a broad
range of agreements, including for example: consulting services,
independent contractor, shareholder, employment, technology
licensing, leases ...).
By asking a couple more questions, I can begin to assess
whether my marketing and message are reaching one of my
target markets: business people who need agreements prepared
or reviewed.
FOLLOW THROUGH = ACTION PLAN
Follow through means developing a plan to reach the target
market.
The first step is to state the goals for one year from today.
Next, write out a rough, scribbly, one-page action plan
for how you will achieve the goals. What specific steps
will you take?
The writing process helps:
- Articulate action steps
- Examine alternatives
- Surface your assumptions
- Get feedback
- Prioritize
Next, lay out the planned actions on a calendar timeline.
With a timeline, you can visually see your plan. Share
your calendared action plan with friends, colleagues or
mentors - the smart, experienced people you often turn to
when making decisions affecting your future.
Within this framework, you can make some choices about how
to use your time and resources. In addition, you can sequence
your activities relative to the cycles of your business.
For example, the plan for a seasonal business should leverage
the slow times.
As you revise your timeline, with the feedback from colleagues
and advisers, it becomes an action-oriented road map.
The timeline/road map is a framework to keep in mind as
you make day-to-day decisions. The plan can always be
changed. But without a plan, you're flying blind.
To conclude, focus and follow through is another way of
saying 'plan the work, work the plan.'
As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. Any topics
you'd like to see addressed?
Jean D. Sifleet
Attorney & CPA
P.S. This article is excerpted from the book that I'm writing,
tentatively
called THE ENTREPRENEUR'S JOURNEY. Please send an e-mail
if you'd like to be notified when it's available.
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