Do you “…love it when a plan comes together?”

Posted by Hugh Alford, TACK International, January 2012.

When planning for Survival and Success in 2012, it will depend partly on how you survived the first dip of recession. Now it's threatening to turn into a ‘double dip’ some further changes are needed. 

A number of key questions need to be included for this year’s plan. Yet how will you evaluate success and failure in 2012?

• What benchmarks are you setting compared to the best companies?
• What critical factors do you need to incorporate into your plan to improve your company’s future decision making effectiveness?
• What goals and targets should you set for individual units in your business to ensure performance is directed towards your overall corporate objectives this year?
• How do other companies assess the threats and determine their opportunities?
• What resources can you utilise to maximum effect during this year?
• What skills of your management team need to be developed to create the necessary changes for 2012?

To be able to fully exploit your Total Market Opportunity in 2012, your Planned Business Development (PBD) requires an organised approach that achieves the right balance of, and movement between, each of these four categories.

1. ACTIVE CUSTOMERS                  AC
2. ACTIVE PROSPECTS                   AP
3. IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL              IP
4. UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL         UP

Whether you are setting business goals, wishing to reduce risks and loss to your business or determining the opportunities and threats you are likely to encounter in 2012, often you are looking for the ‘difference’ that will make the ‘difference’.

PLANNED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT = (RETAINING AND DEVELOPING AC’s) + (CONVERTING AP’s TO AC’s) + (CONVERTING IP’s TO AP’s) + (CONVERTING UP’s TO IP’s).

People who attended TACK's Planning for Success 2012  in Manchester on Friday 13th January 2012, worked through the morning getting some ideas to help their planning in sales, performance management, negotiation, giving feedback and networking, plus the latest selling ideas for the digital age.

Keep an eye out on this web site for further upcoming events from TACK International.
 

About the author

Hugh Alford is an experienced sales and management trainer and is the author of our bi-annual 'Buyers views of sales people' and 'Sales leadership' research studies. He is a forward thinking and innovative trainer with significant contributions to the constant evolvement of our open and in-company training programmes. You can follow Hugh on Twitter @fruits_hugh