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Actual for You - 5 Steps to Success: A Surefire Way to Achieve Your Goals
A couple of months ago I went along to something called an Innovation Partnership. I was quite excited about it - I'm a great believer in trying new ways of doing things, opportunities for thinking outside the box and a chance to discuss ideas with new people. This had all the ingredients of a useful and stimulating few hours. In reality, it was simply a networking opportunity for mostly statutory funded enterprise agencies. Not very innovative at all. Such groupings just seem to be called partnerships, in the same way that in the 20th Century they were called committees. I can't help but remember that a camel is a horse designed by a committee! I think that is a topic for a future posting however.One good thing that came from it was m
(4) Measure your progress toward your objective
If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You're on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you'll likely achieve your goal of 15.
If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don't have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it's time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It's important to distinguish between marketing that isn't working and marketing that just isn't getting done.
Once you determine whic
Business is about running numbers and managing money. It is all about keeping track on where the money is coming from and where it is going. One who doesn't keep a tab on it nearly always loses money and sometimes the business as well. Accounting software are a boon from heaven - or so they seem- as they reduce one's accounting burdens to such an unimaginable degree that one is left wondering if he overestimated the gravity of the problem in the first place.One such accounting software is the software for payroll accounting, which is an effective tool to meet the needs of small businesses, companies, institutions and the giant multinational corporations. The software is a feat not only to the business houses but also to non profit earn
Maybe it was how many new clients you wanted to get, or how much money you wanted to make, or how many products you wanted to sell.
In the world of marketing, these "big ideas" are called goals and objectives. And, they are what dictate your every move, when it comes to marketing, that is.
If you don't have a marketing plan or you aren't familiar with the process, it goes something like this. You establish your vision (that's where you sit down and picture in your mind what your business will look like in one year).
If you haven't tried visioning, try it. It can be VERY powerful. When we work through Step 2 in my 10stepmarketing course, I walk you through a question-and-answer exercise to create your own vision for success.
I encourage you to write your vision down because it's like a magnet, pulling you toward success. And, it's great to review it periodically throughout the year to keep it fresh in your mind. (It reminds you WHY you're working so hard!)
Once you've created your vision, write down a few goals (specific things you want to achieve) that reflect your vision and write at least one, measurable objective. Measurable means you can easily measure whether you've achieved it or not, so think numbers when writing your objective.
For example, "I want 15 new clients by the end of the year."
Once you have your goals and objective, you can create a plan to achieve them. This allows you to focus all your time, energy and money on achieving your goals, and to NOT get distracted by spending time or money on other activities. This is what I LOVE so much about having a plan. It absolutely keeps you on track to success!
So how do you guarantee your success?
By checking to see how you are progressing toward your goals and objectives AND by making adjustments as necessary. Yes, it really is that simple, but it does take some discipline.
June is a great month to do a "check-up." You're half-way through the year and you've given your marketing time to work.
So are you ready to give your business a 6-month "check-up?" so you can get back on the path to success (in case you've fallen off?!).
Take my 5-step Business Check-up and see how your business is doing.
(1) Update your tracking numbers
The best way to know if a marketing activity is working is to track response. I recommend keeping tabs on your tracking on a monthly basis. If you haven't kept up, update your tracking now.
Create a simple spreadsheet to track the results for each marketing activity you've undertaken. For example, number of leads they have produced, or number of new clients or sales generated by each activity.
(2) Evaluate how well each marketing activity is performing
Sit down and review your tracking report. Prioritize your marketing activities, putting the most effective ones at the top of your list and the least effective ones at the bottom.
If you've found activities that aren't producing results, you may want to consider dropping those activities. Make a decision to spend more time, energy or money on the activities that are producing the best results. You may even want to try new activities to replace those you drop.
(3) Check your progress toward your vision and goals
Review your vision and goals. How close are you to achieving them? If you're at least half-way there, that's good news! You're on track and you can probably continue doing what your doing to achieve them by years-end.
On the other hand, if you aren't close to half-way yet, you'll need to evaluate why and make any necessary changes to your marketing activities, how you're spending your time, or other aspects of your business to help get back on track.
(4) Measure your progress toward your objective
If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You're on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you'll likely achieve your goal of 15.
If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don't have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it's time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It's important to distinguish between marketing that isn't working and marketing that just isn't getting done.
Once you determine which
This story is about a plumber, and while that might not sound relevant to you, if you've ever advertised your business, if you're currently advertising your business or if you plan to advertise your business - you need to read this. Jim and Rebekah Ypma own Sonoran Desert Plumbing (SDP), about a year ago they asked me to design an advertisement that would help to separate them from the competition. SDP did not have a brand image or any way to separate them from the rest of the field, consequently, prospects didn't pay them much attention and they had to compete on price more than they would like; that's where we came in.Plumbers love to advertise in the yellow pages, so there's a tremendous amount of competition
Once you've created your vision, write down a few goals (specific things you want to achieve) that reflect your vision and write at least one, measurable objective. Measurable means you can easily measure whether you've achieved it or not, so think numbers when writing your objective.
For example, "I want 15 new clients by the end of the year."
Once you have your goals and objective, you can create a plan to achieve them. This allows you to focus all your time, energy and money on achieving your goals, and to NOT get distracted by spending time or money on other activities. This is what I LOVE so much about having a plan. It absolutely keeps you on track to success!
So how do you guarantee your success?
By checking to see how you are progressing toward your goals and objectives AND by making adjustments as necessary. Yes, it really is that simple, but it does take some discipline.
June is a great month to do a "check-up." You're half-way through the year and you've given your marketing time to work.
So are you ready to give your business a 6-month "check-up?" so you can get back on the path to success (in case you've fallen off?!).
Take my 5-step Business Check-up and see how your business is doing.
(1) Update your tracking numbers
The best way to know if a marketing activity is working is to track response. I recommend keeping tabs on your tracking on a monthly basis. If you haven't kept up, update your tracking now.
Create a simple spreadsheet to track the results for each marketing activity you've undertaken. For example, number of leads they have produced, or number of new clients or sales generated by each activity.
(2) Evaluate how well each marketing activity is performing
Sit down and review your tracking report. Prioritize your marketing activities, putting the most effective ones at the top of your list and the least effective ones at the bottom.
If you've found activities that aren't producing results, you may want to consider dropping those activities. Make a decision to spend more time, energy or money on the activities that are producing the best results. You may even want to try new activities to replace those you drop.
(3) Check your progress toward your vision and goals
Review your vision and goals. How close are you to achieving them? If you're at least half-way there, that's good news! You're on track and you can probably continue doing what your doing to achieve them by years-end.
On the other hand, if you aren't close to half-way yet, you'll need to evaluate why and make any necessary changes to your marketing activities, how you're spending your time, or other aspects of your business to help get back on track.
(4) Measure your progress toward your objective
If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You're on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you'll likely achieve your goal of 15.
If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don't have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it's time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It's important to distinguish between marketing that isn't working and marketing that just isn't getting done.
Once you determine whic
The United States Post Office is severely upsetting customers and therefore diminishing its value to our great nation. Almost to the point of people choosing to go completely digital and simply calling for the shutting down of the USPS; sounds too harsh you say? Well people across the nation are complaining that if for some reason someone parks in front of your mail box then they USPS will not deliver your mail. The driver will not back up, get out of the LLV (jeep) and put the mail into the mail box?This is unfortunate indeed, because many of us have to go out of our way to send out mail and wait in line at the post office and fill out forms, pay money and park in a full parking lot to do so. Additionally, in my career I use to have c
June is a great month to do a "check-up." You're half-way through the year and you've given your marketing time to work.
So are you ready to give your business a 6-month "check-up?" so you can get back on the path to success (in case you've fallen off?!).
Take my 5-step Business Check-up and see how your business is doing.
(1) Update your tracking numbers
The best way to know if a marketing activity is working is to track response. I recommend keeping tabs on your tracking on a monthly basis. If you haven't kept up, update your tracking now.
Create a simple spreadsheet to track the results for each marketing activity you've undertaken. For example, number of leads they have produced, or number of new clients or sales generated by each activity.
(2) Evaluate how well each marketing activity is performing
Sit down and review your tracking report. Prioritize your marketing activities, putting the most effective ones at the top of your list and the least effective ones at the bottom.
If you've found activities that aren't producing results, you may want to consider dropping those activities. Make a decision to spend more time, energy or money on the activities that are producing the best results. You may even want to try new activities to replace those you drop.
(3) Check your progress toward your vision and goals
Review your vision and goals. How close are you to achieving them? If you're at least half-way there, that's good news! You're on track and you can probably continue doing what your doing to achieve them by years-end.
On the other hand, if you aren't close to half-way yet, you'll need to evaluate why and make any necessary changes to your marketing activities, how you're spending your time, or other aspects of your business to help get back on track.
(4) Measure your progress toward your objective
If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You're on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you'll likely achieve your goal of 15.
If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don't have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it's time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It's important to distinguish between marketing that isn't working and marketing that just isn't getting done.
Once you determine whic
Dr. Norton and Dr. Kaplan have found the key to having it all in The Balanced Scorecard by leading people and managing organizations better you will have a higher performing organization.By using a definite set of measures for employee well being and employee ability to be competent in their positions will drive the strategic execution. It is a cause and effect in how human capital and other intangible assets are linked together to create a process, customer and financial results.To create a healthy strategy a “Harvard Business Review by Dr. Norton and Dr. Kaplan convey the value of a strategy map, which they have called *The Balanced Scorecard.” Their recommendations are:1. A well being index for the quality of Work, Lif
(2) Evaluate how well each marketing activity is performing
Sit down and review your tracking report. Prioritize your marketing activities, putting the most effective ones at the top of your list and the least effective ones at the bottom.
If you've found activities that aren't producing results, you may want to consider dropping those activities. Make a decision to spend more time, energy or money on the activities that are producing the best results. You may even want to try new activities to replace those you drop.
(3) Check your progress toward your vision and goals
Review your vision and goals. How close are you to achieving them? If you're at least half-way there, that's good news! You're on track and you can probably continue doing what your doing to achieve them by years-end.
On the other hand, if you aren't close to half-way yet, you'll need to evaluate why and make any necessary changes to your marketing activities, how you're spending your time, or other aspects of your business to help get back on track.
(4) Measure your progress toward your objective
If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You're on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you'll likely achieve your goal of 15.
If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don't have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it's time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It's important to distinguish between marketing that isn't working and marketing that just isn't getting done.
Once you determine whic
Most TV commercials you see, radio commercials you hear, training films, and more use the voice of a professional announcer. In the media industry, these much sought after voice pros are called Voice Over Talent.A fine voice over talent can give you a warm, friendly read that not only entices prospects to take an interest in you, but effectively urges them to buy. A good voice can accentuate just the right words, stress the right phrases, and literally create an emotion in the listener.In the past, many producers both large and small avoided working with top voice over talents because (1) they were hard to contact, (2) took weeks to finish the job, and (3) were very expensive.The usual method was to contact an advertisi
(4) Measure your progress toward your objective
If you said you wanted to get 15 new clients this year, how many do you have so far? If you have between 7 and 9, congratulations! You're on track. And if you continue to do business and market as you have for the past 6 months, you'll likely achieve your goal of 15.
If however, you only have 3 or 4 new clients so far, and you don't have a bunch of prospects in the pipeline, it's time to re-evaluate your marketing activities. Have you been consistently implementing your plan? Or have you fallen off track a bit? Answer honestly. It's important to distinguish between marketing that isn't working and marketing that just isn't getting done.
Once you determine which is the case for you, you'll be in better position to make decisions about what you need to do to get back on track toward achieving your objective.
(5) Adjust your marketing accordingly
Once you've evaluated your current situation, you'll need to make some decisions about how to move forward. If you're on track, then keep on doing what you're doing.
If you've determined that several of your marketing activities simply aren't generating the results you had hoped for, then consider revising or dropping them from your plan, and trying something new.
If you've simply discovered that you haven't stuck to your marketing plan on a consistent basis, re-commit right now to stay on track.
The good news is, you've still got 6 months to achieve the success you set out to achieve. Make changes NOW to guarantee your success at the end of the year. It's in your power to achieve!
If you don't have a marketing plan, you're missing a key ingredient in the success of your business. Don't know how to write one or where to start? The 10stepmarketing™ System is a great solution because its simple, question-and-answer format walks you through every step you need to take to create, implement and track your marketing plan. And, it's guaranteed. For more information visit www.10stepmarketing.com
(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa
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