You may have heard this statement before — “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”  Profound.  These six words offer incredible clarity about a complex question — “how can we create luck in our businesses?” 

Like many, I use this time of the year to reflect on how things have gone over the past year and make new, bigger plans for the coming year.  This exercise can be exhilarating, but it can also be frustrating.  Why is that?  I believe part of the answer is in the fact that…

We can’t control all of the factors that stand
between where we are and where we want to be. 

Herein lies the freedom to be exhilarated by planning, not frustrated by it!

A plan created to simply prepare us and our teams to capture opportunity…to create good luck during the coming year…can be short, provide clarity, and be inspiring.  It can even be profound (like the quote about luck itself). 

A plan that attempts to anticipate every hurdle and script every action can become tedious and typically gets tossed aside as soon as reality takes everyone down a different path.

Your whole marketing and sales plan for 2011 in six words?…maybe not.  But a single page that focuses your energy, inspires your team, and prepares you all to create luck?…absolutely.  Any longer and it gets less useful.

For additional thoughts and a secret link (I had to do some hunting to find it) to example one-page plans that could give you a huge head start, check out this blog post.

The Beauty of a One Page Plan

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was doomed to push the rock up the hill, only to have it roll to the bottom over and over again.  Is that you? or do you envision yourself the hero, winning battles and conquering all challenges that come before you?

Maybe this is a little out there.  Let’s bring it back to the here and now.  Go through this little exercise:

1. Pull out your new-years-resolution-2009-business-action-plan-list thingy that you created in January 2009.  Don’t have one?  Proceed to step 3.
2. Pat yourself on the back for having a list — we need to celebrate whenever we can!  Now, look at the list.  How many of the items would still qualify as your top priorities in 2010?  100%?  Stop patting yourself on the back.  Making a list then completely ignoring it is just as bad as not having one (sorry for making you feel good for a moment, then ripping it away).  Proceed to step 3.  “Accomplish” 50% of what you set out to do?  Excellent.  Proceed to step 3 anyway.
3. Talk to your customers.  It doesn’t matter how well things are going, it is important to be paranoid.  Why do they buy from you?  What worries or frustrates them?  What has been the most helpful, exciting thing they spent money on in 2009 (whether or not it has anything to do with what you provide) and why was it helpful or exciting?  Year end is a great time to step back and check in.
4. Don’t make your action list for 2010 just yet.  Start at 50,000 feet and work your way down.  A great technique, that won’t overwhelm you, is to put together a One Page Business Plan. 
5. When you’ve defined the “what” — get help to make it happen.  Commit to executing in 2010 so your list in 2011 is a continuation or expansion on your plans for 2010, not a repeat performance.  How can you do that?  A great way to start is to read Getting Things Done by David Allen. 

So what do you do now?  Your “next action” (you’ll get why that is in quotes when you read David’s book) is simply to read up on the One Page Plan (the link above) then buy the book, or check it out at the library.  Easy right?  2010 is YOUR opportunity to break out of the Groundhog Day curse!

You can’t tack a 3″ binder to the company bulletin board, or review it with your team in your monthly meetings.  That would be about as feasible as lugging your desktop computer on to BART just so you could keep an eye on email during your 45 minute commute.  You wouldn’t do that — that’s what PDAs are for. 

Having a concise way to articulate your business vision, mission, goals and plans brings your strategy into the everyday work life of you and your team.  How cool is that?  What good is documenting your strategy and translating it into plans if it only gets looked at once a year?

I have become a huge fan of the One Page Business Plan.  While I am not affiliated with the organziation, there are good examples to work from on their web site [Sample Plans].

It may sound backwards, but I submit that it is relatively EASY to pick something — a topic — and “discover” something unique by drilling down into incredible detail.  Decide to study some particular kind of insect and spend all of your life on that subject, and I would guess you have a good chance of finding SOMETHING no one else has found.  A unique species, recognition of a certain thing existing species do, catching some never-before-seen event on tape, SOMETHING.

I am not belittling people who operate in the realm of details by any means.  But I submit that it is HARDER to find or create something unique, powerful, and useful on a BROAD scale.  The idea below is one that I don’t think I can take full credit for, so I will err on the side of precaution (and not tout it to the world as “mine”).  I am not sure where the idea came from, but I would bet it is the amalgamation of tips I’ve read and a little of my own secret sauce.

A Simple, Yet Powerful, Way to Stay “On Track”
One of the ways I help my clients be more successful is to act as an “accountability partner.”  It is not just a matter of being a nag…that’s no fun for anyone.  It is a function of helping my clients devote more time and attention on the actions that will move them toward their business goals, and less time and attention on the other stuff.  Here is a tip for doing just that:

1. On a monthly basis, remind yourself of what the “end game” of any of your big projects is.  What will being “done” look like?  You may find that you’ve begun working on stuff that is nowhere in the final picture, so is a waste of time.  I call this the “where are we going?” question.
2. After you refresh your memory about the end game, ask yourself another question — why are we shooting for this goal?  Will it help you provide better service to your existing clients? reach a new market segment with your message? improve employee morale?  Why are you spending time, money and energy on this project?
3. With refreshed clarity on the goal and the purpose it will serve you, your clients, or employees, it’s time to look at your actions.  What do you need to do now to take the next step toward the end goal?  In the words of one of my favorite authors, David Allen, “what is the next action?”

Simple stuff I realize, but regular application of such simple techniques will take you and your business to places you never thought possible.  Where are we going, why are we shooting for this goal, and what is the next action.

If you decided that you wanted to become a world-class, competitive athlete within 5 years, wouldn’t it be wise to start eating better and exercising right away, even if you hadn’t picked a sport yet?

The point of step 2 “Maximizing the Current” is to get in shape.  No matter what you decide about your target market going forward, what media mix you will be using, and how you will compel your prospects to want to contact you, there is a sale that is about to happen in your business.  Techniques I use in step 2 will help you get more profit from it.  You have customers surrounded by potential referrals, but they don’t ever think of you.  Techniques I use in step 2 will draw out those referrals.  Use the increase in profits that merely “getting in shape” will provide to fuel real lead generation…

But you don’t want to be random about generating new business.  Step 3 = Set the Strategy.  With your customer-maximizing house in order, it’s time to improve the effectiveness of how you go out and get new ones.

Components of your marketing strategy:

• A well-defined target:  geographics (where they are), demographics (who they are), and psychographics (why the buy — the emotional appeals that relate to the benefit you can provide).  Analysis of your customer database will help you — who are the most profitable customers you already have?
• Your Unique Comparative Advantage:  a good description of the problem you solve or benefit you provide and how/why your product or service is uniquely capable of delivering on the solution your target audience needs (we have a formula for developing a powerful UCA)
• Contact methods:  the “portfolio” of media you use to contact those in your target audience at the right time, given the benefit you deliver
• The message:  an attention-getting and compelling message that exposes the pain — the deficit your prospect is experiencing because they lack your solution
• The offer:  the natural, “no-brainer” step toward a solution for your client that you make easily available to them by simply contacting you.
• The follow-through:  your multi-step plan to capture their contact information and nurture the initial interest into a burning desire to meet with you, test your product, order it, agree to your pilot program, etc.

Next week — Generate and Convert.  Putting that strategy into practice and monitoring, measuring, and improving it!

Any problem or challenge is SO much easier to deal with when you break it down into smaller pieces.  This approach works well at any level:

• got a goal you want to reach in 5 years? set some incremental targets for each year along the way
• need to develop a presentation for an hour long talk within the next week? step 1, create an outline; step 2, assign time estimates to each section; step 3, pick a single section and create a more detailed outline…

You get the idea.  Whether it’s as simple as deciding how you’re going to get your work done AND run the errands that have been hanging over your head or as complex as creating a financial plan for your future, you will benefit by breaking your challenge down into smaller steps first.

So back to the question — How do I grow my business?  What do you think our first step is?  You guessed it, we break it down into smaller pieces.  Remarkably, it comes down to just four steps:

1. Establish a Vision:  you wouldn’t leave your house or office to attend a meeting if you didn’t first know where it will be — your destination.  To have a vision for your business is to have a destination.  How can you set a course for your company if you don’t know where you’d like to take it?
2. Maximize the Current:  Marketing books tell you that step 1 is to set your strategy (identify a need, define your target, determine your product or service, etc.), but if you are already in business, this would NOT be step 1!  Maximize the profits from existing clients and new customers to get an immediate lift in your business.
3. Set the Strategy:  once you’ve increased the profit you get from existing relationships, learned more about your customers, and improved their level of satisfaction in the process, you’re in a better position to create an effective growth plan.
4. Generate and Convert:  with marketing systems in place that maximize the profits you generate from each new customer, it’s NOW time to improve how effective you and your team are at converting new prospects into customers and put multiple lead generation strategies to work.

So what do you do from here?  Well, take step 1 and break it down into smaller pieces of course!  Therefore, I will spend the next 4 weeks detailing each of the 4 steps.  Come back, check it out, and make small changes NOW that will lead to HUGE LEAPS in your business!

It was especially fun given that I was able to meet up with a friend and colleague who I have (until now) only known as a voice on the other end of our monthly teleconferences.   Skip Weisman was one of the keynote speakers and is a member of my network of business development consultants and coaches.  We all share similar philosophies and use monthly calls to share ideas and support one another.

A few take-aways from Skip and the other top-shelf speakers at the event:

Goals
In order to determine your best action NOW, you have to know what goal you are striving for (sounds a lot like my April 28th post — it’s good to know I’m not alone in calling out this priority).

Commitment
Getting “there” takes sacrifice and commitment.  Some great imagery of this came from Paul Kingsman’s talk.  As an olympic medalist in the 200M backstroke, he knows a lot about commitment to a vision.  Imagine having your moment of truth (whatever that is in your business: closing the deal, delivering the product, solving the problem) closely watched by 12,000 screaming fans…all while you go about your craft wearing a Speedo bathing suit!  You can learn more about Paul at his web site.

Action
Getting from where you are now to where you want to be won’t happen by itself.  In Paul’s case it took a lot of sweat and toil — that just can’t be avoided in pursuit of the goal that he set for himself.  For most of us, however, the actions that achieving our goals will require are less about sweat and more about focus.

Of course, the devil is in the details.  There are many great systems and methodologies for helping you reach your goals.  You will notice that they all boil down to a 3-step process. 

1. Set the vision of what you intend to accomplish and keep that vision present in your daily routine so you don’t lose sight.
2. Commit yourself to accomplishing that vision, no matter what it takes.  Obstacles become just tests of your resolve and creativity, incapable of altering the end result you seek.
3. Organize and prioritize your actions, taking care to truly focus on the ones that will get you closer to your vision (not the ones that constantly crop up and are really priorities for other people).

Want a system to help you set goals and organize your actions?  Check out Skip’s End Procrastination NOW program.  He has put together a great system.  Also, you’ll want to check out and bookmark his blog www.ChampionOrganizations.com – a great resource.

The business “journey” you are on requires the same simple determination. If you don’t know where you want to head (which will become your current reality when you get “there”), how will you know what decisions to make in the meantime? “There” is coming, whether you like it or not — it’s the year 2010, 2015, or 2050 for that matter. Do YOU want to decide what the destination will look like, or do you prefer surprises?

Check out the quick exercise below to take control!

Set a “Vision” for Your Business
Creating a vision statement will focus your thinking and guide your decisions. Sharing it, printing it, and posting it will help you keep it at the forefront of your mind, and therefore your actions. It is important to keep in mind that a vision that leaves out your customers/clients, staff, and your own personal ambitions will quickly become just another empty statement.

Creating a Vision is Simple. The tough part is setting aside the time to do it. Save your self some anxiety — don’t overthink it. It is o.k. to alter your vision over time. The important thing is to have one, and to keep it around and visible in your daily activities. Be sure to write the statement in the present tense. If you write that your business “…will be…” then that will forever be the case. You will always be reaching toward that vision, instead of actually arriving. Here is a hypothetical example:

“XYZ Plumbing is the recognized leader in residential plumbing services in the Tri-State area through an unparalleled on-time record, quality practices that ensure problems are ALWAYS fixed on the first visit, and a commitment to employee development that makes XYZ the most desirable place to work in the industry.”

Try writing several statements for a couple different points in time — 1 year, 3 years, 5 years from now, etc. If you are struggling, that’s good! That means you haven’t thought about this yet, and the exercise will provide you with dramatic benefits!

Here are some questions to ask yourself that may get you un-blocked:

• Imagine you are one of your customers X years from now. Describe your experience in doing business with you (in your customer’s words).
• Imagine you are one of your employees X years from now. Describe your experience in working for you (in your employee’s words).
• Now imagine a spouse, significant other, or anyone else who is close to you. Describe his or her perspective on you and your business X years from now.

Good luck!