Existing Companies Need Planning Too

Business plans aren't just for start-ups; fast track growth with an annual strategy. 
By Tim Berry

Does your company develop an annual plan to polish its strategy, focus on priorities and manage its cash?
Unfortunately, there's a myth that only start-ups need planning, so many businesses miss out on the opportunity to manage themselves better.

As an owner or manager of a business, can you afford not to plan? Do you leave the annual planning to the large businesses and let your business depend on reacting to events? Or do you want to plan for priorities and manage your growth proactively? The answer is obvious.

Call it a strategic plan, annual plan or operational plan; the name doesn't matter as much as the management of it.

Benefits of an annual plan.
With a business plan you can:

• Guide your growth. Your business growth depends on overall economic trends, location, market needs, hard work and other elements. Businesses that plan do it to guide their growth so they move proactively towards defined objectives rather than just reacting to business events.

• Manage priorities. Allocate resources where they will do the most good. Work towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses. Develop the company by doing the most important things according to your long-term objectives.

• Assign responsibilities. A plan gives you a place to develop organisational responsibilities.

• Track progress. Think of a plan as a business-positioning device. With a plan you can track your progress towards goals, measure results and manage the business. Without a plan, how do you tell whether or not you're moving in the right direction? What do you measure against?

• Plan for cash. Profits aren't cash, and cash isn't intuitive. You spend cash; you don't spend profits. However, businesses don't plan well for cash, and they need to. That may not sound strategic, but it is. It's also the core of an operations plan and an annual plan.

The main elements of your plan.
The vast majority of these plans include some or all of the following main points:

• High-level strategy. Strategy is focus and guides your growth by assigning priorities. From the range of possible market segments, and the whole range of services and possible sales-and-marketing activities, which are your main priorities? Strategy is often a matter of understanding when and how to say "no" and selecting opportunities.

• Specific responsibilities, activities, deadlines and budgets. We call these milestones. They are the bricks and mortar of business planning and are critical to business success.

• Financial plan. One of the most important gains from an annual plan is the financial plan, which of course hinges on cash flow. A business needs to stress its priorities by making sure it gets the right amount of money. Growth costs money.

Whether you intend on growing your business or just maintaining its current level of success, a smart business plan will guide you on your path.

Tim Berry is president of Palo Alto Software Inc., which produces business planning software. © Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Goal setting and planning

The adage "failing to plan means planning to fail" seems so true of the times that we live in. Stiff competition and demanding clients do not leave room for failure. The beauty of it is that we can apply the same principles to our private lives in order to achieve a high level of wellness. So where does one start?

Firstly, set a definite obtainable goal or goals. If you want to lose weight, decide on how much weight you want to lose by when. Don't be unrealistic; set a goal that you can achieve.  SMART goals work best – ie goals that are;
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time based

Then work out a game plan, that is, how you are going to achieve your goal. For example, decide how you are going to adapt your diet and how you are going to increase the amount of exercise you are getting. The better and more detailed your planning, the greater the chance of achieving the goal.

Build some incentives for yourself into your plan to reward yourself when you achieve milestones on your way to success. For example, buy yourself new clothes when you've lost a previously decided number of kilograms.

In striving towards wellness, we often experience setbacks. Do not see a setback as a failure, but rather as a learning experience. For example, if you're trying to stop smoking and have relapsed, learn from the experience to try harder and be more vigilant during the times when the temptation is stronger.

Enlist others to help you. In the quest for wellness, it is of great help when family and friends support us in our efforts. For example, if your goal is to control outbursts of anger, ask a friend if you may call him or her at the first sign of a rising temper. This will help you to focus and will help you to stay rational. All important, it will help you to wait before you react to the situation that caused the anger. As you voice your feelings, the anger may well disperse.

To summarise:

• Set achievable goals
• Set out steps explaining how to achieve them
• Reward yourself when you reach milestones
• Don't let setbacks distract you from reaching your goals
• Enlist the support of others to help you achieve your goals.

Restart Your Engine

Feeling low on fuel? Turn your negative mood around and get back on the fast track to success 
By Romanus Wolter

Our moods vary all the time, based either on what we have or haven’t accomplished, or on the satisfaction of our customers. As entrepreneurs, we are always trying to discover new ways to remain positive so we don’t lose momentum.

Even the highest achievers have their off days. However, experience has taught them that it’s not how you feel, but rather what you do that defines the outcome of your success.

When you lose momentum, it takes a lot of strength to re-energise. Fortunately, there are some hidden rules that can help you turn your negative or stalled energy into positive progress:

1. Time may equal money, but it also equals wisdom. Rely on your ability to learn from experience rather than letting it drag you down. As you grow your business, you are venturing into untested territory, so stop worrying about always performing at your peak. There will be high-energy times when you have more business than you can handle and slow times when you are learning what to do next. Be willing to take time to acquire that wisdom.
2. The best luck comes from hard work. The universe may be a factor in your success, but it needs your help. Stop looking for a lucky break and take action. If you are stuck on what specifically to do or how to take positive steps, choose one of your ”I’ll do it when I have time” ideas, and write it down on a piece of paper. Then simply put down two actions you can take to move the idea towards reality. The act of working on something new will charge your energy and re-ignite your imagination. 
3. If you are stuck, step outside of what you know. People are there to help; you just need to ask. Call on a person whose opinion you trust and ask them, ”What is one thing I can do right now to gain exposure for my business?” They may suggest something relatively easy, like updating your website, phoning one of their contacts or sending an e-mail to previous clients. Others look at the world differently from you and can provide new insights.
4. Yes, I can! It’s so much easier to worry than it is to take action You don’t know what you’re capable of until you step up to the challenge. So, stop making excuses for why you can’t accomplish something and be proactive. Don’t let your insecurities stop you. Some of your greatest achievements can happen when your ego is low and your underlying creative genius is allowed to break free.

It’s important to limit your lows by becoming ‘opportunity ready’. Instead of over-analysing, simply act on ideas that people present to you. The unexpected rewards, plus the wisdom you gain, will keep your momentum going and your business growing.

Speaker and consultant Romanus Wolter is the author of Kick Start Your Dream Business.
© Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Take a Worst Case Scenario View to Overcome Adversity

Here’s a question for you: What are you made of? What are you really made of? 
By Brian Tracy

When push comes to shove, when the rubber meets the road, when the chips are down, what lies at the very core of your character? You learn what you’re really made of only when things go wrong and you are tumbled, end over end, by some adversity or setback that hits you like a Mack truck coming out of an alley. Since your behaviours on the outside are the real indicators of who you are on the inside, only by observing how you behave when things go wrong can you tell what you really have inside you.

Let’s make one thing clear at the beginning. Life is a continuous succession of both small and large problems. They never end. No sooner do you get control of one situation than you are hit by another. Life is a process of “two steps forward and one step back.” When you become a great success, you simply exchange one type of problem for another. Before, you had small problems with limited consequences; now you have large problems with enormous consequences. No matter how smart, clever and careful you are, you’ll face challenges, difficulties and sometimes heartbreaking adversities every day, week and month of your life.

And thank heaven for that! You couldn’t possibly have become the person you are today if you had not had to contend with adversity on your way up. Perhaps your chief aim in life is to develop a noble character, to become an excellent human being, to become everything you are capable of becoming. Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment can you grow more surely toward the stars.

First step to overcoming difficulty
The starting point in dealing with any difficulty is simply to relax. Clear your mind. Get yourself into a state where you’re calm and cool and in full control of your emotions and senses. Back off mentally and become as objective as possible. Step back and look at the problem with a certain amount of detachment, as if it were happening to someone else. When you can analyse your adversities clearly, you sometimes see opportunities to turn them to your best advantage.

One of the rules in dealing with adversity in life is that you are only as free as your well-developed alternatives. You are only as free as the options you have. Only when you can switch and do something else can you be flexible in dealing with your current situation. If you have not developed an option or an alternative, you will become anxious and even panicky when you are threatened with a sudden loss or reversal in a particular area of your life.

Cater for the worst-case scenario
For example, if you’re in business, look into the future and imagine that your biggest customer could go broke or start buying your product or service from someone else. If that were to happen, what would you do? How would you compensate for the loss of business? What could you do right now to ensure that it doesn’t happen? How could you increase the quantity or the quality of your service or your product in such a way that your major customer would never think of switching? How could you develop additional customers so that you wouldn’t be so dependent upon a single purchaser?

If you are in sales and your goal is to make a certain amount of money so that you can enjoy a certain lifestyle, you have to look down the road in your sales work and ask, “Where will my sales come from? How many prospective customers do I have who can generate the business that I need to make my numbers?” And ask yourself, “What would I do if I lost my best customer? What would I do if I lost my biggest prospect?”

Dealing With Adversity

1. Define the problem clearly.
   What exactly is it? What exactly are you worrying about? Write out the definition of your problem. Make sure it’s a single problem. If it’s more than one problem, write out clear definitions of all the problems that together constitute what you are worrying about right now.
2. Determine the worst possible outcome.
   Ask, “What’s the worst possible thing that can happen in this situation?” Be honest with yourself. You might lose your money, your relationship, your customer or someone or something else that is really important to you. If everything fell apart, what’s the worst thing that could occur?
3. Resolve to accept the worst, should it occur.
   Having identified the worst possible outcome, you now can go through the mental exercise of accepting that it is going to happen, no matter what you do. The remarkable thing is that as soon as you stop resisting the worst possible outcome, you’ll relax, your mind will clear, and your ability to deal with the situation will improve dramatically.
4. Begin immediately to improve upon the worst, which you have already accepted is going to happen.
   Throw all of your mental resources into the battle to minimise the problem or resolve the difficulty. Concentrate on the future. Don’t worry about what happened, why it happened and who was responsible. Think only about the question, “What do I do now?” How can you minimise the consequences? What’s the first step you can take? The second step? The third step? And so on.

© Entrepreneur Media Inc. All rights reserved.

Specialists Win More Referrals

If you claim to do everything, your clients won't rely on you for anything. 
By Ivan Misner

You may perform a variety of services or offer a range of products, but if you want a referral, your description of what you do should be detailed and focused on a single aspect of your business.

Narrow your focus to broaden your reach.
Your referral sources will find it much easier to get you an appointment with a prospect if your sales message addresses the prospect's specific needs. You're an office furniture wholesaler? No help. You specialise in custom-designed, made-to-order desks, shelves and file cabinets in large lots? Bingo. You've snagged an appointment.

It seems counterintuitive, but in reality the more specific your description, the more likely you are to receive referrals. People tend to say they do everything because they want to throw as broad a net as possible, catching everyone.

The problem is, a really broad net has big holes in it. When you say, "I'm a full-service printer; I do everything," that doesn't mean anything to your prospects, or to those who refer you to them. What they're thinking is, I don't need a full-service job. All I need is a particular kind of print job.

If I've come down with a serious illness, it doesn't help me much to know that there are three hospitals in town. What I really want to know is which hospital employs the specialist who can cure me.

Position yourself as a specialist in the minds of your referral partners.
When you tell a referral partner you're a full-service provider, you ask her to mentally sort out all the people she knows and cross tabulate what they do against all the things you do. That doesn't work; people aren't computers. A referral partner needs to know the full range of your products or services – eventually. She needs to know, immediately and with some precision, the specific needs you can fill, because that's what the customer focuses on in any given instance. 

If you say, "Who do you know who's a sports enthusiast? Here's how he can use my product," then you're letting your referral source do a simpler kind of mental sorting. The more you can educate people about the different things you do – one at a time – the more likely you are to get referrals in the long run. And getting referrals in a specific area doesn't mean you can't continue to offer other products or services. When operating in a referral network, your immediate goal isn't to close a sale; it's to train a sales force. You're training people to refer you, and saying that you're a full-service provider and that you do everything doesn't train anyone. You wouldn't tell a salesperson for your company, "Just tell them we do it all." As the specialist, you can more thoroughly articulate to your referral sources what you do and how you do it, allowing them to present it readily to other people.

A professed generalist is likely to be considered a "relationship assassin." Suppose an insurance agent who's just joined your group comes up to you and says, "I can cover all of your insurance needs. I have life insurance, medical insurance, auto, home, business and every other kind of insurance you'll ever need. I'd like to be your one-stop insurance shop." But you already have coverage from five or six different agents, most of whom you have solid business and personal relationships with. And she's asking you to dump all your relationships and replace them with one relative unknown – herself.

A better approach for her would be to say to you, "I'm a life insurance agent who specialises in executive benefits, specifically for tradespeople. My passion, in my insurance practice is to deliver executive benefits packages to owners and managers of contracting firms so that they're able to retire effectively with tax-protected investments and be able to sell that business."

This way, she addresses a specific need you may have, but she's not trying to assassinate all of your long-standing relationships. She presents herself as an expert in an area where you need expert advice, rather than a generalist with broad but superficial knowledge.

Find your niche and sell on value.
You may still not be convinced that narrowing your focus is a good idea. You may think that if you present yourself as a specialist, you limit your potential referrals and future business; that is, you can't do business outside your niche. The truth is, whether you're a true specialist or a generalist presenting yourself as a specialist in order to facilitate easy referrals, you're not limiting yourself by doing so. People are actually more likely to refer a specialist than a generalist.

If you're like most specialists, although you generally do only one or a few kinds of business, you still offer related products or services. Yes, you've narrowed down your business to the things you like to do or do best, or bring you the most profit, but you can do other things. And one good way to attract long-term business is by stepping outside your niche and taking on the occasional odd job that can win you a loyal customer for future business.

If you sell everything, you're not selling on value; you're selling on price. That makes you a provider of commodities. And that strategy can work for you – but only if you're Wal-Mart or Massmart.

By Ivan Misner, a New York Times bestselling author.
© Entrepreneur Media Inc. All rights reserved.

Use Case Studies for Effective Marketing  Using a third party to illustrate your point can bring you the kind of publicity you want By Rachel Meranus If you're a successful business owner, you probably have a roster of clients that have successfully used your product or service. Customers that have experienced greater profits, improved productivity or reduced labour expenses as a result of your company aren't just trophies on your business mantle. They are fodder for publicity. In fact, they're gems. Each time one of your customers benefits from your product or service, you have the potential for a case study. A case study makes your business into a personal story, a living example of what your company can do to help others. From the media's perspective, this "proof of concept" is often the key factor in deciding whether to include your company in an article. In a reporter's eyes, case studies give context to a story, providing concrete examples of how a business or product improves costs, productivity or efficiency. Potential customers are also persuaded by such anecdotes because they offer a third-party endorsement from an industry peer. It's one thing to tell a business prospect about a client's success, but having that same story appear in the pages of an influential magazine or newspaper holds significantly more sway. It's a seal-of-approval for your business and the services you provide. When contemplating a case study, the subject doesn't have to be well-known or influential. In fact, the "who" is less relevant than the "what" and the "how." If the story is compelling and the results are dramatic, then the subject can be almost any business, from a Fortune 500 to the corner mom-and-pop store. Writing a case study Case studies usually follow the same basic story arc: The subject of the case study has been dealing with an issue for which there is no apparent solution. The company tries several options before coming in contact with your product or service. After incorporating your product or service into their operations, the client quickly sees improvement and realises gains that weren't otherwise achievable. Of course, there are often subtleties to the story that require deviation from the standard format. However, it's best to think along these basic lines when crafting a case study because it allows you to organise your thoughts in an easy-to-follow manner that resonates with reporters and readers. You should also include as much detail and supporting material as possible. Quantitative results, such as actual productivity gains or increased revenue, provide unambiguous proof of success, while qualitative feedback, including quotes and letters of appreciation, bring the human element into the story. When crafting a case study, a direct, honest approach always works best. Don't ever exaggerate or falsify claims. Reporters have a nose for stories that are too good to be true, and when the truth is uncovered, the aftermath will be far worse than the benefit you would have gleaned from any slight inflation of fact. How to use a case study Case studies are particularly suited to trade publications, industry websites and monthly magazines. In fact, editors will often request a case study to support an article, as it adds colour. Although news-focused articles and press releases are less likely to include case studies, don't overlook them as a possible distribution vehicle. The most common use of case studies in a press release involves a company with a product in beta. Often, during this period, outside clients are recruited to test the product and provide feedback. In such instances, you could use a short case study in your launch press release to provide third-party comment on your product's benefits. But when doing so, use the case study as a teaser so you can save most of the meat for your individual pitches to key reporters. Including case studies in press releases is also valuable when your case study illustrates a complex or difficult application. For instance, imagine you have a new software product that has helped a customer expand sales of new, hybrid cars. Your software may not be sexy, but the cars are. Combining the two would make your story more exciting. In fact, incorporating photos and multimedia content into your story would potentially bring you media attention far beyond your initial expectations. When conducting outreach, focus on publications and websites that are important to your customers, as these are the outlets that potential future clients read. Remember, the ultimate goal of developing case studies and generating publicity is to create new business opportunities. Another benefit of case studies is that they have a long life. Depending on where you're placing the story, your case study could be featured in many different publications and in a multitude of articles. In some cases, you may just want to concentrate on one part of the case study. In others, you may want to expand on the topic and make it a feature. It all depends on your audience and the type of media outlet you're targeting. Recruiting customers If you're unsure about asking your customers or business partners to be part of the story, remember that it benefits them as well. A case study not only provides publicity, but it also paints both parties in a positive light. Of course, if your product or service has helped to correct an unsavoury or illegal problem, your customer may not be so keen to talk about it. So the next time you close a deal with an interesting client, take a few seconds to consider whether the story is worth telling to a wider audience. If your friends and business contacts would find it interesting, the likelihood is that the media will, too. Case studies often follow the same basic format: Identify the challenge a particular customer faces. Describe the solution provided by the company. Illustrate the measurable results gained from using the service. The anecdote should demonstrate how your company's product or service was a key factor in solving your client's problem. It doesn't have to be solely about your product or service, but your influence must be vital to the success. Rachel Meranus is vice president, public relations at PR Newswire. © Entrepreneur Media Inc. All rights reserved. Human capital is the greatest capital a business can have  A business offering a product the market wants but that is possibly in a comfort zone of exclusivity - without competitor companies - may be able to afford to downplay the importance of people issues, but this will come back and bite the business as soon as a new competitor enters the market. This is the view of Chantal Walley of PI SouthAfrica, one of the speakers at next week’s Biznetwork event. According to Walley, “Really savvy managers understand how important it is to hire, nurture and retain exceptional talent. If you do not look after your staff, believe me, someone else will.” Substantial costs may be incurred by a business having to replace key staff regularly, and so the business needs to do a number of things to make staff choose to stay on. “While money is important, research shows consistently that salary accounts for only about 25% of job satisfaction - provided that the salary is at a minimum industry level,” says Dr Graeme Codrington of TomorrowToday.biz, another Biznetwork participant. Experts concur that the environment and culture of the organisation play a greater role in securing talented individuals. Codrington talks about the benefits for a business of focussing on its ‘employer brand’. “Make your business an attractive place for employees,” he explains, “and you’ll attract the right people and retain them.” Both Codrington and Grace Harding of Actuate, an internal marketing consultancy, highlight the need to allow employees to achieve a work-life balance. Explains Harding, “Life is an integrated whole and companies need to view their people as wholes (not as employees only).” Another point raised is that companies should look at remuneration in creative ways. Staff are more likely to stay on in a company that incentivises them to perform well. Harding explains that the way to go is to create an outputs-driven environment in which people are paid for their contribution, rather than their attendance. She says, “More companies should look at rewarding people according to their contribution to the company. Things like sharing in profits and being accountable for contributing to profits should be introduced.” Keeping good staff is one side of the coin – the other is the way in which people are recruited. Walley makes an interesting distinction between skills for a particular position and the innate talent a person may have. “Most employment advertisements loudly assert the need for certain skills, knowledge, and years of experience but remain mute on talent. It is ironic that they itemise the qualities they can change in a person while ignoring the ones they can’t,” she says. Walley defines talent as ‘a recurring (instinctive) pattern of thought, feeling or behaviour that can be applied productively’. A business should work out what the talents are that can make it successful, and then identify the particular individuals whose talents are needed. What's New Biznetwork gives FNB Commercial Banking clients free tools for growth Biznetwork is helping to build clients’ businesses by offering free membership to FNB Commercial Banking clients; having negotiated a deal that will add value to their businesses. To register for this Biznetwork offering click here. Members receive:  Access to the Biznetwork website, which offers world-class articles, tools and forms  Admission to seminars held quarterly countrywide and hosted by top business leaders  Networking opportunities with people from related industries  Monthly newsletters