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Write Your Business Plan Using a Step by Step Process

August 9, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

As a Business Plan Consultant, I come across a lot of clients who simply get overwhelmed in developing and writing their business plans. If you look at the business planning process in totality, it can seem like a daunting task. However, if you break it down into a step by step, building block process, you will find it becomes a much easier process. Here are some tips to help…

Break the Business Plan Process Down into Sections

In my Business Plan process, I like to start with the Company Section, then move on Management, then to Products and Services, then to the Marketing Plan, then the Strategic Plan, and finally the Financials, the Appendix, and last, the Executive Summary. This way the business plan builds on each section logically and incrementally, making the process much more doable, effective and efficient.

Come Up with Questions and Requirements for Each Business Plan Section

Once you have the various business plan sections laid out and the order of their development, then come up with the questions and requirements for each section. There are a ton of books and resources on the internet to help you brainstorm these, and then apply this information to your business. My Business Plan Workbook contains a prescribed and proven business planning process, along with all the requisite questions and requirements on a section by section basis.

Business Planning is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

It takes steady consistency to complete an effective business plan. So you don’t get burned out and really enjoy the planning process, I suggest working on the plan a couple hours a day. Work on the plan first thing in the morning before you get busy with your business day. This way you have fresh thought, and you get it done for the day (i.e. it is not weighing on your mind all day). If you can work 3 hours a day on the weekends, it will be worth the effort. However, taking one day off a week from the planning to take a step back and recharge is also preferable. Do what you can but don’t try to do it overnight.  Consistency is what gets a plan done. Consistently work on it daily for short periods of time, and your plan will be done in a timely manner. Inconsistency brings disaster in a business plan process.

A Good Business Planning Process is a Must

Designing a good business plan process upfront is essential. The quality and scope of the process will determine the quality and effectiveness of your business plan. Design it in parts and implement it in step by step sections, which build on one another.

Have questions on your Business Plan? I offer FREE Business Plan Reviews and Consultations.

Today’s Video is on The Business Plan Roadmap

Posted in Business Planning. Comment

Time Management has a lot to do with Business Success

August 6, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Time Management has incredible influence on a business owner’s success. I encounter clients who really need some Business Coaching to get them into position where some solid planning and other types of  business consulting can be of real benefit. Otherwise, their “busyness” and lack of personal planning overshadows the efficacy of good Business Planning and Strategic Planning for the company. Get the time management right upfront, then rolling out success planning, whether a new marketing strategy or new strategic direction, can be laser focused and structured for real success.

You Are Busy But What Are The Results?

A business owner may think. Hey I am so busy and have more to do every day than I can finish. I am doing the best I can. That kind of thinking is an absolute Fallacy. The problem with this sort of thinking is two fold: 1) the business owner doesn’t know what actions or tasks have a real payoff for the company and 2) busy tasks over take the fundamentals of growing a healthy business. The way to solve this issue is to simply plan your time on a daily and weekly basis, but before doing that, you need to identify strategically what tasks are most important and why. Schedule in the tasks that have the best payoff for your company first, then build in your other “busy” tasks.

Steps to Effective Time Management

Step One: Keep track for one or two weeks exactly how you spend your day. Time and identify your specific actions and tasks for the entire day- minute by minute, hour by hour.

Step Two: Document what the payoff for your company was for the specific tasks accomplished for the tracked period of time.

Step Three: Identify and Prioritize what actions and tasks will have the best payoff for your company in relation to your Business Plan, Marketing Plan and Strategic Plan.

Step Four: Schedule out 2-4 weeks in advance how and when you will accomplish these priority, strategic actions and tasks. These are the first items for your new schedule. They have the most priority.

Step Five: Now schedule in your busy tasks and meetings. Since your schedule will be filling up with the priority items, you will be forced to decide really what busy tasks are important for you and what can be delegated or simply dismissed.

Step Six: Stick to the structure and make changes and adjustments to the schedule up to one month in advance as a result of and relation to your business planning, strategic planning and marketing strategies. Reprioritize at least once per month or preferably every two weeks to ensure you are tracking the most effective route for your business goals.

Step Seven: Measure results on a weekly basis and make small adjustments for the coming week as needed. Identify successes and issues and figure out how to overcome problems. Acknowledge the successes through out your company and who helped you achieve that success at the end of every week. Carry that momentum into your upcoming new week.

Good Time Management Forces Good Business Habits

Spending time on actually making out your schedule and how you will manage your time in the face of what needs to be accomplished in your company’s business plan, will create that perfect marriage between what needs to be done on a particular day for the company’s success and what other more mundane tasks need to be accomplished. If you fail to plan your schedule and lay it out by the hour and minute, then you will find yourself busied to death with tasks that you don’t know will have the necessary payoff for your company. This is the pinnacle of Strategic Thought and Planning, and the core reason why some business owners are much more effective and successful than their counterparts.

Enjoy Your Free Time

Good time management frees up your time, giving you more time to enjoy your family, more recreation, more healthy space from your company. This makes you happier and healthier, which has a huge payoff in your business. You become much more efficient and effective, cutting the necessary time to really achieve what is actually needed for your company to prosper and succeed. Get your priorities in your business right and your priorities in life get right. The payoff is better profitability and happiness. Can’t beat that! What are you waiting for? Get started today…

Today’s Video is on How Self Management Dictates Time Management

Posted in Business Management. Comment

Have You Noticed The Page Rank of Your Twitter Profile?

August 5, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Have you looked at your Twitter Page Rank (PR) for your profile? I really didn’t notice mine until one day and then looked into it. Yes, Google does assign a PR to your Twitter Profile. And does it matter?

How Page Rank is Calculated for a Twitter Profile

PR of any web page helps it in the total score for a website in determining where it ranks. While PR isn’t everything in whether a website ranks well, it does indicate how authoritative and influential the website is. A Twitter Profile receives page rank from the quality of the links to your Twitter Profile (not the quality of your outgoing links). So if someone of influence links to your Twitter Profile, then you receive the benefit and receive Page Rank.

Does Page Rank Matter?

So if you want your Twitter page to rank well, your PR is a good indication of its chances of good ranking. If your PR is low, then look for stronger linking partners, as you would in any good Website Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy. Don’t get obsessed with PR. Google says it is one of 200 different variables it uses to rank a website. You will see many sites rank well who have no PR or low PR. However, if you do have a good PR score, it shows the trend of the authority of your website. Higher authority generally means better ranking and exposure (and the respect of the search engines).

Twitter Does Matter

What you really need to learn about Twitter and Page Rank is the importance of Twitter that Google and the other Search Engines put on Twitter. Twitter needs to be part of any business marketing and SEO strategy because without it, you are simply missing out on getting noticed by the search engines and a lot of traffic.  

Quality Followers and Links

Now, the quality of your outgoing links on your Twitter Profile may not help your Page Rank, but it certainly does attract followers who read your tweets and re-tweet your tweets and links. The more quality followers with good PR who end up linking to you, the better your PR and possibility of better rankings. Moreover, the increase in followers adds tremendously to your web traffic and exposure.

As you think of quality SEO for your website, also think about the same for your Twitter Profile. Its importance can no longer be overlooked.

Today’s Video is on The Significance of Page Rank on a Twitter Profile

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

Engage Your Prospects and Convert Them Into Customers

August 4, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Due to the recession, Customers have fundamentally changed. They are more scrutinizing, want more support, and desire customized solutions for their needs. So for a business to be successful and grow, a company, despite all the economic odds, must see the vital importance of engaging prospects very early on in the budding relationship to gain their trust and later earn their business. You also need to stay engaged with your new and existing customers; otherwise, they will go down the street to someone who will. Here are some ways to engage your prospects and customers alike.

Online Chat

I recently added Online Chat to our website and have seen great success using it. I find we are engaging prospects which otherwise we may have missed. We are showing a genuine interest in our website visitors, providing them free advice, giving them many different ways to connect and contact us. It shows our willingness to earn business and be mindful of a new customer’s needs.

You Call Prospective Customers At Their Convenience

This is the reverse of the 1 800 number. We ask web visitors on our Contact Us page to simply email us their number and best time to call them. The prospective customer can tell you when and how to contact them. Amazon.com has been doing this for a while. It can cut costs, mitigates frustration if you can’t take their call, and yet, it really shows your commitment to a customer’s needs and schedule.

Make Your Website Customer Centric and Friendly

I see so many websites which are so uninviting, provide little information and make little or no attempt to woo the web visitor. A website really needs to be all about the customer. Offer great content and free information to sincerely help the prospect. If it is good advice, the prospect is much closer to becoming a customer. Be sure to have customer testimonials.

Offer a Newsletter

When a prospect first enters your “realm”, your business, your sales process, give them access to a Newsletter. If the prospect fails to convert, then at least you are still in front of them, striving to earn their business, while providing them great info to use. A Newsletter needs to cater to the prospect, not be an obvious sales piece for your company. I like Newsletters sent twice per month. 4 times per month can be too much, depending on the Newsletter and recipients, and once per month is not enough. Be sure to ask the recipients to pass the newsletter on to friends, associates and fellow businesses.

Offer Surveys

Whether online or offline, offer surveys for prospects and customers alike to complete. It gives you important feedback on what you are doing right and wrong. It gives you another avenue of engagement.

Offer Free E-Books

Free E-Books are an excellent way to mine prospect contact information and provide that prospect or customer with your experienced advice and expertise. These also have a viral nature, often being passed along via email.

Offer the RSS Feed to Your Blog

Blogging is an excellent way to provide prospects and customers great information, tips and advice on a daily basis. Be sure to offer your RSS Feed so the prospect and customer can get your daily blog straight to their email inbox or updated in their RSS favorites. This is a fantastic tool to earn business, capture a prospect’s email address and solidify your relationship with your customers.

Avoid Auto Responders

I am all about technology and automating processes. But many prospects will be turned off by an email communication that is sent to everyone. They are not special. Find ways to personalize with in your auto response systems to show a prospect you think he or she is special. It is worth the added step.

Give Prospects Ways to Connect With You

The Social Network world is an awesome platform for prospects and customers to really connect with you on a personal level and on a level which they may prefer. Be open to integrating your business, yourself, your key executives and managers and employees, into the social networking world.

Write a Hand Written Thank You Note

Business people rarely do this anymore in the technology age. By sending a thank you to a prospect for considering your business or to an existing customer for their continued business shows that you care. It separates you from the pack and really engages the prospect and customer on that emotional level, which is key.

Show Them You Care

At the end of the day, if a prospect knows you have the necessary skills, products and services to help them, it is the “x” factor that closes the deal. Showing them you truly care about them will seal the deal. Caring taps that sub-conscious area, providing an emotional connection. Don’t just engage, really connect with your prospects. The same goes for your customers. Caring strengthens loyalty. Never forget your customers. Help them. Care about them. They will stay loyal and refer you great customers year in and year out.

Find New Ways to Engage to Prosper – Get Back to Basics

Think of ways you can better engage your prospects and existing customers. It is well worth the effort, particularly in this coming age of the new customer who values it. Or are just going back to the way business used to be? We used to earn it! We earned customers by nurturing a great relationship. It isn’t necessarily a new type of customer, it is just that customers are running the show and markets now, not the businesses.  

Today’s Video is on Giving Prospects Value First

Posted in Business Marketing Strategies. Comment

Use Google Alerts™ for Key Business Intelligence

August 3, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Google Alerts™ is really an excellent tool to build your business intelligence. Here are some great ways to use this tool!

Learn When and Where You and / or Your Company Appear in the Search Engine Results

For instance, I have my name and company name entered into Google Alerts. So every time it sees those parameters in the Search Engine results for Google and its partners, alerts sends me an email and shows me the referenced URL and a summary of my information. I can quickly see what blogs and article sites are publishing my articles, who is linking to our website and blog, as well as see, the buzz and conversations about me and ABC Business Consulting.

Keep Up on Your Competitors and Partners Alike

Entering parameters like your competitors’ company names, product names and personal names will provide you a wealth of information on a daily basis. Same goes for your partners. This really is invaluable intelligence to keep your company well positioned in the markets and strengthening your competitive edge.  

For SEO Keyword Opportunity

Getting alerts in certain keyword strings can quickly help you determine whether the keyword string is good for you and if so, how to approach your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so you can take advantage of the market opportunity. The internet changes quickly, but these alerts can keep you ahead of these changes, capitalizing on the opportunities presented.

For Industry and Market Updates and Trends

See what the experts are writing about concerning your industry and market. Another great data input for your Market Positioning Strategy.

Track the Social Networks

Understanding how your social media strategy is working is key. Google is paying more attention to social networks so use the alerts to gain that intelligence of what is happening in those networks. This keeps you supplied with data in real time, providing you opportunity to address emerging opportunities and problems very quickly.

Unlimited Amount of Uses

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I am sure you have a bunch of ideas on how you can use alerts to bolster your company’s business intelligence.

Today’s Video is on How to Use Google Alerts™

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

SEO Basics to Get Good Rankings on the Search Engines

August 2, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

SEO can get complicated and involve a lot of different White Hat strategies to get a website positioned on the first page of the general results for the Search Engines. I wrote an article on SEO Strategies which is comprehensive and covers all the angles of White Hat Search Engine Optimization. Employing the multitude of SEO Strategies can be time consuming, and if not well thought out and coordinated, will end up having lackluster results. So I am writing this blog post on the Basics of SEO Strategy that you can concentrate on to get your website well positioned in the general (organic) search results. Keep it simple to start, then later on you can try some of the other strategies I wrote about.

Optimize Each of Your Web Pages

Ø  Determine your best targeted keywords and create quality content around those keywords.

Ø  Optimize each web page title tag, keyword tag, description tag and URL address.

Ø  Utilize good website navigation and an organized webpage hierarchy.

Submit The Optimized Website to the Search Engines

Ø  Submit an XML Sitemap to Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask

Ø  Use Social Bookmarks and Networks to publicize your quality content so these pages get quickly spidered and indexed.  

Get a Ton of In Content Relevant Back Links to Your Quality Content Pages

Ø  The more websites with content relevant to you that point back to your website from their own content will increase your SEO juice and result in rankings.

Ø  In content links verses a “mention” or directory listing on a linking website is a much better back link. Obtain these in content back links by getting published on blogs and article sites. Write quality content around subjects that relate to your main keywords and submit to blogs and article sites with links back to that content. Be sure to link back to your quality content that is relevant to the anchor text you are using. In other words, don’t just link back to your home page, link back to your inner pages that contain relevant content to the link text you are using.

Ø  Submit unique content to other sites. Too much duplicate content on the web won’t help you.

Ø  The higher the competition for a keyword, the more links you need. It could take thousands of back links to get positioned on page one of the search results (depending on the quality of the back links).

Ø  Look for quality back link partners to increase the effectiveness of your back links. These are harder to find and obtain so a good mix of PR 1 – PR 6 websites is best. Use quality and quantity back link strategies.

Consistency is Key

Concentrate on SEO an hour a day for 6 months. Then see where you are. You can’t do this overnight but the results are worth the effort.

Quality Content + In Content Back Links = The Keys to SEO Success

You will be ranked well if you develop quality content for web visitors, get that content indexed and then get that content noticed by other sites. This way the search engines see your content as relevant and important, and thus, rank you well.

Does this sound like a lot of work? Well, it is. This is why companies opt to use Search Engine Optimization Services of SEO experts. Be careful to find one that you can afford (many are highly expensive), and use an seo firm that clearly shows exactly what they will do and how they are accountable to results. Also ask for case studies of how they got clients ranked for hard to rank keywords, as well as, look to see how they are ranked for their own website. Be certain that they use White Hat SEO Strategies so you won’t be penalized by the search engines for seo trickery.  

Today’s Video is on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fundamentals

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