(Unless the Mayans are Right about December 21st!)
Sometime this year it will be 40 years since I started my first business – a tax accounting franchisefor small business. After that, there was the grocery business, the computer store, the software company and then a consulting practice for over 20 years. When I think back on how I might have improved those opportunities, there is ONE thing that always comes up.
I wish I had a mentor, a peer group, a coach, a consultant or a golf buddy that would have challenged me so I would have had “The Chance to Decide.” “The Chance to Decide” would have been me seeing a different option, idea, or approach than was in my current operating vision.
Today I want to give you “The Chance to Decide.”
Everyone should have a science-based revenue plan for the New Year – please don’t start 2013 by just having the obligatory offsite, changing calendar and hoping things will be better.
Growing profitable revenue is the fundamental obligation of every leader – planning for 2013 should be based on applying the science of “Revenue Generation.”
My guess is you will do some planning for 2013. There is nothing you can do that will serve you and your company better than focusing your 2013 planning on how to grow profitable revenue predictably.
There I did it – now you have “The Chance to Decide.”
Assuming you aren’t doing your business plan on the back of a Mayan Calendar, then you better do more than hope you are ready for 2013.
If any of the 4 conditions below described you at any time in the last year, you should “decide” about a 2013 Revenue Strategy that does not require hope and good luck. Did you ever:
1. Wonderwhat it takes to predictably generate enough profitable revenue to accomplish your dreams and goals?
2. Express concern (even if to yourself) that regardless of your best efforts, the results from your attempts to grow profitable revenue were determined by chance and luck?
3. Worrythat no matter how hard you tried or how much you invested the revenue results can still fall short?
4. Fearthat everything you have done is not enough to safely and predictably grow the amount of profitable revenue you need?
For 2013 if you Start Now to Develop and Deploy a Science Based Revenue Strategy:
1. You won’t wonder what it takes – you will know what to do and how to predictably apply the Revenue Science.
2. Your concern will be for measuring and improving your focused efforts to get the most profit and growth from the resources you invested.
3. You will still worry, but it will be about where to get more of the right people and how to align execution, with your leveraged investments that further accelerate growth.
4. Your fear will be for how to continuously increase the value you bring to the niche you dominate.
The difference between the results in 2012 and what the results will be in 2013 will be the quality of the Revenue Strategy plus the willingness to deploy that Revenue Strategy in a disciplined way.
The key to your strategy is being sure it covers all five required strategy elements and that they are supported by a deployment plan.
1. What is your brand promise?
2. What’s the customer “problem” that you solve that no one else solves?
3. What niche(s) do or will you dominate?
4. Who is your ideal customer?
5. Which are your key offers to dominate the niche(s)?
Do your Revenue Strategy first! All other planning Financial, HR, Operations or OD has but one purpose – support your ability to predictably grow profitable revenue in the short-term and long-term.
A business truthis anyone willing to do the work to develop a science-based revenue strategy and then is willing to do a disciplined deployment will grow more profitable revenue faster with less resource than ever before – I wish someone had told me.
Look past December 21st. Do your Science-Based Revenue Strategy and planning in Q3 and Q4 so you are prepared to deploy in order to win The Revenue Game for 2013.
What do you think?
Please share your thoughts and experiences with us here!