Strategic planning is critical to sales revenue success in the niche media world. Do you have plans in place yet for your strategy meeting this fall to plan for 2014?
Yogi Bera said it best, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.”
Most successful companies host at least two days of strategic planning each year as a matter of practice. Why? Their hope is to reveal new revenue opportunities, find process improvements and to sort out ideas or problems.
So set a date today and think about these following 7 steps to set your day of strategic planning in motion.
Before you begin, determine if you want to host the strategic planning on your own or hire an outside guru to help. Many times companies meet internally and miss out on what an outsider with fresh perspective can bring to the table. Ask questions. A good strategic planner will answer your questions fully and make you think about additional possibilities you hadn’t thought about before.
Rather than following the standard S.W.O.T. formula, I take a different path toward strategic planning success with my clients.
I begin my strategy planning with “The BIG 5”– Products, Sales, Marketing, Content, Retention. These basic cores determine your business success. Each one needs a specific plan and attention.
Let’s walk through these 7 strategic planning steps:
1. Break out each of the BIG 5 in vivid detail.
2. Focus on process, problems, people. Get specific.
3. Within each core, define strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges for each.
4. You need a detailed transition plan for each core. For example, you can not just walk into the office one day and say, “Drop the current plan because we all have the new strategic plan now.”
5. AFTER you have created your strategic plan and your detailed transition plan, you need to create a detailed action plan for each core area–Products, Sales, Marketing, Content and Retention.
6. Assign roles and responsibilities within each core area.
7. Create an accountability schedule and stick to it.
Think of this strategic process each year as not so much a process that must be endured, (like an IRS audit or a root canal.) Try instead, to approach it as a dedicated practice to better the business. Lastly, be open to new strategies that will reveal themselves in the planning process.
“Strategic Planning is a process by which we can envision the future and develop the necessary procedures and operations to influence and achieve that future.” -Clark Crouch
*************
About this blogger: Ryan Dohrn is an award wining ad sales training coach, a nationally recognized internet sales consultant, international business speaker and is the President and founder of 360 Ad Sales Training, a boutique internet revenue consulting firm with a detailed focus on ad sales training, internet consulting and media revenue generation. Ryan teaches media sales training classes and offers detailed coaching help to business owners and media companies looking to make money online.
http://www.BrainSwellMedia.com, http://360adsales.com
*************
Niche Media has created super niched-out events specifically for magazine publishers for over 12 years. We’ve helped pave the way for the era of boutique events that connect specific audiences and provide great educational, friendly and super-fun environments! Plus, Carl Landau – Niche Media’s Grand Poobah – just launched a blog all about creating and marketing targeted events – blog.NicheEventNation.com Check it out!
– Twitter: @NicheMediaHQ
– Facebook: NicheMediaHQ
– LinkedIn: Niche Media Network & Niche Media
– YouTube: NicheMediaHQ
Image from freedigitalphotos.net
