Tip 2 – have a plan
There are loads of clichés about the importance of having a plan; "failure to plan is planning to fail" and all that but in the current climate, it has never been more important to have an action plan.
Without it, there is nothing to communicate to your team and day to day activities become a panic stricken lurch from crisis to crisis.
So how exactly do you go about pulling together such a plan and what should go in it? A good way start point is by using a SWOT analysis. SWOT is short for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats.
Strengths first. Why do customers buy from you rather than your competitor down the road? Are your strengths going to be something that will sustain you in a recession or is there a danger that they will become a luxury that customers can cut back on?
You are probably painfully aware of your weaknesses. In boom times, it may have been more commercially viable to spend your time harvesting income streams from the areas of strength rather than worrying too much about your weaknesses. But major weaknesses, perhaps in the area of customer service might push you into a loss position if you don’t act on them. A4G run a one to one "improve and grow session" called the one-hour business troubleshooter that focuses on the ten most common causes of small business failure.
There are always opportunities in tough times. At the very least, businesses look very hard at their supply chain, so the customers of your inefficient lazy competitor might be actively considering changing their supplier. In addition, adapting your offering focus more on products and services that help customers with their own tough times might attract more business from your existing and potential customers.
Some threats are reasonably obvious but still need to be addressed. The biggest threat is often a major customer going bust that might bring you down with them. Secondly, an obvious contracting of your market place might reduce your turnover below its natural break-even point.
Discussing all of the above with the key members of your team and perhaps your accountant will give rise to a variety of ideas and solutions that can start to take the form of an action plan. Next you need to prioritise using what accountants might call the ROI (return on investment) principle. Basically, which actions give the biggest return compared to the amount of effort (and cost) required? Do those first. Be careful that you are not over-reacting though; panic is not a quality that contributes to a great plan.
On your action plan, you must always agree what is to be done, who it is to be done by and when it will be done. If it’s your business it’s then your responsibility to kick, cajole and encourage everyone to do what they have promised to do, including yourself!
Now that you have your plan, the next step is to communicate that plan to your entire team in a way that will motivate but not demoralise.
If you would like further information on our the one-hour business troubleshooter, any other Improve & Sessions or to find out about our weekly seminars please email seminar@a4gsolutions.co.uk
