The time to set up a record year for yourself and your company is now. During the months of November and December it’s important to build momentum going into the New Year. Answer the following questions.
Have you:
- Written your business plan or revenue generating strategies for 2023?
- Written and posted your ten personal and professional non-negotiable goals for 2023, followed by five dated action items?
- Obtained goals from the individuals you supervise to identify what will motivate them?
- Do you have the team in place that can help you achieve your goals?
If you answered no to any of these questions, there is no better time to complete these actions than this month. For years I used Business Plan Pro to write a very comprehensive, lengthy business plan during the last quarter of each year. It provided colorful flow charts, graphs, and tremendous details on every aspect of my business. The only problem was, I rarely referred to it because it was too cumbersome.
Years ago, a business coach suggested that I replace my lengthy business plan with six revenue generating strategies. He explained the importance of identifying six revenue generating strategies each year to consistently grow my business. His definition of a revenue generating strategy was the following, “A critical success factor that drive revenue.” The six revenue generating strategies should include the following information, specific strategy, goal, timeframe, cost, action items, assigned to whom, and accountability.
Your company is in business to generate profits and grow, not provide jobs for your employees. If you are not profitable, there are not jobs or growth. These strategies must support your vision and help you attain the goals you have set for yourself, your company, and your career growth.
If you are not in a revenue generating leadership role, there are strategies you could develop that could save time or streamline a process to save your company money. A great example would be the costs involved when employees are not engaged or end up a costly turnover statistic. One revenue generating strategy could be to drastically reduce turnover while increasing employee engagement. Obviously, these are both areas that have a financial impact.
One of the greatest mistakes leaders repeatedly make is spending too much time on efforts which are not generating revenues. To consistently advance in your career, so you can create the lifestyle of your dreams, select six strategies annually that have a quantifiable positive impact on the bottom line.
If you have never done this before, where do you start? First, understand that Strategies are defined as: The critical success factors that drive revenue. You may want to refer to them as initiatives or your lines of business. Start out by writing down the current strategies that drive revenue in your business that are within your scope of responsibility. Once you identify the strategies separate them into two lists. First, list strategies that are effective and then list strategies that are not currently successful. Once you identify strategies that are not effective, determine why they are not working and if you can improve the results of this strategy. If not, you should create time for implementing new strategies by eliminating current ineffective ones. Make a clear, concise commitment to the strategies you will implement that align with the company goals and objectives.
Review the strengths and weaknesses of your business and decide on six revenue generating strategies that will have the greatest impact on your success, as well as the growth of the team you lead and your company. Obtain input from your team on both the Strategies you embrace, and the action items needed to achieve them. They could provide an opportunity for your employees to learn and develop new skills or talents that help them grow personally or professionally.
Identify the tactics you will implement on a day-to-day basis to ensure actions accomplish the strategies you have defined. Next, determine the resources, time, and money it will take to implement your strategies. Whether you improve a current strategy or replace it with a new strategy, list action items that will be completed by a specific date. Also, assign each action to a specific person to make sure tactics are implemented and deadlines are met.
When assigning action items remember the 80/20 Rule. Twenty percent of your team will provide 80% of your results. Who you assign action items to will either enhance your ability to achieve your revenue generating strategies or sabotage them. Implementation of these strategies may not be best use of your time and should be delegated. If you do not have the needed manpower, consider utilizing online resources like Upwork or Fiverr to assist you.
To guarantee completion of these tactics, write out Action Items for each month in 2023 to help you hold your team accountable. To get a head start on next year, you may decide to implement the first Revenue Generating Strategy before the end of this year. If you immediately begin to implement the strategy that will have the greatest impact, you will end this year with a very strong last quarter and set yourself up for a record 2023.
One last and very important point. If you want the cooperation and buy-in of the people you lead, they must understand implementation of these strategies is something you are doing for them, not to them. Explain how achieving these strategies will benefit them, as well as the company.
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