Alan Gayle is a sales and marketing consultant specialising in the construction industry. He has worked in the stone sector for more than a decade. Here he offers advice on how to make an impact in the market.
First off, I’d like to offer my warm thanks to Paul Scott for his sterling contributions in the previous two issues.
And then I would like to say: Happy New Year to one and all.
Yes, I know it’s only September. But I’m feeling the need to get my retaliation in first – bear with me.
I’m going to talk about New Year’s Resolutions. Or, more accurately, reviewing and revising your business objectives.
Last time I covered this subject it was mid-February before it was published, so rather than leave it too late again, or get mixed up in the December madness, I’m giving it to you early. Early enough for you find the time to do something.
I’m not really a fan of New Year resolutions.
I think most people aren’t really serious about them and, as a result, they often don’t stick to them.
But I am a big fan of setting goals. Proper, S.M.A.R.T goals. S.M.A.R.T: Specific – Measurable (mostly) – Action-oriented – Realistic – Time-bound. I’m in favour of them at any time of year.
So this year let’s look at reviewing and revising our business objectives before the December festivities are upon us. That way, between now and 1 January you can spend some time thinking about it, tweaking it and discussing it with your team. By the time you get started, you’ll be familiar with it, happy with it, and, most of all, committed to it.
Why?
Setting new objectives for your business or a department of your business is win/win. If you achieve your objective it’s congratulations all round. Well done, you delivered. If you don’t achieve it, it becomes win/learn/ win. You need to identify what didn’t work, change things to improve your chances next time, then have another go. In either case, your business will improve.
What?
I suggest you consider two options. Option 1 will take you more time, but it will also yield better results: update all the objectives in your marketing plan. Make sure they’re S.M.A.R.T objectives for today’s market.
If you don’t have a marketing plan or you want a ‘lite’ version, consider Option 2: set one, finance-oriented S.M.A.R.T. objective. Something simple like increasing turnover by 10%. Or increasing gross profit by 3%. Or perhaps you could focus on growing one particular department or product line.
How?
If you’re going for Option 1, you’ll know how to get started because you’ve done it before. But if you want a reminder take a look at my previous article, ‘Make a plan, not a resolution’ from the Natural Stone Specialist February 2013 issue. I know some of you keep your copies of this magazine going back years. If you are not one of them, you can find the column online at bit.ly/AG-resolutions.
If you’re going for Option 2 use the same S.M.A.R.T. model but also write three-to-six bullet points about ‘why’ you want to achieve that goal. And devise some sort of plan, no matter how basic, to achieve it.
Which leads me to this quote from French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”