Planning to succeed
Actually, I’ve never really been much of a planner. In fact when I lived in Greece I discovered that the locals didn’t particularly like planning or using diaries and calendars! Almost all our social lives were arranged at the last minute and that really suited my impulsive nature. It was not uncommon to be called up at 10pm to see if I’d like to pop out for a glass of wine and a chat…
Beforehand, in the UK, I had been used to planning my social arrangements way ahead and, at first, it seemed odd not to. However, I soon found that this relaxed routine suited my spur of the moment attitude. In some ways it makes sense too. We can plan to go away to visit friends three months in advance and then on the day the weather is horrid. Sometimes we might not even feel like going out on that day.
Impulsive planning
What I did like about living in Athens was that plans could be made and implemented almost immediately and that made things great fun. Indeed I regularly saw business being conducted face to face in cafes over a couple of strong espressos and for as many hours as it took.
However in business that’s not such a good idea. Planning is an essential part of running a thriving business. Before Christmas, I wrote about reviewing your year and looking at what worked and what didn’t.
Over the Christmas break, I’ve been giving lots of thought to how I can structure my business over the coming months. Because I’m prone to impulsive behaviour I’ve really had to shut myself away and focus.
But there are huge benefits to forward planning. I now know how many sales of which programmes I need to make to reach my targets each month. I know exactly when I am launching new products and how they will be priced and who they are directed towards.
Goal setting
Every month I have three major goals to achieve. That way I can break those down into manageable chunks and work strategically and methodically day by day to achieve the results I want. It does feel a little odd to be so organised so early in the year. On the other hand, whilst I thrive in a little chaos, it is calming to know exactly what I need to do in each and every month.
So some questions to think about today are these:
- Bearing in mind last year’s figures, what are your monthly targets this year?
- Does your website and marketing materials need stripping back so as not to overwhelm the layman with technical jargon?
- Have you divided your annual turnover figure by 11 months to build in some fiscal flexibility for a holiday without stress?
- Have you any strategically planned special offers or events scheduled throughout the year for your community?
- Looking at your marketing plans, what needs to change to improve communication with your patients?
- What aspects of your marketing could be automated to save you time?
- What additional kinds of marketing would attract more prospective patients?
- Are you crystal clear about WHO exactly you are marketing too? (Remember that marketing to everyone will attract no one.)
In planning out my launch dates, programmes and marketing I feel strangely calm and in control. More than that, I am really excited about the year ahead.
So I am definitely going to channel my spontaneous behaviour towards my social life only from now on.
