What could it be? Piles of money? A happy and delightful staff? Blackmail on their biggest competitors? No silly, it’s a plan. If you’re letting your agency take you for a ride, don’t plan on a great 2017. We see a lot of marketing reps in our line of work and you can ask them. They want to spend time with agencies who have a clear growth plan. Remember, hope is not a strategy so we have to plan to grow.
You may ask what does a good plan look like? You can use our goal setting guide we wrote last year and even get our goal tracking thermometer to help you keep on track! But it generally starts with you. Where do you want the agency to be, what do you want it to look like and why? You have to become obsessed with your goals so you stay passionate and on track with them. Your goals should be so valuable to you that one bump in the road isn’t going to detract you. You will move around it.
I generally recommend the following for each department:
- New Business Goal
- Retention Goal
- Account Development Goal
- 1 project per quarter
Now that you have your target you need a plan to get there. What will you invest in to help the team. Is it training? Marketing? New technology? Your plan has to be detailed and exact so each month you see yourself hitting the goal. You also have to plan for failure for what happens if you’re off track. Where do you go? What will you do?
Don’t bypass the 2017 planning part! In January we will be releasing for download a marketing strategy guide to help you out. If you’re really stuck you should check out our end of year assessment light special. We can help you get moving on the right track!
