Gearing For Growth – Part 3: Elements Of A Growth Strategy

When we plan a journey by road, we choose the destination, the vehicle which we will travel in, the route we will follow and the money required for the journey.

Do you have a written plan of action, or strategy, for your business?  This is the route map that should be directing your resources in order to realise the business output you expect and plan for.

It is striking how many business owners manage their businesses without any methodology. I subsequently provide a list of basic elements that should be included in a business strategy.

• The vision, purpose and value system of my business

• What do I wish to accomplish with my business in the next 5 years? (e.g. turnover, distribution points, profit, number of clients). This question necessitates future orientated thinking.

• What are the primary business targets for this year?

• What should the following business areas/functions do and deliver to support the achievement of the primary business targets for this year?

  • Marketing

  • Sales

  • Product and/or service department

  • Finances

It is your responsibility as owner to ensure that all the underlying targets and action plans are in line to give form to the achievement of the business targets.

Is there a daily, weekly, or monthly process of evaluation in place to evaluate the actual business output and results, against the planned business outputs and results?
The setting of clear and realistically formulated targets helps to establish focus in actions.

I know that these guidelines are not new to you, but it is in fact the basic elements of business management that are moved aside when the phone rings, of a client walks through the door.

There is a Chinese proverb that reads “The journey is the reward”.  May your business journey be richly rewarded with results in this year.

 The content in this article was provided by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market. Sanlam is a diversified financial services group, headquartered in South Africa, operating across a number of selected global markets.

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