Building a really good strategic plan, you'll need to have market data. We’re talking about the kind that originates at the sub-atomic level. I call this industry knowledge and wisdom. Some say it is time in and experience. I say it is that plus some real solid facts that is undeniable. And having a good position on your growth potential means knowing where your growth has occurred, what it looks like today, and where it’s going tomorrow.
So, where do you get that kind of data? Well, collecting data to make good decisions and forecast upcoming sales so you can budget, but at the same time move your organization forward.
Start with your sales and marketing teams and be ready to start pulling data all the way down to individual accounts, individual products, or even micro geographic segments. Yes, finding out how many male leads works or is studying Science, Technology, Engineering or Math!
It’s just the kind of thing we are formulating. Plans for hardcore data collection, analysis, and interpretation of historical performance, current pipeline health, and account level performance projections. For me it means the analysis of hundreds of individual accounts, scenes and provinces.
This kind of data collection is a balance between top down and bottom up forecasting. If your strategic plan is only top down there’s a very real risk of having growth supported without any basis.
The deal here is to create a market so we can deliver music and dance services.
So here are few things to consider. Get your sales and marketing teams together. By account, by product, or by geography pull historical performance back from at least the last three to five years. Analyze what’s currently in the pipeline. Hopefully you have a really good Customer Relationship Management system since you’re looking for total value of what’s in the pipeline for each account and probability of winning the business.
Forecast out five years from your data. Use market data, competitive analysis, and sales projections. Projections are directional, but you’ll be able to pressure test your growth targets and where you expect the business to come from.
It’s not easy and it takes coordination and conviction. But if you’re serious about having a really good strategy, the kind that’s grounded in data and facts rather than simply opinions and gut feeling because a good dancer is the scene leader, take the time to get the data right. It’s often difference between plans that succeed and those that become stagnant.
