Do you wish to know and understand how to transform your commercial development plan into a strategic document which outlines the necessary actions to put it into practice?
Do you want a business development plan which helps you achieve your desired goals?
This question may seem trivial at first glance, but I assure you that consolidating ideas into a concrete action plan can become challenging, as I have observed in my experience with companies.
In the various cases I encountered, the size of the company, its geographic location, or its target markets were not the determining factors in the difficulty of identifying the necessary actions.
What can hinder the transition to action?
- Lack of clarity and focus: The objectives were not clearly defined and therefore were not measurable;
- Lack of coordination: Gathering and aligning ideas from different sources or teams into a single coherent vision is a challenge;
- Limited resources: Ideas require time, budget, and personnel to be realized. Identifying and allocating the necessary resources can be difficult;
- Resistance to change: People may be reluctant to abandon their current ways of working to adopt new ideas. Overcoming this resistance is crucial for implementation and must be considered;
- Realistic planning: Transforming an idea into action requires detailed and realistic planning, taking into account possible obstacles and risks;
- Monitoring and adaptation: After implementing a plan, it is necessary to monitor its effectiveness and make adjustments if plans do not go as expected.
How important is the analysis of available numbers? How does it help us establish the priorities of our plan?
Revenue Analysis
What information can I gather from a revenue analysis over the last three years?
- How much have my customers purchased and what percentage does this represent of the total revenue?
- Which products and/or services are the most frequently purchased?
- When were the last orders placed by each customer and/or for each product?
- Have any customers stopped ordering products and/or services, and was this due to a planned action on our part (replacement of services or products) or due to negligence, service issues, or oversight?
- In which countries and what percentage do I see or distribute my products and/or services, and with what results?
- Have there been fluctuations and migrations of revenue from one country to another due to known or unknown reasons?
- The demographic segmentation of customers and the corresponding geographic segmentation of the market.
Margin Analysis
Is my portfolio composed of profitable products and/or services?
Much more often than you would think, I have found myself asking whether a margin check of the products had been conducted, and the answer has often been no. A common factor among many companies is the lack of adequate growth planning, which allows them to react to shocks not just reactively but in a realistic and effective timeframe.
Discovering that my product mix is not profitable undermines the efforts in chasing revenue, and there is a risk of exacerbating the situation by selling ‘loss-making’ products.
What brings me a revenue that, at best, only covers costs?
Examining the margin data forces me to consider whether to remain in a certain market or succumb to price pressures (dumping) imposed by competitors. It pushes me to envision alternative products and/or services that could differentiate me from them—essentially, it encourages me to step out of my comfort zone.
From numbers to planning and implementation
The answers to the questions which arise during the analysis phase form the structure of our plan. After rearranging them by importance and priority, we ensure that we have the necessary financial resources, as well as the responsible and operational personnel with the required skills. Once the indicators (KPIs) are defined and the objectives agreed upon, the plan is set: it becomes tangible and, most importantly, actionable.
Your benefit
Having an effective business development plan not only guides the implementation of the strategy but also allows for adaptation to the ever-evolving market dynamics, ensuring that the organization remains competitive and achieves its growth objectives.
Do you want to turn action into results?
Let’s meet and discuss it further face to face.
