So you have a good year last year, it’s a good thing. What do you think is missing is made from a big year? In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins says “Good is the enemy of Great”. Oh great you say, it’s not enough that I had a good year, now someone wants me to be perfect. No, not perfect, just great! And why not, after all when you start your business you may have a vision or dream of how you would do something different, bigger, better, faster than anyone else. You will make a difference, innovate and dominate, leaving a legacy that will live long after you leave the scene.

What will become very clear when you grow your company is that the job will be hard and most of your time will be sacrificed to make it happen. The learning curve will be very steep at times, but the rewards will be sweet and worth every moment you have to wait. For those of you who think success will happen overnight, you are probably better off buying lottery tickets, chances are better. The concept of business development is not just some abstract theory is not relevant, they are very important for the future success of your business.

In fact, most business is quite simple to operate, just not easy to do. Almost every business operates on the same model to collect customers through various marketing strategies and then after the effective conversion process or system to create new customer sales. The next step is to implement customer service systems to serve them well, make them come back and become raving fans for life. We also need to have the Human Resources division effective to select, recruit and train our personnel to carry out the duties and responsibilities of various positions. All of these areas affect your business development and management.

Ideally, with a fully executed Business Development Plan, we would have a policy or procedure for every operating component of our Business, a system that would ensure smooth operations. A system that would allow the Business to operate with or without you being there. Finally, we must understand our financials, manage our fixed and variable costs and keep the cash flowing. All of this of course hinges on one critical component. That component is your leadership. You must create a culture that rewards and empowers your team to be their very best and to have them constantly seeking ways to do better than before. All of this must be done while juggling your family life, personal interests and maintaining excellent health!

Simple enough right? Just not that easy to do! So where do you start on this road to greatness? The question our clients hear us ask all the time is “How do you eat an elephant?” “One bite at a time!” That first bit is creating your business development plan.

So in the interest of greatness, take a few minutes and do the exercise below. This is the first step in forming your strategy for Business Development.